Linear scleroderma in an adolescent woman treated with methotrexate and excimer laser.

A 17-year-old Caucasian woman presented for evaluation and treatment of a tender expanding linear plaque on her left flank. Biopsy findings were consistent with morphea. Treatment initially included intralesional steroid injections and topical calcipotriene ointment, followed by methotrexate and excimer laser.

Efficacy and safety of denileukin diftitox retreatment in patients with relapsed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

This open-label phase III trial, a companion to an earlier placebo-controlled trial, evaluated safety and efficacy of denileukin diftitox (DD) in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who relapsed after responding to DD primary treatment in the earlier trial. Twenty relapsed patients (stages IA-III) received DD 18 μg/kg/day intravenously on days 1-5 of a 21-day cycle, for ≤ 8 cycles. Efficacy was assessed monthly during the first year then every 3 months.

Denileukin diftitox for the treatment of CD25 low-expression mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome.

In a placebo-controlled study, denileukin diftitox (DD) was effective against cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) expressing CD25. An open-label companion study examined the efficacy and safety of DD in 36 patients with skin biopsies containing < 20% CD25 cells by immunohistochemistry staining (CD25 low expression). Patients received DD 18 μg/kg/day for 5 consecutive days every 3 weeks for up to eight courses.

Etanercept improves psoriatic arthritis patient-reported outcomes: results from EDUCATE.

Experience Diagnosing, Understanding Care, and Treatment With Etanercept (EDUCATE) is a multicenter, phase 4, 24-week, open-label study of the safety and efficacy of etanercept therapy in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in routine dermatologic practice. We present data on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from EDUCATE, which demonstrate that subjects with PsA achieved clinically meaningful improvements in both skin- and joint-related PROs after 24 weeks of treatment.

The mechanisms of action of nicotinamide and zinc in inflammatory skin disease.

Nicotinamide (niacinamide), a physiologically active form of niacin (nicotinic acid), in combination with zinc is being assessed in clinical studies for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases such as acne vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid. The basis for these investigations is the variety of potential mechanisms of action of nicotinamide and zinc, including an anti-inflammatory effect via inhibition of leukocyte chemotaxis, lysosomal enzyme release, lymphocytic transformation, mast cell degranulation, bacteriostatic effect against Propionibacterium acnes, inhibition of vasoactive amines, preservation of intracellular coenzyme homeostasis, and decreased sebum production. Other possible mechanisms involve suppression of vascular permeability and inflammatory cell accumulation, as well as protection against DNA damage.

Immunoglobulin M predominance in cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Background: Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (LE). Our goal was to characterize the most frequent immune reactants in the skin biopsies of cutaneous LE and identify the most common immunofluorescence staining patterns.

Methods: DIF results of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, IgM, C3, and fibrinogen from 199 patients between 1989 and 1998 were retrospectively analyzed.

Lepromatous phlebitis of the external jugular vein.

Mycobacterium leprae (M leprae), the causative agent of Hansen's disease, is endemic in many areas of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central America, the Pacific Islands, and the Philippines. The spectrum of clinical disease is dependent on the patient's cell-mediated immunity and might range from localized anesthetic patches or plaques to disseminated disease. If undiagnosed, progression with damage to the involved sensory and motor nerves might occur.

Graftskin therapy in epidermolysis bullosa.

Background: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a family of 23 genetic skin disorders for which treatments are mainly supportive. Graftskin is a bilayered living human skin construct characterized by a normal expression profile of all the genes reported as mutant in EB.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency and durability of graftskin in the treatment of EB.

A complete and durable response to denileukin diftitox in a patient with mycosis fungoides.

We describe a patient with stage IA mycosis fungoides treated with denileukin diftitox as part of a randomized phase III trial. The patient had a rapid and complete response and has remained in remission for more than 5 years without maintenance therapy. Although denileukin diftitox is not usually considered for patients with early-stage mycosis fungoides, our experience provides anecdotal evidence that fusion toxin therapy may be worth considering as a treatment for patients with stage I disease.

Narrowband UVB phototherapy for early-stage mycosis fungoides.

Background: Narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) phototherapy has been shown to be effective for the treatment of various dermatoses.

Objective: We evaluated the effect of NB-UVB in the treatment of early stage mycosis fungoides (MF).

Methods: The response of 24 patients (12 stage IA, 12 stage IB) with patch stage MF to thrice weekly NB-UVB was assessed.

Clotrimazole/betamethasone diproprionate: a review of costs and complications in the treatment of common cutaneous fungal infections.

The use of antifungal/corticosteroid combinations as topical therapy for dermatophytoses has been criticized as being less effective, more expensive, and the cause of more adverse cutaneous reactions than antifungal monotherapy. The combination of clotrimazole and betamethasone diproprionate (Lotrisone) is a mix of an azole antifungal and a high-potency corticosteroid, and is one of the most widely prescribed of these combinations. Our objective was to describe the beneficial and deleterious effects of Lotrisone in the treatment of common cutaneous fungal infections and its relative cost-effectiveness.