Disseminated superficial porokeratosis (DSP) is a very uncommon dermatologic condition of unknown etiology, characterized by the clonal proliferation of atypical keratinocytes associated with aberrant keratinocyte differentiation. These lead to the development of the specific cornoid lamella that separates atypical from normal keratinocytes. DSP is most frequently encountered in immunosuppressed patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutoimmune blistering diseases represent a group of chronic severe, disabling, and potentially fatal disorders of the skin and/or mucous membranes, primarily mediated by pathogenic auto-antibodies. Despite their rarity, these diseases are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and profound negative impact on the patient's quality of life and impose a considerable economic burden. Rituximab, an anti-CD-20 monoclonal antibody, represents the first line of therapy for pemphigus, regardless of severity and a valuable off-label therapeutic alternative for subepidermal autoimmune blistering diseases as it ensures high rates of rapid, long-lasting complete remission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutoimmune bullous diseases (AIBDs) are characterized by the formation of vesicles, bullous lesions, and mucosal erosions. The autoantibodies target the cellular anchoring structures from the surface of epidermal keratinocyte named desmosomes, leading to a loss of cellular cohesion named acantholysis. AIBDs are classified into intraepidermal or subepidermal types based on clinical features, histological characteristics, and immunofluorescence patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: New oncologic therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), have revolutionized the survival and prognosis of cancer patients. However, these therapies are often complicated by immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) that may impact quality of life and potentially limit their use. Among these adverse events are psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis that may develop de novo or flare under treatment with ICIs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Melanoma, a malignant tumor arising from uncontrolled melanocytic proliferation, commonly found in the skin but capable of affecting extracutaneous sites, ranks fifth among diagnosed oncological entities and is a significant cause of cancer deaths, constituting over 80% of skin cancer mortality. Genetic factors and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, from both natural and artificial sources, are the primary risk factors. : We reported the case of a 25-year-old female with numerous pigmented nevi and notable changes attributed to extensive indoor tanning sessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTinea capitis is a dermatophyte scalp infection with a marked prevalence among the pediatric population. However, in the last few years, its epidemiology has changed due to increasing population migration worldwide. Host-specific and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis of tinea capitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystemic disease which affects approximately 2-3% of the population globally, whose onset is triggered by genetic and environmental factors which activate both dendritic cells and keratinocytes, resulting in the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 17, interleukin 23, interleukin 22, and interleukin 1β. An in-depth understanding of the pathophysiology of psoriasis led to significant advances in the development of safe and efficient novel therapeutic options, with four classes of biologic therapy being approved for the management of moderate to severe psoriasis: tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors, interleukin 23 inhibitors, anti-interleukin 12/23 agents, anti-interleukin 17 agents, as well as small-molecule inhibitors, such as apremilast. Psoriasis is associated with comorbid conditions, namely psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, psychiatric disorders, malignancy, as well as inflammatory bowel disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic wounds encompass a myriad of lesions, including venous and arterial leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), pressure ulcers, non-healing surgical wounds and others. Despite the etiological differences, chronic wounds share several features at a molecular level. The wound bed is a convenient environment for microbial adherence, colonization and infection, with the initiation of a complex host-microbiome interplay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe occurrence of both melanoma and glioma was first suggested by the observation of a familial association between these conditions, which was later confirmed by the description of the melanoma-astrocytoma syndrome, an extremely rare, inherited affliction in which people have an increased risk of developing melanoma and nervous system tumors. Taking into consideration the common embryologic precursor, the neuroectoderm, it was hypothesized that this syndrome is associated with a genetic disorder. While some families with germline mutations are prone to develop just melanomas, others develop both melanomas and astrocytomas or even other nervous-system neoplasms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDermatofibroma (DF) or fibrous histiocytoma is one of the most frequent benign cutaneous soft-tissue lesions, characterized by a post-inflammatory tissue reaction associated with fibrosis of the dermis. Clinically DFs have a polymorphous clinical aspect from the solitary, firm, single nodules to multiple papules with a relatively smooth surface. However, multiple atypical clinicopathological variants of DFs have been reported and, therefore, clinical recognition may become challenging, leading to a more burdensome identification and sometimes to misdiagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe problem addressed by dictionary learning (DL) is the representation of data as a sparse linear combination of columns of a matrix called dictionary. Both the dictionary and the sparse representations are learned from the data. We show how DL can be employed in the imputation of multivariate time series.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) considerably alters patients' quality of life, often for extended periods, due to pruriginous skin lesions, impaired sleep, unexpected development of angioedema, and failure of conventional treatments in properly controlling signs and symptoms. Recent research focused on the development of new therapeutic agents with higher efficacy. Although the production of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies against certain allergens is not a characteristic of the disease, treatment with omalizumab, a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, proved efficient and safe in patients with moderate to severe chronic spontaneous urticaria uncontrolled by H1-antihistamines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, debilitating disease with a profound impact on the quality of life of patients.
Objectives: To describe a rare case of HS with postmenopausal onset, to review the literature data regarding late onset HS and to discuss the current knowledge on the role of endocrine abnormalities in the development of HS.
Case Report: We report the case of a 68-year-old patient in whom HS occurred 10 years after menopause.
Although cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) account for only 20-25% of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs), they are responsible for most deaths attributable to NMSCs. Apart from SCC seric level, which increases in late-stage disease, no other predictive biomarker for cSCC exists. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) serves as a predictive biomarker and therapeutic target in numerous malignancies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFColorectal cancer (CRC) is an important public health issue, in terms of incidence and mortality, with approximately 1.8 million new cases reported worldwide in 2018. Advancements in understanding pathophysiological key steps in CRC tumorigenesis have led to the development of new targeted therapies such as those based on epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFR inhibitors).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectrochemotherapy (ECT) is an effective bioelectrochemical procedure that uses controlled electrical pulses to facilitate the increase of intracellular concentration of certain substances (electropermeabilization/ reversible electroporation). ECT using antitumor drugs such as bleomycin and cisplatin is a minimally invasive targeted therapy that can be used as an alternative for oncologic patients not eligible for surgery or other standard therapies. Even though ECT is mainly applied as palliative care for metastases, it may also be used for primary tumors that are unresectable due to size and location.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by an excessive hyperproliferation of keratinocytes and a combination of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences. The pathogenesis of psoriasis is complex and the exact mechanism remains elusive. The study of the prevalence of psoriasis will allow the estimation of the number of people suffering from this condition at the national level, as well as the development and validation of a questionnaire to estimate the prevalence and the risk factors associated with the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) is one of the most frequent chronic conditions of the modern world. Pollen carried by the wind from pollinated trees is a major source of SAR. Betulaceae, Oleaceae and Platanus are the most important sources of airway sensitization with regard to tree pollen and, therefore, they are included in the official recommendations of skin prick testing by different official societies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRespiratory allergies represent a major public health issue in the modern world. Pollens are among the most significant causes of seasonal allergic rhinitis, with pollens of wind-pollinated trees representing an important cause. Members of the Platanaceae family (, ) are well-recognized sources of allergenic pollens worldwide, due to their high capacity of sensitization and widespread usage as ornamental urban trees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer syndrome (HLRCC) is an exceptionally rare autosomal dominant condition caused by a germline heterozygous mutation of the fumarate hydratase gene. It manifests as multiple piloleiomyomas, associated with numerous, early-onset uterine leiomyomas in female patients, as well as a highly increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), most often type 2 papillary RCC. HLRCC has been described in association with adrenal cortical hyperplasia, pheochromocytoma, adrenal cortical carcinoma, and other solid tumors, but the exact relationship between these disorders has not yet been clarified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllergic diseases have been classified in the last decades using various theories. The main classes of the newest classification in allergic respiratory diseases focus on the characterization of the endotype (which takes into account biomarkers related to determinant pathophysiological mechanisms) and of the phenotype (based on the description of the disease). Th2, Th1 and Th17 lymphocytes and the type of inflammatory response mediated by them represent the basis for Th2 and non-Th2 endotype classification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets
August 2021
Background: Despite significant progress in the diagnosis of contact dermatitis, the identification by specific tests or biomarkers remains an unsolved issue, particularly when needed for the confirmation of the occupational origin of the disease.
Objective: To characterize the plasma proteome profile in occupational dermatitis in workers of paint industry.
Methods: The study has a case-control design, comparing exposed workers with and without occupational contact dermatitis, matched for age, gender, occupational history, and comorbidities.
Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic and frequent condition characterized by an excessive response of the immune system to innocent substances encountered in the nasal mucosa. These reactions are mediated by many factors, including chemokines. Chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3, a macrophage inflammatory protein 1α) is a chemokine implicated in the activation of mast cells - white cells shown to be highly involved in orchestrating allergic reactions.
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