An update on the pharmacological management of acne vulgaris: the state of the art.

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit that affects approximately 9.4% of the global population. Current treatment strategies aim to target as many pathogenic factors involved in the appearance of acne lesions and are centered on a systematic treatment escalation based on disease severity, extension, and treatment response, starting with topical treatments for mild cases and progressing over to systemic therapies in more severe cases.

Guidance for the pharmacological management of acne vulgaris.

Introduction: Many international guidelines and expert consensuses are available to help the clinician diagnose and treat acne vulgaris; however, a simplified practical guidance that integrates current existing published recommendations is still lacking. This article aims to give practical and simplified insight into the treatment of acne.

Areas Covered: Herein, the author discusses the treatment of comedonal, papulopustular, and nodular/cystic/conglobate acne.

An overview of sarecycline for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris.

Introduction: Sarecycline is a novel, tetracycline-class antibiotic specifically designed to treat inflammatory acne. It offers a narrow spectrum of activity (mainly against Cutinebacterium acnes), and it shows less in vitro activity than other tetracyclines against enteric Gram-negative bacteria, offering advantages over older tetracyclines by decreasing the disruption of the gastrointestinal microbiome and the likelihood of developing bacterial resistance.

Areas Covered: The drug's pharmacology, safety profile, and clinical efficacy are discussed.

Evaluating FMX-101 as a promising therapeutic for the treatment of acne.

Introduction: Oral minocycline is a mainstay of therapy for moderate-to-severe acne; however, systemic side effects which include hepatotoxicity, lupus-like syndrome, drug hypersensitivity syndrome, autoimmune hepatitis, polyarteritis nodosa, gastrointestinal side effects and skin hyperpigmentation are of concern. Topical antibiotics commonly used in acne, such as erythromycin and clindamycin, present high P. acnes resistance rates which has opened the market for new topical antibiotics.

New and emerging drugs for the treatment of acne vulgaris in adolescents.

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is the most common skin disease worldwide, yet current treatment options, although effective, are associated with unwanted side effects, chronicity, relapses and recurrences. The adequate control of the four pathogenic mechanisms involved in the appearance of acne lesions is key to treatment success. This paper aims to discuss the novel treatment modalities that have surfaced in consequence of new knowledge obtained in acne pathogenesis.

Novel pharmacological approaches for the treatment of acne vulgaris.

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is the most common skin disease worldwide; yet, current treatment options, although effective, are associated with unwanted side effects, chronicity, relapses and recurrences. The adequate control of the four pathogenic mechanisms, involved in the appearance of acne lesions, is paramount to treatment success.

Areas Covered: The authors discuss and evaluate the pathogenic pathways related to the mechanisms of action of novel molecules, which are currently under investigation for the treatment of acne vulgaris.

Short anagen hair syndrome.

Short anagen syndrome (SAS) is a condition in which hair does not grow long. It usually perceived by parents in children around 2-4 years of age. It is a benign disease of the hair cycle.

New investigational drugs for androgenetic alopecia.

Introduction: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common form of hair loss, however current treatment options are limited and moderately effective. In the past few years, there has been an increased interest in deciphering the molecular mechanisms responsible for this disorder, which has opened the possibility of novel treatments that promise to not only stimulate hair growth, but also to induce formation of new hair follicles.

Areas Covered: The future holds more effective topical treatments with less systemic side effects (such as topical 5-alfa-reductase inhibitors), prostaglandin analogs and antagonists, medications which act through the Wnt signaling pathway, stem cells for hair regeneration, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and more effective ways of transplanting hair.

Necrotic carpal tunnel syndrome in a child.

Median nerve entrapment at the wrist level causes carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Although frequent in adults, CTS is a rare entity in children. Bouvier described an exceptional necrotic variant in 1979 in which skin, nail, and bone lesions are typical.