The Impact of Pyschological Stress on Acne.

Acne is one of the most common skin disorders. It is a multifactorial and complex disease, originating in the pilosebaceous follicle where a hereditary background, androgens, skin lipids, disorders of keratinization, inflammatory signaling, and regulatory neuropeptides seem to be mainly involved. Even though emotional stress has long been suspected to trigger or exacerbate acne, its influence on acne severity has been mostly underestimated until recently when studies have brought new data about the different mechanisms and possible factors involved in this interaction.

PERIORAL DERMATITIS: STILL A THERAPEUTIC CHALLENGE.

Perioral dermatitis is a common and often chronic dermatosis. In its classic form, it primarily affects women aged 15 to 45 years, but there are also variants including lupus-like and granulomatous perioral dermatitis, where granulomatous form is more common in childhood and affects mostly prepubescent boys. The etiopathogenesis of the disease remains unclear, but there is a frequent finding of prolonged use of topical products, especially corticosteroids, in the treatment of rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis, preceding the clinical manifestation of perioral dermatitis.

Chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, granuloma inguinale, genital herpes simplex infection, and molluscum contagiosum.

Chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale may be considered as tropical venereal diseases. These diseases were a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge in past centuries. Currently, patients with these bacterial infections that are endemic to the tropics occasionally consult with dermatologists in temperate climates.

Acne and diet: facts and controversies.

Acne is a common skin disorder characterized by follicular hyperkeratinization and obstruction of the pilosebaceous follicles, androgen stimulated sebum production, colonization of the follicles by Propionibacterium acne, and inflammation. A large number of epidemiological studies have shown a low incidence of acne in non-Western societies, suggesting that diet might be an important factor in acne pathogenesis, particularly in mediating inflammation, oxidative stress and androgen stimulation in the acne process. Consequently, it has been hypothesized that diet might have a preventive or therapeutic effect in this skin disorder.

Seborrheic dermatitis: an update.

Seborrheic dermatitis is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disorder clinically characterized by scaling and poorly defined erythematous patches. The prevalence of adult seborrheic dermatitis is estimated at 5%. Although the exact cause of seborrheic dermatitis has yet to be understood, Malassezia yeasts, hormones (androgens), sebum levels and immune response are known to play important roles in its development.

Current therapeutic approach to acne scars.

The occurrence and incidence of acne scarring is different. Lasting for years, acne can cause both physical and psychological scarring. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodulocystic acne but may also result from more superficial inflamed lesions or from self-manipulation.

Hypertrophic lupus erythematosus: case report.

Discoid lupus erythematosus is the most common form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus. It is more common in women than in men, in individuals between 20 and 40 years of age. It is an inflammatory autoimmune disease in which genetically predisposed individuals are stimulated by hormonal and a variety of exogenous factors including UV radiation, stress, infections, and even temperature changes.

Gorlin syndrome patient with large deletion in 9q22.32-q22.33 detected by quantitative multiplex fluorescent PCR.

Background: Gorlin syndrome is a rare autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by a wide range of developmental abnormalities and various tumors. The syndrome is caused by mutations in PTCH1, a tumor suppressor gene located at 9q22.32.

Treatment of massive rhinophyma by combined electrosurgery and CO2 laser.

A case of massive rhinophyma that produced significant functional and cosmetic difficulties was treated using electrosurgery and carbon dioxide laser. Minimal bleeding occurred during the operative procedure despite grotesque enlargement and high degree of vascularity of the skin and soft tissue. Using this technique, restoration of normal function and excellent cosmetic effect was achieved without any complication.

Oxidative stress and ferritin expression in the skin of patients with rosacea.

Background: Rosacea is a common chronic light-sensitive inflammatory skin disease of unknown origin. The purpose of this work was to determine the parameters of oxidative stress, antioxidative capacity, and the pathophysiologic role of ferritin expression in skin cells of patients with rosacea.

Objectives: The investigation consisted of measurements of serum peroxide levels, serum total antioxidative potential levels, and immunohistochemical analyses of ferritin in skin tissue samples.

A dose-finding study of azithromycin in the treatment of acne vulgaris.

This open, multicenter, comparative, randomized study included 120 subjects with papulopustular stage of acne vulgaris. Subjects were randomized to one of the three treatment groups (A, total dose 4.5 g of azithromycin in 7 weeks; B, total dose 6.

Mutation in exon 7 of PTCH deregulates SHH/PTCH/SMO signaling: possible linkage to WNT.

The novel PTCH mutation and clinical manifestations within Gorlin syndrome family links PTCH haploinsufficiency and aberrant activation of the Wnt pathway. We report a family case with Gorlin syndrome, characterized by the usual phenotype features such as widespread basocellular tumors and craniofacial and bone malformations, but also including a less common appearance of craniopharyngioma. These clinical manifestations might be associated with a novel constitutional mutation of the PTCH gene, 1047insAGAA, which we found in exon 7.

[What should we know about contact hypersensitivity to local glucocorticoids?].

Local glucocorticoids are still the most frequently used drugs in dermatology. In recent years there have been an increasing number of reports on contact allergic reactions to glucocorticoid. Patients with contact allergy to glucocorticoid generally present with chronic dermatitis that is exacerbated by and fails to respond to glucocorticoid therapy.

Atypical clinical appearance of pemphigus vulgaris on the face: case report.

Pemphigus vulgaris is an organ-specific autoimmune mucocutaneous disorder. In the majority of cases, the disease manifests initially with oral lesions, and may be limited to a single site for months before spreading. A 78-year-old woman with yellowish crusted areas on her left preauricular region and close to the medial angle of her right eye is presented.

Cytokeratin 10 and Ki-67 nuclear marker expression in keratoacanthoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

The most frequent consideration in the clinical and histologic differential diagnosis of keratoacanthoma is squamous cell carcinoma. In the present study, cytokeratin 10 expression and proliferation rate as measured by Ki-67 expression were compared between 50 clinically and histologically diagnosed keratoacanthomas and 50 squamous cell carcinomas. Tissue sections from the skin were immunohistochemically stained with anti-cytokeratin 10 and anti-Ki-67 monoclonal antibodies.

Etiopathogenesis, classification, and current trends in treatment of rosacea.

Rosacea is a common chronic dermatosis characterized by varying degrees of flushing, erythema, telangiectasia, edema, papules, pustules, ocular lesions, and phymas. Etiology and pathogenesis of rosacea are still unknown. Many possible causes have been described as inducing the disease or contributing to its manifestation, such as genetic predisposition, abnormal vascular reactivity, changes in vascular mediating mechanisms, Helicobacter pylori infection, Demodex folliculorum infestation, seborrhea, sunlight, hypertension, and psychogenic factors.

Variable expression of Gorlin syndrome may reflect complexity of the signalling pathway.

Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome (NBCCS) or Gorlin syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by cancer predisposition and multiple developmental defects. Syndrome related disorders have been attributed to alterations of PTCH gene, which plays an important role in Shh signalling pathway. Unresolved complexities of the pathway impede understanding of mechanisms through which PTCH alterations lead to variable phenotype expression in Gorlin syndrome patients, while the role of chromosomal instability is not yet clear.