Treatment of vitiligo with a melanocyte-keratinocyte cell suspension versus dermabrasion only: a pilot study with a 12-month follow up.

Background: Dermabrasion is a surgical procedure that has been used for repigmentation; however, autologous transplantation of uncultured melanocytes in a suspension combined with the use of adjunct treatment provides better results.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of dermoabrasion (DA) and melanocyte-keratinocyte cell suspension transplantation (DA+MKT) vs. dermabrasion with no adjunct treatment.

Skin manifestations associated with chemotherapy in children with hematologic malignancies.

Chemotherapy used in the treatment of malignancies produces multiple mucocutaneous adverse reactions that may be clinically challenging. These mucocutaneous reactions are common and sometimes not diagnosed. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical patterns of the mucocutaneous manifestations during and after chemotherapy in children with a hematologic malignancy and to determine whether nutritional status influences the clinical presentation.

Decrease of virulence for BALB/c mice produced by continuous subculturing of Nocardia brasiliensis.

Background: Subculturing has been extensively used to attenuate human pathogens. In this work we studied the effect of continuous subculturing of Nocardia brasiliensis HUJEG-1 on virulence in a murine model.

Methods: Nocardia brasiliensis HUJEG-1 was subcultured up to 130 times on brain heart infusion over four years.

Case of diffuse lepromatous leprosy associated with "Mycobacterium lepromatosis".

An 86-year-old female patient from northeast Mexico presented with diffuse lepromatous leprosy (DLL). Sequence analysis of four genes (rrs, rpoB, sigA, and hsp65) from the skin biopsy specimen identified "Mycobacterium lepromatosis." This is the first independent confirmation of a case of DLL due to M.

Actinomycetoma of the scalp after a car accident.

Background: Actinomycetoma is the most frequent type of mycetoma in Mexico. Localization on the scalp is very rare. Because of this topography and potential spread to the brain, the present case became a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

[Cutaneous melanoma].

Cutaneous melanoma is the most malignant skin tumor with great potential to develop metastases. For 50 years, its incidence has greatly increased worldwide, including Mexico. Although some risk factors are known, early diagnosis and treatment are still the only strategies that have shown to improve prognosis.

In vitro activity of ACH-702, a new isothiazoloquinolone, against Nocardia brasiliensis compared with econazole and the carbapenems imipenem and meropenem alone or in combination with clavulanic acid.

The in vitro activities of ACH-702 and other antimicrobials against 30 Nocardia brasiliensis isolates were tested. The MIC(50) (MIC for 50% of the strains tested) and MIC(90) values of ACH-702 were 0.125 and 0.

In vitro activity of a new isothiazoloquinolone, ACH-702, against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other mycobacteria.

In this work, we describe the activity of ACH-702 against clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and six different nontuberculous mycobacteria. The MIC(50) and MIC(90) of both susceptible and drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains tested were 0.

[Epidemiology of dermatosis in geriatric patients].

Objective: To describe and compare the skin diseases in elderly attended at the geriatric service with those attended at the dermatology service.

Methods: The study was carried out on 100 elderly patients attended at the geriatrics service of nonskin disease and 100 elderly patients attended at the dermatology service. The sampling was of consecutive cases.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis spoligotypes in Monterrey, Mexico.

Although tuberculosis is still a public health problem in Mexico, there is little information about the genetic characteristics of the isolates. In the present study, we analyzed by spoligotyping 180 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from the urban area of Monterrey, Mexico, including drug-susceptible and drug-resistant isolates. The spoligotype patterns were compared with those in the international SITVIT2 spoligotyping database.

Activity of novel oxazolidinones against Nocardia brasiliensis growing within THP-1 macrophages.

Background: Nocardia are organisms that can escape the effects of both immune response and antimicrobial agents, due to their potential capacity to grow intracellularly. In previous studies, we found that experimental oxazolidinones, DA-7157 and DA-7218, are active both in vitro and in vivo.

Objectives: In this study, we compare the ability of linezolid, DA-7157 and DA-7218 to inhibit intracellular growth of Nocardia brasiliensis within the human monocyte cell line THP-1.

Therapeutic evaluation of UVB-targeted phototherapy in vitiligo that affects less than 10% of the body surface area.

Background: Current treatments for vitiligo include different therapeutic modalities, such as corticosteroids, immunomodulators, pseudocatalase, skin grafts, diverse types of phototherapy [ultraviolet B (UVB), psoralen plus UVA (PUVA), narrow-band UVB (NB-UVB)], and, recently, targeted phototherapy. After a literature search, we found only two studies using different targeted broad-band UVB units for the treatment of vitiligo.

Objective: To evaluate the repigmentation response induced with broad-band, UVB-targeted phototherapy used as monotherapy in patients with vitiligo affecting less than 10% of the skin surface.

[Biologic therapy: a new and promising option to treat psoriasis].

The histologic and immunologic findings on psoriasis have led to the development of biologic therapies for its treatment. Biologic therapies are classified according to their structure as recombinant human proteins, monoclonal antibodies, and fusion proteins. Currently there are five biological drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of psoriasis; however research studies are being performed to implement a few others.

Androgenetic alopecia and insulin resistance in young men.

Background: Epidemiological studies have associated androgenetic alopecia (AGA) with severe young-age coronary artery disease and hypertension, and linked it to insulin resistance. We carried out a case-control study in age- and weight-matched young males to study the link between AGA and insulin resistance using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index or metabolic syndrome clinical manifestations.

Methods: Eighty young males, 18-35 years old, with AGA > or = stage III in the Hamilton-Norwood classification, and 80 weight- and age-matched controls were included.

Efficacy of ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin against Nocardia brasiliensis in vitro and in an experimental model of actinomycetoma in BALB/c mice.

The efficacy of ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin against Nocardia brasiliensis was evaluated by applying 25 mg of each drug/kg subcutaneously every 8 h in BALB/c mice infected with N. brasiliensis. A statistically significant difference was observed only with moxifloxacin.

Therapeutic effect of a novel oxazolidinone, DA-7867, in BALB/c mice infected with Nocardia brasiliensis.

Background: Mycetoma is a chronic infectious disease of tropical and subtropical countries. It is produced by true fungi and actinobacteria. In México, Nocardia brasiliensis is the main causative agent of mycetoma, producing about 86% of the cases; the gold standard for the therapy of mycetoma by N.

Immune response to Nocardia brasiliensis extracellular antigens in patients with mycetoma.

The ability of culture-filtrate proteins to induce a cellular immune response in infected mice and humans was investigated. A crude extract culture filtrate of Nocardia brasiliensis (CFA) and five semi-purified CFA fractions (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5) were used to stimulate BALB/c mice spleen-cell cultures. The animals were divided into three groups: the first group was infected with 1 x 10(7) CFU of N.

In vivo therapeutic effect of gatifloxacin on BALB/c mice infected with Nocardia brasiliensis.

In the present work, we evaluated the effect of gatifloxacin on the evolution of experimental murine infection with Nocardia brasiliensis using linezolid as a control. Gatifloxacin was injected subcutaneously at 100 mg/kg body weight every 8 h for 4 weeks. This compound was equally as efficient as linezolid in reducing the production of lesions.

Efficacy of DA-7218, a new oxazolidinone prodrug, in the treatment of experimental actinomycetoma produced by Nocardia brasiliensis.

Two recently synthesized oxazolidinones: (R)-3-(4-(2-(2-methyltetrazol-5-yl)-pyridin-5-yl)-3-fluorophenyl)-5-hydroxymethyloxazolidin-2-one (DA-7157) and its corresponding pro-drug (R)-3-(4-(2-(2-methyltetrazol-5-yl)-pyridin-5-yl)-3-fluorophenyl)-2-oxo-5-oxazolidinyl) methyl disodium phosphate (DA-7218), have shown very good activity against several Gram positive bacteria, including Nocardia and Mycobacterium. In the present work we evaluated the therapeutic in vivo effects of DA-7218 on Nocardia brasiliensis. We first determined the plasma concentration of the prodrug in BALB/c mice using several doses and then tested its activity in an in vivo experimental actinomycetoma murine model.

Patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa develop squamous-cell carcinoma regardless of type VII collagen expression.

Recent data suggest that individuals with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) only develop squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) in the presence of the NC1 domain of type VII collagen. This conclusion was based on experimental work in which cryosections of SCCs from 10 people with RDEB all showed positive type VII collagen immunostaining and observations in a murine model of SCC development in which tumors only occurred using keratinocytes from RDEB subjects that expressed detectable levels of the NC1 domain of the type VII collagen protein. To assess whether the clinical interpretation was valid in another cohort of RDEB patients, we examined expression of type VII collagen in 17 SCC tumors excised from 11 patients.

Clinical improvement of pityriasis rubra pilaris with efalizumab in a pediatric patient.

Pityriasis rubra pilaris has no single effective therapy and there are some cases resistant to multiple treatments. Psoriasis has clinical and therapeutic response overlaps with pityriasis rubra pilaris and there are several therapies common to both, such as retinoids, methotrexate, cyclosporine A, phototherapy, and most recently infliximab. We report a case of a 10-year-old boy with pityriasis rubra pilaris unresponsive to topical corticosteroids, salicylic acid, pimecrolimus, calcitriol, calcipotriol, ultraviolet B targeted phototherapy, isotretinoin, systemic PUVA, acitretin, and etanercept.

In vitro activities of the novel oxazolidinones DA-7867 and DA-7157 against rapidly and slowly growing mycobacteria.

DA-7867 and DA-7157 are oxazolidinones active against pathogenic aerobic actinomycetes including Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, the activity of these drugs against nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) species is not known.

In vitro activities of DA-7157 and DA-7218 against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Nocardia brasiliensis.

The in vitro activities of DA-7157, a novel oxazolidinone, against clinical isolates of Nocardia brasiliensis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were determined. Equal MIC(50)s and MIC(90)s (0.25 and 0.

Patient perspectives on the management of atopic dermatitis.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is increasingly common, with a point prevalence of more than 30% in some countries, and is characterized by visible skin lesions and intense itching.

Objective: The International Study of Life with Atopic Eczema (ISOLATE) is the first large-scale study to assess the effect of AD on the lives of patients and society, how patients and caregivers manage the condition, and how well patients and caregivers currently believe that AD is controlled.

Methods: Two thousand two patients (>13 years) and caregivers of children (2-13 years) with moderate-to-severe AD randomly selected from 8 countries underwent standardized telephone interviews using questions developed in collaboration with national eczema patient groups and physicians.