Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40265344›Full record

ReviewDermatopathology (Basel, Switzerland)2025

A Scoping Review on Melasma Treatments and Their Histopathologic Correlates.

Aurore D Zhang, Michelle Lazar, Emiliya Akhundova, Candice E Brem, Eric J Beltrami, Neelam A Vashi

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Dermatopathology (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Aurore D ZhangDepartment of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 609 Albany St., J502, Boston, MA 02118, USA.ORCID 0009-0005-5953-4036
Michelle LazarDepartment of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 609 Albany St., J502, Boston, MA 02118, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1996-6799
Emiliya AkhundovaDepartment of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 609 Albany St., J502, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Candice E BremDermatopathology Section, Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 609 Albany St., J300, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Eric J BeltramiDepartment of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 609 Albany St., J502, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Neelam A VashiDermatology Institute of Boston, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Melasma is an incredibly common dyschromic disorder, mostly impacting women with skin of color. There are three variants of melasma based on the depth of pathologic involvement: epidermal, mixed, and dermal. While there are many treatments for melasma, there is a paucity of research on melasma treatments and their dermatopathological correlates. A scoping review was conducted of all human trials on melasma with histopathologic analysis, including 37 trials in the final analysis. Most studies were conducted on women with a Fitzpatrick skin type of III or greater. Strong histologic evidence supports the utilization of retinols/retinoids for epidermal melasma and microneedling for dermal melasma. There is a paucity of trials conducted on melasma utilizing histologic correlates, and fewer still that are comprehensive to include analyses on quality of life.

Indexed as

dermatopathologylaser treatmentMASImelasmaMELASQoLquality of liferetinoidstopical therapyWood’s lamp

Identifiers

PMID40265344
PMCPMC12015840

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.