Ulcerative necrobiosis lipoidica successfully treated with photodynamic therapy: case report and literature review

Abstract

Ulcerative necrobiosis lipoidica (NL) is a rare skin condition refractory to conventional therapies. We treated a forty-four year old woman affected by widespread ulcerative NL with 6 sessions of topical ALA-PDT at two weeks intervals. At the end of the treatment a dramatic improvement of the clinical features was observed, with complete healing of cutaneous ulcers and marked reduction of erythema in all the treated areas. The mechanism of action of PDT in ulcer healing is still unknown; however, it is possible to hypothesize a combination of anti-inflammatory effect, immunomodulatory activity and keratinocytes photoactivation.

Keywords: Matrix metalloproteinases; Necrobiosis lipoidica; Photodynamic therapy; Ulceration.