Publications by authors named "Alison M. Layton"

Acne and sensitive skin can take a profound toll on patients' well-being, which can be exacerbated if the conditions are experienced together. This narrative review aims to identify appropriate treatments to facilitate a holistic management approach to acne (One Acne™), sensitive skin, and acne-induced sequelae and describe the role of treatments in improving skin quality. Topical retinoids are considered the preferred first-line option for acne treatment by dermatologists, either as monotherapy or in combination with other treatments, because of their ability to target various aspects of the disease.

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  • - Acne is a common skin condition worldwide that presents management challenges due to varying grading systems, severity factors, and its chronic nature, which necessitates ongoing treatment to prevent scarring.
  • - The UK Acne Working Group reviews the latest NICE guidelines to offer practical insights for better acne management based on current evidence.
  • - The group highlights new findings since the original NICE guidelines, including new acne treatments, methods for assessing severity, strategies for treating body acne, and hormonal therapies specifically for adult women.
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  • Acne is a common skin condition that affects women's quality of life and often leads to long-term antibiotic use, prompting the study of spironolactone as a potential treatment.
  • The study was a randomized, double-blind trial assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of spironolactone for treating facial acne in women aged 18 and older, continuing their usual topical treatments.
  • Results showed that among the 410 women randomized, the treatment group successfully tolerated spironolactone at increasing doses, with a focus on improvements in acne-related quality of life over a 12-week period.
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  • A phase 2a clinical trial demonstrated that the leishmaniasis vaccine ChAd63-KH is safe and can generate an immune response in Sudanese patients with post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL).
  • A follow-up phase 2b randomized trial assessed its therapeutic efficacy, comparing the vaccine to a placebo in 86 participants with uncomplicated PKDL.
  • Results indicated no significant improvement in clinical outcomes or severity of PKDL, suggesting that ChAd63-KH does not provide therapeutic benefits for this condition in the studied population.
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Background: Localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) is a chronic ulcerating disease. A literature review identified inconsistencies in clinical trials. The aims of this study were to reach a consensus on the most important domains to measure when assessing LCL, agree on parameters to measure the domains, and develop a tool representing a Core Outcome Set (COS), for use in clinical assessment of LCL.

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  • The leishmaniases are significant parasitic diseases without available human vaccines, prompting a study on cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania major.
  • Between January and August 2022, 14 participants were exposed to infected sand flies to assess lesion development (take rate) and safety at a 12-month follow-up.
  • The study found a 64% take rate for CL lesions, with mild scarring as the only adverse effect, and it created a detailed map of immune responses in CL lesions to aid in future vaccine development.
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Acne (syn. acne vulgaris) is a common inflammatory skin disorder associated with puberty and adolescence. The disease is characterized by comedoneous lesions, papules, pustules, and nodules that are mostly found on the face.

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Background: A wide variety of dermocosmetics (products with both active skincare and cosmetic activity) are available for the management of acne vulgaris. These products are important because they may be the first line of approach for patients desiring to self-treat and they can also have beneficial effects-reducing lesion counts and improving global acne severity. When used in conjunction with medical therapy, dermocosmetics can improve tolerability and enhance results.

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Objective: This study aims to estimate the cost-effectiveness of oral spironolactone plus routine topical treatment compared with routine topical treatment alone for persistent acne in adult women from a British NHS perspective over 24 weeks.

Design: Economic evaluation undertaken alongside a pragmatic, parallel, double-blind, randomised trial.

Setting: Primary and secondary healthcare, community and social media advertising.

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Background: The use of decentralised clinical trials (which bring trials to patients through remote processes and technology versus central on-site visits) has been thought to be a potential solution to common recruitment and retention barriers. However, there is a lack of evidence to understand the experiences, needs and preferences of the public to inform trial methodologies that appeal to different populations. We report participant experiences of SAFA, a partially decentralised randomised clinical trial, to inform the methodology used in future dermatology trials that aim to appeal to women aged 18 and over.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acne is a widespread condition that significantly affects individuals' quality of life, raising concerns about long-term oral antibiotic use for treatment.
  • The study aimed to evaluate and compare recent acne treatment guidelines, focusing on specific treatments and overall reporting improvements since the last review five years ago.
  • Among the nine guidelines reviewed, there was general agreement on topical treatments as the primary approach, yet differences existed in defining acne severity, the use and duration of antibiotics, and recommendations for non-antibiotic treatments alongside antibiotics.
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Background: Acne, a commonly treated skin disease, requires patient-centered management due to its varying presentations, chronicity, and impact on health-related quality of life. Despite this, evidence-based clinical guidelines focus primarily on clinical severity of facial acne, omitting important patient- and disease-related factors, including ongoing management.

Objectives: To generate recommendations to support patient-centered acne management, which incorporate priority and prognostic factors beyond conventional clinical severity, traditionally defined by grading the appearance and extent of visible lesions.

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Objective: To assess the effectiveness of oral spironolactone for acne vulgaris in adult women.

Design: Pragmatic, multicentre, phase 3, double blind, randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Primary and secondary healthcare, and advertising in the community and on social media in England and Wales.

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Acne Vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, and one of the most prevalent inflammatory dermatoses among teenagers, affecting more than >95% of boys and 85% of girls. Adult female acne (AFA) is a subtype of acne, pragmatically defined as affecting women over the age of 25. The clinical presentation of AFA may be distinguished from adolescent acne according to some key clinical and psychosocial characteristics.

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Acne vulgaris is one of the commonest inflammatory skin diseases seen worldwide, affecting all ethnicities and races, with a peak prevalence between age 15 years and 20 years. The burden of this condition, and the resulting clinical and psychological sequelae, is substantial. The visual appearance of acne and its sequelae, including scarring and pigment changes, frequently results in psychological and social morbidity because of concerns about appearance.

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Background: Truncal acne is frequently underdiagnosed despite affecting around half of those with facial acne. The objective was to provide an overview of the literature on the incidence of truncal acne according to age, gender, and acne severity.

Methods: A narrative review of data from recent large surveys and a literature search in PubMed on the incidence of truncal acne across subgroups of age, gender, and acne severity.

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Acne vulgaris is typically treated with a combination of a topical retinoid plus an antimicrobial agent, as recommended by national and international evidence-based guidelines around the globe. Adapalene, a synthetic topical retinoid, is available in two concentrations (0.1% and 0.

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Background: Acne is the most common inflammatory skin disease in adolescence. It is also prevalent in adults, especially females. The disease has a considerable impact on health-related quality of life.

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Background: Acne is a chronic disease with a varying presentation that requires long-term management. Despite this, the clinical guidelines for acne offer limited guidance to facilitate personalized or longitudinal management of patients.

Objectives: To generate recommendations to support comprehensive, personalized, long-term patient management that address all presentations of acne and its current and potential future burden.

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Background: Truncal acne is common and burdensome for patients; however, there is paucity of evidence and guidance for the management of truncal acne. Currently, clinical practice guidelines provide very little guidance on the assessment or management of truncal acne.

Objectives: To identify unmet needs in truncal acne and make recommendations to address clinical and management gaps using an international consensus.

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Introduction: The leishmaniases represent a group of parasitic diseases caused by infection with one of several species of parasites. Disease presentation varies because of differences in parasite and host genetics and may be influenced by additional factors such as host nutritional status or co-infection. Studies in experimental models of infection, vaccination of companion animals and human epidemiological data suggest that many forms of leishmaniasis could be prevented by vaccination, but no vaccines are currently available for human use.

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