Publications by authors named "Ahmed A Touni"

Vitiligo has a complex multifactorial etiology involving a T-cell mediated autoimmune response to cutaneous melanocytes. Microbial dysbiosis has been assigned a contributing role in vitiligo etiology. Treating vitiligo can be a challenging task and finding novel treatment approaches is crucial.

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Background: Acquired melanocytic nevi are common benign skin lesions that require removal under certain circumstances. Shave removal is a straightforward treatment modality with a risk of recurrence.

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of dermoscopy-guided shave removal of acquired melanocytic nevi in the face of dark-skinned individuals who are more liable to postsurgical complications.

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Oral neomycin administration impacts the gut microbiome and delays vitiligo development in mice, and topical antibiotics may likewise allow the microbiome to preserve skin health and delay depigmentation. Here, we examined the effects of 6-week topical antibiotic treatment on vitiligo-prone pmel-1 mice. Bacitracin, Neosporin, or Vaseline were applied to one denuded flank, while the contralateral flank was treated with Vaseline in all mice.

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Vitiligo is a common acquired pigmentary disorder that presents as progressive loss of melanocytes from the skin. Epidermal melanocytes and keratinocytes are in close proximity to each other, forming a functional and structural unit where keratinocytes play a pivotal role in supporting melanocyte homeostasis and melanogenesis. This intimate relationship suggests that keratinocytes might contribute to ongoing melanocyte loss and subsequent depigmentation.

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Narrowband-ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) is considered one of the main therapeutic tools in vitiligo, which is able to induce repigmentation and halt depigmentation. However, little remains known about the effect of NB-UVB on TYR gene family, the main pigmentary genes, in vitiligo patients. To assess the effect of NB-UVB on expression of some genes related to the pigmentary problem of vitiligo; tyrosinase (TYR), tyrosinase related protein 1 (TYRP1) and tyrosinase related protein 2 (TYRP2), mRNA levels of those genes were quantitatively evaluated by Real-Time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) in skin biopsies obtained from 30 patients with nonsegmental vitiligo and five healthy controls.

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Background: Vitiligo is a depigmentary skin disfigurement resulting from destruction of melanocytes caused by a possible malfunctioning immunity. This destruction could be linked to an aberrant T-cell-mediated immune response. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) are immune checkpoints capable of downregulating T-cell immune functions.

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