Folliculitis decalvans is characterized by a persistent, abnormal subepidermal microbiota.

Folliculitis decalvans (FD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. Although Staphylococcus aureus, frequently found on lesional skin, is thought to play a causal role, the importance of its involvement remains controversial. To examine the role of S aureus, we compared superficial and subepidermal microbiota in 20 FD patients who had S aureus on lesional skin and in 20 healthy controls using culture techniques and genomic identification, before and after an anti-staphylococcal treatment; we also screened for S aureus virulence factors.

Direct Approach to Quantum Tunneling.

The decay rates of quasistable states in quantum field theories are usually calculated using instanton methods. Standard derivations of these methods rely in a crucial way upon deformations and analytic continuations of the physical potential and on the saddle-point approximation. While the resulting procedure can be checked against other semiclassical approaches in some one-dimensional cases, it is challenging to trace the role of the relevant physical scales, and any intuitive handle on the precision of the approximations involved is at best obscure.

Evolution in technique: use of hyalurostructure for lips rejuvenation as an alternative to needle injection without troncular anesthesia.

Purpose: To enhance lips ageing rejuvenation with specific microcannula and hyaluronic acid.

Method: Clinical review was conducted from December 2010 to December 2011 among 46 patients complaining of predictable changes on lips and perioral region such as deficiency in contour definition, volume and projection. Lips rejuvenation injections were made using the hyalurostructure technique.

The Emervel French survey: a prospective real-practice descriptive study of 1,822 patients treated for facial rejuvenation with a new hyaluronic acid filler.

Background: Emervel consists of a range of 5 hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers (Touch, Classic, Lips, Deep, and Volume), with a fixed HA concentration (20 mg/mL), and various degrees of cross-linking and calibration.

Objectives: To describe the current use of Emervel fillers in France.

Methods: Prospective multicenter, cross-sectional, real-practice, descriptive survey, including 1,822 patients injected with Emervel fillers for face rejuvenation by 58 French physicians between September 2010 and July 2011.

[Syphilis].

Syphilis is back since 2000. Early syphilis comprises primary syphilis, secondary syphilis and early latent syphilis (less than 1 year duration). During early phases of syphilis, patients are more contagious and neurologic complications are rare.

The France-PDT study: a national prospective observational cohort survey on the use of methyl-aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy in France, with up to 6-month follow-up.

Background: The efficacy and safety of MAL-PDT have been shown in actinic keratoses (AK), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and Bowen's disease (BD).

Objectives: To appraise the current use of MAL-PDT in France.

Methods: National prospective cohort survey, including 583 patients treated for the first time with MAL-PDT.

Effect of early syphilis infection on plasma viral load and CD4 cell count in human immunodeficiency virus-infected men: results from the FHDH-ANRS CO4 cohort.

Background: Concomitant syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is increasingly frequent in industrialized countries.

Methods: From a large hospital cohort of HIV-infected patients followed up in the Paris area between 1998 and 2006, we examined the effect of early syphilis on plasma HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4 cell counts. We compared 282 HIV-1-infected men diagnosed as having incident primary or secondary syphilis with 1233 syphilis-free men matched for age (±5 years), sexual orientation, participating center, length of follow-up (±6 months), and immunologic and virologic status before the date of syphilis diagnosis (index date).

Oculofacial contour asymmetries: Management of combined treatment with hyalurostructure and botulinum toxin injections.

Purpose: To assess the long-term results of the treatment of oculofacial asymmetries using a combined injection schedule for injections of hyaluronic acid, with a specific micro cannula and botulinum toxin.

Method: A retrospective study was conducted from January 2009 to January 2010. Patients were treated in the Alcazar Eye Clinic and Oculoplastic Department in Princess Grace Hospital, Monaco.

Progressive upregulation of PD-1 in primary and metastatic melanomas associated with blunted TCR signaling in infiltrating T lymphocytes.

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) is involved in T-cell tolerance to self-antigens. For some cancers, it has been suggested that the expression of a ligand of PD-1, namely PD-L1, could contribute to tumor escape from immune destruction. Nevertheless, the relationship between PD-1 expression on tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TILs), disease stage, and TIL responsiveness is still poorly documented.

Mediastinal tuberculosis in an adult patient with cystic fibrosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is rarely observed in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We report the first case of mediastinal TB, associated with leg pain and skin rash, in an adult patient with CF, and discuss factors suggestive of TB in the course of CF.

Management of syphilis in the HIV-infected patient: facts and controversies.

After reaching an all time low at the turn of the millennium in several industrialized countries, the syphilis incidence is rising again, perhaps as a consequence of unsafe sexual behavior in response to improved antiretroviral therapeutic options for HIV. Since the beginning of the HIV pandemic, numerous reports on the various aspects of the interaction between syphilis and HIV have been published. Controversies persist on many issues of the management of coinfected patients.

Origins of syphilis and management in the immunocompetent patient: facts and controversies.

Despite the continued efficacy of penicillin since the 1940s, many aspects of the natural history, diagnosis, and management of syphilis remain controversial. A key factor among the numerous factors explaining the persistence of significant areas of controversies is the absence of a gold standard direct method for distinguishing between the different stages of syphilis and appraising treatment response. This contribution presents an overview of some of the most debated aspects of the origins, diagnosis, and management of syphilis in immunocompetent patients.

Ustekinumab for the treatment of psoriasis: review of three multicenter clinical trials.

Ustekinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds to the p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23, has been recently approved in Europe and the U.S. for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

[Clinical presentation of syphilis].

Since the turn of the millennium, the incidence of syphilis is on the rise in France and in other developed countries. The majority of syphilis cases currently occur in men having sex with men and half of the cases occur in HIV-positive patients. Multiple partners and non protected intercourses are frequently reported.

Pathophysiology, etiologic factors, and clinical management of oral lichen planus, part I: facts and controversies.

Lichen planus (LP) is an inflammatory disease of the stratified squamous epithelia of unknown etiology. LP affects most frequently the oral mucosa, but it may also involve other mucosa and the skin. Oral LP (OLP) most frequently affects woman aged between 30 and 60 years.

The historical basis of a misconception leading to undertreating atopic dermatitis (eczema): facts and controversies.

The quest for clarifying the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis (eczema) has lasted for 25 centuries. Yearning to discern the primum movens of atopic dermatitis, physicians aimed to identify the curative therapy. Recent scientific efforts has brought to the light an ever-growing amount of interplaying pathophysiologic factors, including the epidermal barrier, the digestive flora, food, early infections and antigenic stimulations, and innate and adaptive immune response; however, overfocusing on some of these factors, along with misconceptions about the benefit/risk balance of topical therapies, has sometimes led topical therapies being disregarded.

Clinical and serologic baseline and follow-up features of syphilis according to HIV status in the post-HAART era.

There is a lack of large studies appraising the effect of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the course of syphilis since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). We aimed to appraise the effect of HIV on clinical and serologic features of syphilis at baseline and during follow-up in the post-HAART era.We designed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive syphilis cases, diagnosed between 2000 and 2007, in an academic venereal disease center.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae antibiotic resistance in Paris, 2005 to 2007: implications for treatment guidelines.

Quinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae rates have increased worldwide since 1994. The objective of this study was to appraise: (i) the antimicrobial susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a venereology clinic in Paris, between 2005 and 2007; and (ii) the factors associated with quinolone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae.

The epidemiological and clinical presentation of syphilis in a venereal disease centre in Paris, France. A cohort study of 284 consecutive cases over the period 2000-2007.

Since 2000, the incidence of syphilis has risen in developed countries. An updated knowledge of syphilis features is the key for early diagnosis and treatment. Our objective was to appraise the clinical and epidemiological presentation of syphilis in Paris, France.

Predictive factors of eczema-like eruptions among patients without cutaneous psoriasis receiving infliximab: a cohort study of 92 patients.

Background: Anti-tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha agents are limited by their side effects. Eczema is one of the most frequent adverse reactions affecting quality of life.

Objective: To assess potential predictive risk factors for eczema in patients receiving infliximab.

[Biologic therapies in the treatment of psoriasis].

Psoriasis impairs significantly the quality of life. Systemic treatments have inconstant efficiency and dose-dependant toxicity. Since 2004, four biologic therapies - infliximab, etanercept, éfalizumab and adalimumab - are approved in Europe for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis, with failure, intolerance or contra-indication to at least 2 "classical" systemic treatments, including phototherapy, methotrexate and ciclosporin.

Non-sexually related acute genital ulcers in 13 pubertal girls: a clinical and microbiological study.

Objective: To describe the clinical and microbiological features of acute genital ulcers (AGU), which have been reported in virgin adolescents, predominantly in girls.

Design: Descriptive study. We collected data on the clinical features, sexual history, blood cell count, biochemistry, microbiological workup, and 1-year follow-up.

The neutrophilic dermatoses.

The neutrophilic dermatoses (ND) may present with pustules, plaques, ulcerations, and general malaise. They are secondary to the invasion of the skin by normal polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the absence of infection. ND are often associated with particular systemic diseases.

Significance of erythema nodosum and pyoderma gangrenosum in inflammatory bowel diseases: a cohort study of 2402 patients.

Erythema nodosum and pyoderma gangrenosum are the most common cutaneous manifestations in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We conducted the current study to assess the cumulative prevalence of erythema nodosum and pyoderma gangrenosum in patients with IBD and to appraise their association with demographic, clinical, and prognostic factors related to IBD. Between 2000 and 2005, data for all patients with IBD at our gastroenterology department were prospectively and systematically collected using a standardized protocol.