Sudden Hair "Felting" during Styling Procedure: The Puzzle is Solved.

Acute scalp hair "felting" is a rare acquired condition that presents with sudden severe twisting, entangling, and matting of scalp hair into a stiff tightly packed mass, in otherwise healthy individuals. In such conditions, the mechanism of hair matting is almost like the process of "felting" in wool and textile industry, where adjacent fibers are compacted together in a warm liquid medium. Herein, a case of acute hair "felting" during styling practice is discussed with the possible predisposing factors, prophylaxis, and treatment.

Differential diagnostic features between congenital haemangioma, KHE, and congenital fibrosarcoma: a single-centre experience.

Congenital haemangioma (CH) is a rare benign vascular tumour presenting at birth with excellent prognosis. Usually, CH regresses without treatment within the first few months of life. Kaposiform Haemangioendothelioma (KHE) is another type of vascular tumours that has been described as benign with locally aggressive potential.

Circulating Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Basic Fibroblastic Growth Factor in Infantile Hemangioma Versus Vascular Malformations.

Few preliminary reports studied the utility of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for differentiation between infantile hemangiomas (IHs) and vascular malformations. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of serum VEGF and bFGF levels in differentiating IHs from vascular malformations and identifying the stage and clinical course of IHs. Serum levels of VEGF and bFGF were assessed in 60 infants and children with various cutaneous vascular anomalies defined in 3 groups: proliferating IHs (n = 25), involuting IHs (n = 23), and vascular malformations (n = 12), in comparison with their levels in 40 healthy matched control.

ALK1 expression in oral lichen planus: a possible relation to microvessel density.

Objective: To assess the expression of activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) and investigate its possible relationship with microvessel density (MVD) in different forms of oral lichen planus (OLP) compared to controls' biopsies.

Methods: Biopsies from 20 reticular/papular OLP (R/PLP), 20 atrophic/erosive OLP (A/ELP) patients, and 20 healthy subjects were immunohistochemically analyzed and statistically compared and correlated for ALK1 expression and MVD as assessed by CD34 expression.

Results: All OLP specimens revealed the presence of positive cytoplasmic CD34 immunostaining in endothelial cells, with statistically high significant MVD in each of R/PLP (Median; M = 4.

Circulating CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) T-regulatory cells in patients with atopic dermatitis after narrowband-ultraviolet B phototherapy.

Background: Previous studies showed controversial results regarding CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) T-regulatory cells (Tregs) in atopic dermatitis (AD) and effect of therapy.

Methods: Circulating CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) Tregs were assessed by flow cytometry in 20 controls and 20 patients with AD at baseline and after narrowband ultraviolet B with assessment of disease severity.

Results: Patients showed higher pretreatment T-effector cells (Teffs) (%) and lower pretreatment Tregs FoxP3 expression% than controls (P = 0.

Uremic pruritus pathogenesis, revisited.

Introduction: Uremia is the most important systemic cause of pruritus. Uremic pruritus (UP) was found to affect 50-90% of patients undergoing dialysis and about 25% of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Despite its high prevalence, morbidity and the marked influence on quality of life, UP remains poorly characterized.

Dermoscopic features of clinically inflammatory dermatoses and their correlation with histopathologic reaction patterns.

Dermoscopy can be used in diagnosis of some chronic inflammatory dermatoses. In this study, the single most recent, fully developed lesion in 74 patients with clinically inflammatory dermatoses was examined dermoscopically and correlated histopathologically with psoriasiform, lichenoid, or spongiotic reaction patterns. Vascular component (morphology and arrangement) was the most prominent feature in the studied patterns mostly in the shape of dots (45 specimens, 60.

Serum Th1/Th2 and macrophage lineage cytokines in leprosy; correlation with circulating CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) T-regs cells.

Not only macrophages, T-helper (Th)1 and Th2, but also CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (T-regs) are involved in immune response to Mycobacterium leprae. We aimed to evaluate serum interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-12p70 (macrophage cytokines), interferon-γ (IFN-γ) (Th1 cytokine), IL-4 (Th2 cytokine) and circulating CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) T-regs, in untreated leprosy patients. Forty three patients and 40 controls were assessed for the mentioned cytokines using ELISA.

IL-18 gene polymorphisms in aphthous stomatitis vs. Behçet's disease in a cohort of Egyptian patients.

Objective: A clinical investigation of the potential correlation of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms at -137 (G/C) and -607 (C/A) in the promoter region of the IL-18 gene, with the susceptibility to aphthous stomatitis and Behçet's disease.

Patient And Methods: This study included 80 aphthous stomatitis patients and 80 patients with Behçet's disease. Eighty healthy subjects were enrolled as a control group.

A pilot trial using topical regular crystalline insulin vs. aqueous zinc solution for uncomplicated cutaneous wound healing: Impact on quality of life.

When wounds are treated with regular insulin, they are also being treated with zinc; used in the formula to crystallize insulin molecules. It is not clear if regular insulin-accelerated wound healing is due to insulin, the zinc it contains, or both. Thus, we aimed to compare topical regular crystalline insulin (containing zinc) vs.

Assessment of serum level of interleukin-1b and interleukin-12 in leprosy: impact of previous Bacillus Calmitte Guerin vaccination.

Macrophages play an important role in attempt to eliminate mycobacteria, via production of cytokines, including interleukin-1, and interleukin-12. Bacillus Calmitte Guerin (BCG) vaccination, known to induce interleukin-1β in tuberculosis, was originally aimed at tuberculosis control, but it showed efficacy against leprosy. Our aim was to estimate serum levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-12, in leprosy, and to assess the impact of previous BCG vaccination on their levels.

Dermoscopic features of facial pigmented skin lesions.

Four types of facial pigmented skin lesions (FPSLs) constitute diagnostic challenge to dermatologists; early seborrheic keratosis (SK), pigmented actinic keratosis (AK), lentigo maligna (LM), and solar lentigo (SL). A retrospective analysis of dermoscopic images of histopathologically diagnosed clinically-challenging 64 flat FPSLs was conducted to establish the dermoscopic findings corresponding to each of SK, pigmented AK, LM, and SL. Four main dermoscopic features were evaluated: sharp demarcation, pigment pattern, follicular/epidermal pattern, and vascular pattern.

STUDY OF THE ROLE OF SERUM FOLIC ACID IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS: A CORRELATION WITH SERUM IgE AND DISEASE SEVERITY.

Background: Most atopic dermatitis (AD) patients have elevated serum immunoglobulin E (IgE). Impaired folic acid (FA) metabolism was found to reduce the intracellular methyl donor pool, associated with a higher prevalence of atopy.

Aim: To assess serum IgE and FA in AD patients and to correlate their levels with the disease severity, and with each other.

Multiple isolated cutaneous plexiform schwannomas.

Plexiform schwannoma is a rare neurogenic tumor, arising from skin and subcutaneous tissue. The presence of multiple schwannomas suggests a possible association with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). A 50-year old male patient presented with multiple papulo-nodular cutaneous lesions on both arms and forearms.

Assessment of osteoporosis in psoriasis with and without arthritis: correlation with disease severity.

Background: The most frequent extracutaneous association with psoriasis is arthritis. Because proinflammatory cytokines are increased in psoriasis, patients with this disease may be more prone to osteoporosis than the healthy individuals.

Methods: We evaluated 50 patients with psoriasis, with or without psoriatic arthritis (PsA), for the presence and degree of osteoporosis by performing dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and obtaining serum osteoprotegrin (OPG) levels.

Study of telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression in normal, aged, and photo-aged skin.

Background: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme capable of extending chromosome ends with telomeric DNA sequences. It protects the germline and stem cells from senescence by preventing telomere attrition. Cutaneous aging includes intrinsic aging, and photo-aging.

Cutaneous disorders in uremic patients on hemodialysis: an Egyptian case-controlled study.

Background: We studied the prevalence of mucocutaneous disorders in uremic adults and children on hemodialysis (HD) vs. controls, in Egypt.

Methods: A total of 206 Egyptians with uremia (163 adults and 43 children) undergoing HD, and 199 healthy controls (161 adults and 38 children), were examined for mucocutaneous abnormalities.

Circulating CD4+ CD25 high FoxP3+ T cells vary in different clinical forms of leprosy.

Background: CD4(+) CD25(high) FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (T-regs) were reported to increase in chronic infections. We aimed at studying their frequency in leprosy to investigate their role during Mycobacterium leprae infection.

Methods: Using flow cytometry, the frequency and FoxP3 expression of circulating T-regs was assessed in 38 leprosy patients and 38 healthy controls.

Serum Interleukin-4 and Total Immunoglobulin E in Nonatopic Alopecia Areata Patients and HLA-DRB1 Typing.

Background. Interleukin-4 (IL-4), a Th(2) cytokine, can stimulate immunoglobulin E (IgE) transcription. No previous studies evaluated the genetic mechanisms in nonatopic AA patients with elevated serum IgE.