Does imiquimod pretreatment optimize 308-nm excimer laser (UVB) therapy in psoriasis patients?

Background/purpose: Psoriasis continues to be a debilitating skin disease affecting 1-3% of the United States population. Although the effectiveness of several current biologic therapies have described this pathology as a IL-23, TNF-a and Th17-mediated disease, less invasive approaches are still in use and in need of refinement. One of these is the usage of narrow band-UVB (NB-UVB) therapy to deplete specifically intra-epidermal CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells to clear psoriatic plaques.

Subchondral insufficiency fractures and spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee may not be related to osteoporosis.

Unlabelled: The term insufficiency fracture implies inadequate bone and is applied to some subchondral knee magnetic resonance images. We reviewed bone mineral density, body mass index, meniscal extrusion, comorbidities, and demographics in 32 knee insufficiency fracture patients. Only five were osteoporotic.

Effect of botanicals on inflammation and skin aging: analyzing the evidence.

The skin and its immune system manifest a decline in physiologic function as it undergoes aging. External insults such as ultraviolet light exposure cause inflammation, which may enhance skin aging even further leading to cancer and signs of photoaging. There is a potential role for botanicals as an adjunct modality in the prevention of skin aging.

Silicon phthalocyanine 4 phototoxicity in Trichophyton rubrum.

Trichophyton rubrum is the leading pathogen that causes long-lasting skin and nail dermatophyte infections. Currently, topical treatment consists of terbinafine for the skin and ciclopirox for the nails, whereas systemic agents, such as oral terbinafine and itraconazole, are also prescribed. These systemic drugs have severe side effects, including liver toxicity.

Single administration of lesion-limited high-dose (TURBO) ultraviolet B using the excimer laser: clinical clearing in association with apoptosis of epidermal and dermal T cell subsets in psoriasis.

Background/purpose: Development of effective therapy for psoriasis is confounded by numerous factors contributing to disease pathogenesis, including pathogenic immunocytes which appear to drive epidermal keratinocyte hyperproliferation. Our objective was to study clinical and biomarker effects of a single dose of TURBO laser UVB (308 nm) applied directly to psoriatic plaques.

Methods: Eighteen patients with chronic plaque psoriasis received a single dose of 10 minimal erythema dose (MED) UVB and were followed for 8 weeks.

Protective mechanisms of green tea polyphenols in skin.

Skin is frequently exposed to a variety of environmental, chemical, and genotoxic agents that contribute to disease and carcinogenesis. Ultraviolet light (UVR) is the main external stress that leads to immunosuppression, oxidative stress, premature aging, and tumor formation. Scientists and health professionals emphasize the importance of prevention strategies to circumvent such unfavorable outcomes.