Immune-Related Trafficking and Signaling in Human Skin Associated With Low-Power, Infrared Laser Treatment

The researcher can use low power laser light one-minute exposures delivered to the skin at non-painful and non-damaging dose. The resulted in significant immunologic changes in the skin that included up-regulation of specific skin tissue and skin genes and the activation and mobilization of specific skin cells.

In the first part of the study, the researcher will make a determination of the laser irradiance that will be tolerated. The highest irradiance the subject tolerates for 1 minute will be identified as that subject's maximum tolerable irradiance. After all subjects are tested, researcher will select the highest irradiance that was tolerated and use this in the second phase of the study.

Approximately 24 hours after the first test exposures, each subject will receive a one minute laser treatment at the maximum tolerable irradiance. Four hours later, two skin biopsies will be collected from laser treated site a untreated.

One tissue sample will be test at UC Irvine Dept. of Dermatopathology to evaluate microscopic skin changes, one skin sample will be delivered to Massachusetts General Hospital to evaluate RNA and protein expression.