Publications by authors named "Mandy Schram"

Importance: A clear dosing regimen for methotrexate in psoriasis is lacking, and this might lead to a suboptimal treatment. Because methotrexate is affordable and globally available, a uniform dosing regimen could potentially optimize the treatment of patients with psoriasis worldwide.

Objective: To reach international consensus among psoriasis experts on a uniform dosing regimen for treatment with methotrexate in adult and pediatric patients with psoriasis and identify potential future research topics.

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The use of nonstandardized and inadequately validated outcome measures in atopic eczema trials is a major obstacle to practising evidence-based dermatology. The Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative is an international multiprofessional group dedicated to atopic eczema outcomes research. In June 2011, the HOME initiative conducted a consensus study involving 43 individuals from 10 countries, representing different stakeholders (patients, clinicians, methodologists, pharmaceutical industry) to determine core outcome domains for atopic eczema trials, to define quality criteria for atopic eczema outcome measures and to prioritize topics for atopic eczema outcomes research.

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Background: Patients with severe atopic eczema frequently require systemic treatment to control their disease. Methotrexate and azathioprine are proposed as off-label treatment options, but direct comparisons are lacking.

Objectives: We sought to compare the efficacy and safety of methotrexate versus azathioprine in adults with severe atopic eczema.

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Objective: To summarize evidence regarding the effectiveness, efficacy, and safety of off-label azathioprine use in dermatology.

Data Sources: We searched the MEDLINE (1950-2009), EMBASE (1980-2009), and CENTRAL (1996-2009) databases on October 9, 2009. The main search terms were azathioprine and its synonyms.

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There is no gold standard for a definite diagnosis of atopic dermatitis. For the time being, several lists of diagnostic criteria have been proposed, some of them in actual use. The Millennium Criteria have been proposed to diagnose atopic dermatitis and to differentiate it from atopiform dermatitis.

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Age period prevalence of atopic eczema (AE), a very common skin disease, has increased during the past decennia. This expansion seems to be ending in wealthy countries, while an increase is observed in developing nations, for which there is no firm explanation. Recent steps in understanding AE are the detection of skin barrier related filaggrin null mutations in approximately 25% of patients and the recognition of IL-31 as a molecule possibly involved in the itch (pruritus).

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