Continuous Eplerenone Treatment in Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy: Long-Term Results from a Pilot Study.

Purpose: To assess the long-term morpho-functional retinal and choroidal changes in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (cCSC) pachychoroid eyes in response to continuous oral eplerenone (EPL) treatment.

Methods: This pilot study was conducted on patients with unilateral exudative cCSC. We enrolled a total of 17 exudative cCSC and 17 non-exudative fellow eyes of 17 patients.

Risk assessment of the allergic dermatitis potential of environmental exposure to hexavalent chromium.

Although hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), is a potent sensitizer and inducer of allergic contact dermatitis and is found in many common materials, no standard or guideline currently exists for protection against these effects in environmental exposure. There appears to be a generalized allergenic potential among the various compounds of Cr(VI). Estimates of the prevalence of Cr sensitivity in the population are uncertain, but range from about 2% of the total population in Finland to as high as 20% in U.

Photoirritation (phototoxicity) from topical agents.

Research with phototoxic agents relevant to man has been usually related to their clinical toxicity potential (bergamot dermatitis) or attempts to harness their toxic properties for the therapy of vitiligo and psoriasis. This review is concerned mainly with the former. Our insights are related mainly to information gained from bergamot, an obvious form of clinical toxicity that long awaited simply animal or human models for experimental study.

Usefulness and limitations of various guinea-pig test methods in detecting human skin sensitizers-validation of guinea-pig tests for skin hypersensitivity.

Several guinea-pig predictive test methods were evaluated by comparison of results with those obtained with human predictive tests, using ten compounds that have been used in cosmetics. The method involves the statistical analysis of the frequency with which guinea-pig tests agree with the findings of tests in humans. In addition, the frequencies of false positive and false negative predictive findings are considered and statistically analysed.

Further studies of effects of vehicles and elicitation concentration in experimental contact sensitization testing in humans.

Further confirmation of the effects of vehicles and elicitation concentration in experimental contact sensitization testing with fragrance ingredients is reported. A dose-response relation was seen when sensitized human subjects were challenged with dihydrocoumarin, alantroot oil and diethylmalleate. Furthermore, alcohol was shown to be a more effective vehicle than petrolatum, when cinnamon bark oil, vetiver acetate and diethylmalleate were used in predictive tests.

Hair dye toxicity--a review.

This article reviews local and systemic effects which relate to hair dye formulation and hair dye ingredient tests and experiences in man and animals. Mutagenic and carcinogenic aspects are discussed. In a very limited way, safety and hazards of using hair dyes are interpreted for consumers.

Exploratory skin penetration findings relating to the use of lead acetate hair dyes. Hair as a test tissue for monitoring uptake of systemic lead.

Two experiments were conducted. In the first, 9 adult male subjects applied a marketed hair dye containing 2% lead acetate according to prescribed directions daily for a period of 90 days. Scalp, axillary and pubic hair were monitored for lead content before and at the end of the test period.

Dermal toxicity of 8-methoxypsoralen administered (by gavage) to hairless mice irradiated with long-wave ultraviolet light.

Hairless mice were administered various amounts of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) by gavage, followed by irradiation with ultraviolet light (UVA) two or more times per week for periods ranging from 1 to 12 months. The minimum phototoxic dose was 20 mg/kg body weight by this route of administration and potential for serious organ toxicity in long-term exposures was investigated. No histologic features of cutaneous malignancy were encountered under test conditions which produced prolonged phototoxicity, deep ulceration, cicatrization, and other deformities.

Effects of vehicles and elicitation concentration in contact dermatitis testing. I. Experimental contact sensitization in humans.

A study was made to evaluate the effects of vehicle and challenge concentration on response of human subjects to potential allergens. In the vehicle studies the modified Draize test was used to test the response of subjects to cinnamic aldehyde and to costus oil, administered at two skin sites, in petrolatum and in 95% ethyl alcohol. In two tests of costus oil, alcohol proved to be more effective in eliciting a response than petrolatum; on the other hand, in one test with cinnamic aldehyde, no difference in results was obtained with these two vehicles.

Contact allergy: predictive testing in man.

Predictive tests are of value in forecasting the response of a population to a sensitizer; diagnostic testing is used to determine what substances may actually be producing dermatologic problems. Skin sensitization predictive and diagnostic data for the eleven most frequently encountered skin sensitizers in Western Europe, Canada and the United States are reviewed. These compounds include two drugs (benzocaine and neomycin), two cosmetic ingredients (p-phenylenediamine and balsam of Peru), four preservatives (formaldehyde, ethylenediamine, parabens and mercurials) and three ingredients of wearing apparel (nickel, chromium and thiram).

Immunological phenomena in harmless mice during experimental carcinogenesis induced with long-term topical application of 7, 12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA).

To estimate the influence of topical treatment with DMBA and induced tumors on delayed hypersensitivity, the response of spleen lymphocytes to PHA in vitro and macrophage migration inhibition with PHA were studied in DMBA-treated hairless mice. DNA synthesis and blastic transformation of cultured lymphocytes decreased after 6-12 weeks of DMBA application. Lymphocyte response to PHA gradually diminished during the experiment, as compared with control animals.