Background: Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) is a chronic remitting condition that affects the genital skin of females of all ages. Although qualitative studies have been conducted that have focused on women with VLS in mid-life or beyond, less is known about the experiences of individuals with VLS from childhood or adolescence onward.
Objectives: To gain an understanding of the experiences of women with a history of juvenile VLS (JVLS) with regard to the impact of the disease on their personal lives, and their experiences and needs regarding care and guidance.
Objectives: Studies on the consequences of juvenile vulvar lichen sclerosus (JVLS) in adulthood are limited. A number of measuring tools are available for analyzing adult vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS), but these have not been applied in studies on JVLS. The aim is to study physical findings, quality of life, sexual well-being, and self-image in adult women with a history of juvenile VLS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe prevalence of skin diseases such as leprosy, and limited dermatological knowledge among frontline health workers (FHWs) in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, led to the development of the NLR SkinApp: a mobile application (app) that supports FHWs to promptly diagnose and treat, or suspect and refer patients with skin diseases. The app includes common skin diseases, neglected tropical skin diseases (skin NTDs) such as leprosy, and HIV/AIDS-related skin conditions. This study aimed to test the supporting role of the NLR SkinApp by examining the diagnostic accuracy of its third edition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study aimed to examine potential discriminatory characteristics of dermatoscopy and dynamic optical coherence tomography (D-OCT) on vulvar high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (vHSIL) and lichen sclerosus (LS) compared with healthy vulvar skin.
Methods: A prospective observational clinical trial was performed in 10 healthy volunteers, 5 vHSIL and 10 LS patients. Noninvasive imaging measurements using dermatoscopy and D-OCT were obtained at several time points, including lesional and nonlesional vulvar skin.
Background: is a nontuberculous mycobacterium that causes skin and soft tissue infections. Treatment consists of multiple antibiotics, sometimes combined with surgical debridement. There is little evidence for the choice of antibiotics, the duration of treatment, and the role of susceptibility testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: New user-friendly diagnostic tests for detection of individuals infected by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae), the causative pathogen of leprosy, can help guide therapeutic and prophylactic treatment, thus positively contributing to clinical outcome and reduction of transmission. To facilitate point-of-care testing without the presence of phlebotomists, the use of fingerstick blood (FSB) rather than whole blood-derived serum is preferred.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe high prevalence of skin diseases in resource-poor settings, where health workers with sufficient knowledge of skin diseases are scarce, calls for innovative measures. Timely diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases, especially neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that manifest with skin lesions, such as leprosy, is crucial to prevent disabilities as well as psychological and socioeconomic problems. Innovative technological methods like telemedicine and mobile health (mHealth) can help to bridge the gap between the burden of skin diseases and the lack of capable staff in resource-poor settings by bringing essential health services from central level closer to peripheral levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The clinical spectrum of leprosy is dependent on the host immune response against Mycobacterium leprae or the newly discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis antigen. Helminth infections have been shown to affect the development of several diseases through immune regulation and thus may play a role in the clinical manifestations of leprosy and leprosy reactions. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportion of helminth infections in leprosy and its association with the type of leprosy and type 2 leprosy reaction (T2R).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNerve damage leading to impairment and permanent disability is the major problem in the course of a leprosy infection. Most of the damage occurs during two types of leprosy reactions, type 1 reaction (T1R) and type 2 reaction (T2R). Timely and adequate treatment may prevent this damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 12-year-old boy returned from a summer holiday in North Morocco with a slowly progressive erythematous, infiltrated plaque with a central crust on his right cheek. We diagnosed this as cutaneous leishmaniasis. Treatment for Leishmania major infection failed; subsequent PCR species typing revealed Leishmania infantum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Leprosy, a chronic disease initiated by Mycobacterium leprae, is often complicated by acute inflammatory reactions. Although such episodes occur in at least 50% of all leprosy patients and may cause irreversible nerve damage, no laboratory tests are available for early diagnosis or prediction of reactions. Since immune- and genetic host factors are critical in leprosy reactions, we hypothesize that identification of host-derived biomarkers correlated to leprosy reactions can provide the basis for new tests to facilitate timely diagnosis and treatment thereby helping to prevent tissue damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF