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The effect of nitrogen plasma on the skin and hair follicles: a possible promising future for the treatment of alopecia

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Abstract

Nowadays, there is a great attention to the plasma applications in medicine. Not only does cold atmospheric pressure plasma provide a therapeutic opportunity to control redox-based processes, it is also an innovative method in rejuvenation. Given the current interest in new methods of rejuvenation, we aimed to introduce a novel pulsed nitrogen plasma torch with potential use in rejuvenation. We investigated production of reactive species at different pulse energy by spectroscopy and also measured nitric oxide and O2 concentration and evaluated the flame temperature. Fifteen Wistar rats were divided into three groups based on the applied energy settings; the skin of the animals was processed with plasma. For quantitative evaluation of dermis, epidermis and hair follicles (to confirm the effects of this technique on rejuvenation), skin biopsies were taken from both unexposed and treated areas. The spectroscopy results showed the presence of nitric oxide in plasma and the concentration was suitable for dermatological applications. A significant increase was observed in epidermal thickness, fibroblast cell proliferation and collagenesis (P < 0.05). Interestingly, plasma led to a temporary increase in the diameter of primary and secondary hair follicles compared to the controls. The results confirmed the positive effects of this pulsed nitrogen plasma torch on rejuvenation and also revealed a new possible aspect of cold plasma; its effect on hair follicles as a promising area in the treatment of alopecia that requires further clinical and molecular studies.

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Abbreviations

DP:

Dermal papilla

H&E:

Hematoxylin and eosin

NO:

Nitric oxide

OES:

Optical emission spectroscopy

PSR:

Plasma skin regeneration

RF:

Radio-frequency

RNS:

Reactive nitrogen species

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SLPM:

Standard liter per minute

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Author notes

  1. Shima Babossalam and Fahimeh Abdollahimajd (as first authors) have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laser, Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., P.O. Box 19839-6941, Tehran, Iran

    Shima Babossalam, Mustafa Aghighi, Hamed Mahdikia & Babak Shokri

  2. Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fahimeh Abdollahimajd & Parviz Toossi

  3. Tehran, Iran

    Aydin Dilmaghanian

  4. Physics Department, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., P.O. Box 19839-6941, Tehran, Iran

    Babak Shokri

Authors
  1. Shima Babossalam
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  2. Fahimeh Abdollahimajd
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  3. Mustafa Aghighi
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  4. Hamed Mahdikia
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  6. Parviz Toossi
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Contributions

BSh, PT, FA and ShB initiated the research and designed the experiments. BSh, FA and ShB conducted all part of the research. FA, ShB, MA, HM and AD performed the experiments and analyzed the data. FA and ShB wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the result, revised the manuscript and gave final approval for the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Fahimeh Abdollahimajd or Babak Shokri.

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Babossalam, S., Abdollahimajd, F., Aghighi, M. et al. The effect of nitrogen plasma on the skin and hair follicles: a possible promising future for the treatment of alopecia. Arch Dermatol Res 312, 361–371 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-019-02020-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-019-02020-w

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