The present investigation was carried out to study the anti-rheumatic activities of linear polarized near-infrared (NIR) irradiation on hind paw inflammation in rat collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) models. CIA rat was induced by immunization of female Lewis rats with intradermal injection of an emulsion of bovine type II collagen and incomplete Freund′s adjuvant. The animals were subdivided into the following groups: control group, CIA group and CIA rats plus NIR irradiation with NIR group (n=7). NIR group was applied on rat knee joint area and was irradiated third weekly for 12 weeks in NIR (600-1,600 nm) at a dose of 5 J/cm2 for 500 s. The hind paw swelling was assessed by the increase in hind paw thickness. The cutaneous temperature of the hind paws were analyzed by infrared thermography, calcaneus bone resorption was evaluated by measuring Micro-CT. The serum levels of the inflammatory cytokines and arthritic factor MMP-3 were determined by ELISA. In NIR group at 2 weeks after arthritis induction, swelling inhibition index was 39.1± 5.2%. The temperature of the hind paws decreased by NIR irradiation. NIR irradiation decreased bone erosion in rats and reduced the bone resorption in CIA rats. IL-1β, IL-6, CRP and MMP-3 serum levels were significantly lower in NIR group.

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The device that irradiates infrared radiation (IR) and high radiofrequency (RF) simultaneously (ST ReFirme™: IR-RF) was applied to the fat vanish weight loss method and its effect and the mechanism of action for tightening was investigated in this study Seven obese male patients whose abdominal circumference is more than 85 cm were selected as a test subject First of all IR-RF was continuously irradiated to approximately 1% of the umbilical region The measurement of body weight abdominal circumference and blood pressure thermograph and all sorts of blood tests and measurement of the size of abdominal fat by Computed Tomography (CT) were carried out before and 30 min and 60 min after the irradiation Then the changes in these parameters were examined The body weight and abdominal circumference showed declining trend from 30 min after the irradiation Time-course changes were found in the catecholamine system and lipid / carbohydrate metabolism In the case which showed radical decline of body weight and abdominal circumference the trend of declining visceral fat was also observed by CT This methodology is expected to be a one of the treatment choices in new territory of obese treatment for the future It was found out that metabolism changes in catecholamine and lipid / carbohydrate systems will occur during IR-RF irradiation The possibility of contribution of this influence particularly on a fat cell to tightening was suggested

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It has been the great problems that the coronary intervention (PCI) using the balloon had a low initial success rate and a high recurrence rate. An excimer laser, one of the Debulking devices, is considered to solve those problems of balloon angioplasty because of excellent vaporizing effect.
Although we have new sophisticated devices now, there are still some difficult lesions treated by coronary intervention, thrombus abundant lesions, re-stenotic lesions, severely calcified lesions and totally occluded lesions. There are a large possibility of dispersing debris of the thrombus and atheroma, existing in a culprit lesion of acute myocardial infarction or in a degenerative vein graft, into the distal coronary bed during procedures of angioplasty. Moreover, although we have a drug eluting stent proven to have a remarkable low rate of restenosis after implantation, the established treatment for in-stent re-stensis does not exist.
We tested the clinical feasibility of the laser by focusing on acute myocardial infarction and in-stent re-stenosis. In terms of acute myocardial infarction, we performed LAMI trail as joint research of three institutions in the Hanshin area. In the result, procedure success was 96.9% and a final TIMI3 acquisition rate 97.8%. Those results were as good as CARMEL trial. We had the excellent final %MLD (5.0%), although some adjunctive therapy such as stenting was needed because of residual stentosis of 56.5% immediate after laser. Moreover, in 28 patients with in-stent re-stenosis, we compared the laser with the drug elution stent, a most effective device for preventing re-stenosis, in clinical usefulness and cost of treatment. In seven patients treated laser and 21 patients implanted DES, there was no significant difference of MACE (death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization rate) between two groups. Because the cost of laser treatment was a lower, laser is expected as a new treatment of in-stent re-stenosis.

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Q-switched lasers enabled complete removal of traumatic tattoos. Incomplete tattoo removals or treatments leaving scars or hypopigmentation showing the trace of the original tattoo design are meaningless. Laser treatment of congenital benign pigmented lesions such as nevus of Ota and aberrant Mongolian spots should be started as early as possible for complete removal with less number of treatments, shorter treatment period, and shorter treatment time without side effects or general anesthesia and hospitalization. The other benefit of early treatment is avoiding the children from bad memories of having birth marks. Acquired dermal melanosis can be treated with no down time.

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Progress of laser Treatment made recently in aesthetic anti-aging therapy is remarkable As people age, various forms of facial skin pigmentations and aging wrinkled skin occur. It is importance of appropriate diagnosis and treatment in accordance with the diagnosis when treating pigmentation and the wrinkle is treated according to a part of face. In this paper, we will report the laser treatment of facial skin pigmentation, senile lentigo ,melasam, freckles, acquired dermal melanocytosi and actinic keratosis and for aging wrinkled skin.

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A recently developed long-pulsed dye laser with a skin-cooling device is reported to be more effective in the treatment of capillary malformation compared to conventional dye lasers. Long pulsed dye laser therapy has been shown to enable more intense irradiation than conventional dye laser therapies and thus be more effective for larger blood vessels. This result suggests the need for further treatments such as more intense irradiation, overlapping irradiation, irradiation using a larger aperture, and alexandrite laser and Nd:YAG laser therapy. Alexandrite laser and Nd:YAG laser therapy are effective especially for bulky capillary malformation.

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Capillary malformations, so called port-wine stains (PWS), consist of dysfunctional dilated microvessels in normal dermis. In 1980s, flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (PDL) was introduced to achieve the selective destruction of microvasculature, and PDL has become to be a golden standard method for PWS. Since late 1990s the specifications of PDL was improved and skin cooling devices were developed to avoid the epidermal injuries. In 1999 long-pulsed PDL with adjustable pulse duration (LPPDL) was introduced, and the therapeutic outcome was remarkably improved. However the complete removal of PWS has been challenging. Currently, for the treatment of refractory PWS, the various wavelength laser machines have been applied, and new irradiation techniques have been tried.
We report the laser treatment of PWS from the point of development of laser devices in this article.

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Lasers and non-laser lights are widely used in the aesthetic dermatology field, and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a representative non-laser light technology. Appropriate understanding of IPL′s unique characteristics makes it useful for various purposes of skin treatments. Its mechanisms and treatment methods are explained in this issue.

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Smooth beam is a laser diode with 1450nm wavelength with dynamic cooling device which makes the surface of the targeted skin cooled with tetrafluoroethane gas (-26.1°C). Since the wavelength of 1450nm is well absorbed in water, a water rich inflammatory acne lesion is a good target for this laser. In this study, clinical improvement was seen in 75.6%. More detail data were 29.3% of patients had an excellent improvement, 46.3% of patients had a good improvement.

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Fractional laser skin resurfacing (FLSR) treatment produces a distinctive thermal damage pattern which produce discrete columns referred as micro thermal zones (MTZs) in the upper dermis since the tissue surrounding the each column is spared.
We have tried out carbon dioxide FLSR (UltraPulse Encore DeepFX™ laser; Lumenis, Santa Clara, Calif., USA) with hairless rat skin, and found that it produces tiny central ablative zones in addition to MTZs. There was rapid migration of keratinocytes, which promote a rapid re-epithelialization within 24 hours in the epidermis. It also seemed to promote tissue shrinkage in the upper dermis and the wound healing responses in terms of regeneration of new collagen, proliferation of myofibroblasts and formation of new vessels which results in the skin tightening.
In clinical trials, carbon dioxide (CO₂) FLSR provides remarkable results in improving the acne scars and the skin texture with minimal downtime and a safety profile. Complications of erythema, edema and mild degree of postinflammatory hyperpigmentation have resolved within 1-3 days and several months, respectively. The new fractional laser seems to be a very exciting advance in the field of acne scars and non-surgical skin tightening.

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Laser-assisted liposuction (LAL) or laser lipoplasty is widely used in Europe and Latin America, and has been introduced to Japan in 2004 and the United States in 2006. After the introduction of Smartlipo laser (DEKA, Italy), LAL has been rapidly advanced and in 2009 more than ten products of lasers for LAL are commercially available in the market.
Recent models have advantages for faster and safer lipoplasty in their technologies, i.e., high power irradiation, skin temperature monitoring, acceleration sensor, and tough fibers. Selection of wavelength has been also developed. The author presents the basics and clinical experiences with these recent lasers for LAL.

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