Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRi) are approved for treating various cancers. Given that EGFR signaling is crucial for normal skin growth and repair, inhibiting this pathway can disrupt skin homeostasis and integrity. Although generally well tolerated, molecularly targeted therapies can lead to skin-related adverse effects that significantly impact patients' quality of life, often resulting in treatment interruptions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of transfusions, whether involving whole blood or specific blood components, is essential for managing various clinical conditions. Many cases are acute, often requiring post-transfusion imaging evaluation. While there is no absolute contraindication for chest imaging following blood transfusion, it should be approached cautiously.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsoriasis is an inflammatory dermatosis with a complex pathogenesis, significantly impacting the quality of life of patients. The role of oxidative stress and gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of this disease is increasingly studied, appearing to underlie the comorbidities associated with this condition. We present the first prospective observational study conducted in Romania evaluating the interrelationship between gut microbiota and hematological, inflammatory, biochemical, and oxidative stress parameters in treatment-naïve psoriasis patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe pathogenesis of chronic wounds (CW) involves a multifaceted interplay of biochemical, immunological, hematological, and microbiological interactions. Biofilm development is a significant virulence trait which enhances microbial survival and pathogenicity and has various implications on the development and management of CW. Biofilms induce a prolonged suboptimal inflammation in the wound microenvironment, associated with delayed healing.
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 PDFPyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare, ulcerative, rapidly progressing, destructive, inflammatory cutaneous disease that is both diagnostically and therapeutically challenging. Due to the lack of standardized diagnostic criteria or conclusive guidelines for patient management, clinicians often find themselves without reliable tools for the daily management of PG patients. Additionally, the lack of strict therapeutic compliance in patients with this diagnosis might contribute to a catastrophic evolution of the condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTattooing is the procedure of implanting permanent pigment granules and additives into the dermal layer of the skin, serving various purposes such as decoration, medical identification, or accidental markings. There has been a significant rise in the popularity of decorative tattooing as a form of body art among both teenagers and young adults. Thus, the incidence of tattoos is increasing, with expanding applications such as permanent makeup, scar camouflage, nipple-areola, lips, and eyebrows tattooing, and utilization in oncological radiotherapy such as colon marking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUltrasonography is a well-tolerated procedure that aids in the targeted esthetic therapies of special cutaneous regions, as well as in the prevention (vascular mapping, identification of previous filler, and others) and management of potential complications (vascular occlusion, external vascular compression, product misplacement or migration, inflammatory reactions, and others). It has lately been promoted as the first-line imaging tool to address injectables. In this article, we aim to review the evolving role of ultrasonography in cosmetic filler procedures, from the fundamental ultrasound characterization of cosmetic fillers to the ultrasound-enhanced detection and management of cosmetic filler complications, including ultrasound's role in hyaluronidase-guided injections for cosmetic filler dissolution.
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 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 diagnosis of bilateral panuveitis was made in a 9-year-old girl who was referred to our hospital for blurred vision accompanied by periorbital and abdominal pain. Endothelial dusting, vitreous haze and optic nerve edema were deemed as signs of involvement of all segments of the eye. The bloodwork results were suggestive of infectious uveitis, with elevated inflammatory markers and the patient was treated with IV antibiotics.
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 PDFPsoriasis is a complex immune-mediated inflammatory disorder that generates enormous interest within the scientific communities worldwide, with new therapeutic targets being constantly identified and tested. Despite the numerous topical and systemic medications available for the treatment of psoriasis, alternative therapies are still needed for the optimal management of some patients who present with localized, resistant lesions. Novel insights into the contribution of cutaneous neurogenic inflammation in the pathogenesis of psoriasis have yielded exciting new potential roles of nerve-targeting treatments, namely botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A), for the management of this disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsoriasis is a chronic multisystem inflammatory disease associated with a plethora of comorbidities including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, anxiety, depression, chronic kidney disease, and malignancy. Advancement in unveiling new key elements in the pathophysiology of psoriasis led to significant progress in the development of biologic agents which target different signaling pathways and cytokines involved in the inflammatory cascade responsible for the clinical manifestations found in psoriasis. Currently available novel therapeutic options for moderate-severe psoriasis include tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors, inhibitors of the interleukin 17, and inhibitors of the interleukin 23.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Cosmet Investig Dermatol
April 2022
Post-COVID-19 telogen effluvium has been largely reported as a sequela in the post-acute phase of COVID-19, causing major emotional distress among the affected patients. The affected individuals are further exposed to a vast amount of misinformation from the internet and social media and it is important for physicians to be familiar with the phenomenon and provide appropriate counselling to their patients regarding this condition. This article aims to review the evidence-based complementary strategies that can help enhance hair regrowth after post-COVID-19 hair loss, from psychological support and patient education to the importance of optimal nutrition and potential indications and benefits of oral nutritional supplementation, as well as the role of both topical and injectable hair growth stimulators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlucagonomas are neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) that arise from the alpha cells of the pancreatic islets. They are typically slow-growing tumors associated with abnormal glucagon secretion, resulting in one or more non-specific clinical features, such as necrolytic migratory erythema (NME), diabetes, diarrhea, deep vein thrombosis, weight loss, and depression. Here, we report the case of a 44-year-old male with a history of diabetes mellitus, presenting with a pruritic and painful disseminated cutaneous eruption of erythematous plaques, with scales and peripheral pustules, misdiagnosed as disseminated pustular psoriasis and treated for 2 years with oral retinoid and glucocorticoids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Equity Health
December 2021
Background: In 2018 and 2019, paediatric vision screening was implemented in Cluj County, Romania, where universal paediatric vision screening does not yet exist. We report on the preparation and the first year of implementation.
Methods: Objectives, target population and screening protocol were defined.
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 PDFPlatelet-rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a significant regenerative therapy used alone or combined mainly with stem cells, autologous fat grafts, hyaluronic acid, and biomaterials in a variety of medical fields, especially in hair regrowth, wound healing, and sports and rehabilitation medicine. However, the results obtained with this biologic therapy are heterogeneous and conflicting. The observed disparities in the effectiveness of PRP therapies may be due to a lack of standardization in blood processing and preparation.
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 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 PDF