Table 2.

Main characteristics of the ten patients with facial melasma submitted to skin biopsy on the region with malar melasma and adjacent photoexposed facial skin, whose samples were used for: growth curve, morphology and SA-β-gal evaluation, or gene expression test.

Growth curve, morphology and SA-β-gal evaluation
Case	Age	Phototype	Time length of melasma (years)	Family history of melasma	mMASI
1	46	IV	10	Yes	9.5
2	46	IV	13	Yes	8.2
3	35	III	2	Yes	6.6
4	41	IV	11	No	11.5
5	38	IV	10	No	12.4

Gene expression test
6	41	IV	23	No	9.9
7	38	IV	17	Yes	19.2
8	41	III	16	Yes	9.5
9	47	III	28	Yes	7.6
10	44	IV	5	No	10.1

mMASI (modified Melasma Area Severity Index.