[How I treat... acne by isotretinoin].

Acne benefits from a series of treatments. The introduction of isotretinoin was a therapeutic breakthrough which considerably improved both the evolution and the prognosis of the disease. Indications of this retinoid kept changing over the past twenty years.

Ageing in the sun parlour.

Photoageing of the dermis was often ascribed to chronic sun exposure. By contrast, it was traditionally thought that a tanning bed was not harmful. However, recent evidence suggests that UVA could contribute to the risk of skin cancers.

Clinicopathologic presentations of dermatomycoses in cancer patients.

Many of the skin fungal infections in cancer patients may look similar to those infections in non-cancer patients. However, in some cases, they become more extensive and even life threatening. Prolonged and severe neutropenia is the main risk factor for the dramatic issue of fungal infections.

Skin colour assessment in safety testing of cosmetics. An overview.

Few subjects are as problematical to dermatologists, cosmetologists and related experimenters involved in safety testing as the clinical assessment of skin colour. At the core of the problem is the word erythema, which does not communicate a sense for the nuance of red. In addition, light shades of red are not visible in dark-skinned people.

The SACD method and the XLRS squamometry tests revisited.

The assessment of many aspects of the structure and biological dynamics of the stratum corneum can be conducted using calibrated stripping with adhesive-coated discs (SACD). Squamometry entails staining SACD samples with a toluidine blue-basic fuschsin ethanol-based solution and reading the colorimetric variable Chroma C* representing the squamometry index. Four main variants of squamometry index have been designed so far.

Nudging hair shedding by antidandruff shampoos. A comparison of 1% ketoconazole, 1% piroctone olamine and 1% zinc pyrithione formulations.

Hair shedding and hair thinning have been reported to be affected by dandruff and seborrhoeic dermatitis. The present study was conducted in 150 men presenting with telogen effluvium related to androgenic alopecia associated with dandruff. They were randomly allocated to three groups receiving each one of the three shampoos in the market containing either 1% ketoconazole (KTZ), 1% piroctone olamine (PTO) or 1% zinc pyrithione (ZPT).

Skin surface patterns of xerotic legs: the flexural and accretive types.

The dry skin appearance of the legs is a common complaint in winter. We studied such a condition using a multi-pronged approach combining video recording under ultraviolet light, cyanoacrylate skin surface stripping and squamometry X. Two main distinct patterns of alteration of the skin surface were identified.

Highlighting the immunohistochemical profile of melanocytomas: review.

The histological assessment of atypical melanocytic neoplasms is mandatory to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment. However, for some atypical lesions, expert pathologists report only moderate concordance in the diagnosis. In addition, certain atypical neoplasms have been coined differently in the literature.

The hair eclipse phenomenon: sharpening the focus on the hair cycle chronobiology.

Chronobiology governing the hair cycle is a fascinating and complex process. Both the hair growth cycle and the hair shaft growth are coordinated and depend on the interplay of different biological signals and various exogenous stimuli. A latency period may occur between hair shedding (teloptosis, exogen phase) and the early emergence of the next anagen VI stage.

Effect of residence time on the efficacy of antidandruff shampoos.

Dandruff is known to be controlled by fungistatic shampoos active against Malassezia spp. These products also remove the loosely attached scales. This study was performed to assess the effect of a 5-min residence time on the efficacy of antidandruff shampoos.

Skin-lightening products revisited.

Skin colour typology depends on the amount and location of its chromophores. Among them, eumelanins derived from 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI), and phaeomelanins are of utmost importance. These biomolecules result from the multi-step enzymatic and non-enzymatic conversion of tyrosine into melanins.

[Irritation cutanée et vitesse de propagation d'ondes ultrasonores].

Cutaneous irritation is a stereotyped response of the skin to any physical or chemical insult. Its main manifestations encompass inflammatory erythema and an alteration of the cutaneous microrelief showing increased roughness, dehydration and erratic desquamation. Several instrumental methods can indirectly assess the issues of cutaneous irritation on human stratum corneum.

Quantification of dandruff adherence to hair.

Dandruff adherence to hair shafts is a visible annoying phenomenon. The aspect can be recorded by different means including the ultraviolet light-enhanced visualization (ULEV) method and microscopy. We present another quantitative method.

Skin in maturity: the endocrine and neuroendocrine pathways.

Irrespective of age, most of the skin components are under the physiological control of endocrine and neuroendocrine factors. There is evidence that skin ageing appears complex showing much interindividual variability. Conceptually, ageing is a single biological process that is influenced and modulated by a series of various internal and exogenous factors.

Revisiting dandruff.

Dandruff is a common scalp disorder affecting almost half of the postpubertal population of any ethnicity and both genders. It may, however, represent a stubborn esthetical disturbance often source of pruritus. Skin biocenosis, in particular the Malassezia spp.

The riddle of genuine skin microrelief and wrinkles.

Wrinkles result from distinct structural changes occurring in specific parts of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. There is a need for evidenced-based cosmetology identifying and quantifying the different aspects of wrinkling. Histology allows to detect specific changes associated with particular types of wrinkles.

Cellulite histopathology and related mechanobiology.

Cellulite, sometimes called gynoid lipodystrophy, is much more prevalent in women than in men. There are glaring discrepancies regarding the microanatomical descriptions of this condition in the literature. A lumpy aspect of the dermo-hypodermal interface is often cited, but it appears to represent a gender-linked characteristic of the thighs and buttocks without being a specific sign of cellulite.

Whitening effect of a dermocosmetic formulation: a randomized double-blind controlled study on melasma.

Melasma is an endocrine-mediated facial hypermelanosis with epidermal and occasionally dermal components. We tested in a randomized double-blind design the effect of a whitening formulation (Thiospot intensive) on this skin disorder. The product containing ethyl linoleate, thioctic acid, octadecenedioic acid, lactic acid and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate was applied twice daily for 3 months by 20 young women.

[Corneofungimetry: A bioassay for dermato-mycology.].

Corneofungimetry is a bioassay in dermatomycology evaluating the antifungal effect of drugs. It is based on the method of culture of fungi on human stratum corneum harvested by cyanoacrylate skin surface strippings. Using corneofungimetry, it is possible to establish a classification of topical antifungals according to their spectrum of activity and their fungitoxicity.

Occult herpes simplex virus colonization of bullous dermatitides.

Background: Acantholytic disorders, including pemphigus vulgaris, chronic benign familial pemphigus (Hailey-Hailey disease, superficial pemphigus), Darier disease, and Grover transient acantholytic dermatosis, as well as other vesiculo-bullous disorders, including bullous pemphigoid, epidermolysis bullosa, and atopic dermatitis, are prone to florid infections by herpes simplex virus (HSV)-I and -II, and, more rarely, by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). As these infections are difficult to recognize clinically and histologically, their frequency remains unknown. A possible occult viral colonization has never been documented in these disorders.

Biometrology of physical properties of skin in thyroid dysfunction.

Objective: There is ample clinical evidence that skin is responsive to physiopathological levels of circulating thyroid hormones. The aim of the study was to assess some physical changes of the skin in the presence of moderate thyroid dysfunction.

Setting: University Hospital.

Kinetics of moisturizing and firming effects of cosmetic formulations.

The assessment of cosmetic efficacy is rarely performed in studies comparing different concentrations of active compounds. The aim of the present study was to determine the skin hydrating and the skin firming dose-response effects of cosmetic formulations enriched in compounds derived from algae and fish collagen. A series of factors were studied including the type of formulation (cream or serum), the concentration in active ingredients, the effect of repetitive applications, as well as any residual effect of the formulations after stopping their applications.

[How I explore...A patient with palmar erythema].

Palmar erythema occurs in a series of physiological and pathological conditions. The first group encompasses hereditary and idiopathic conditions, as well as the time of pregnancy and ageing. The pathological states include some dermatoses as well as hepatic, autoimmune, infectious and paraneoplastic conditions.

Space-time clustering and seasonality in diagnosing skin cancers in Wallonia (south-east Belgium).

Background: In Westernized populations, the number of diagnosed cases of primary cutaneous cancers, particularly malignant melanomas and basal cell carcinomas (BCC), has been previously shown to fluctuate during specific periods of the year.

Objective And Method: The aim of the present 6-year study was to explore the seasonality if any in skin cancer detection in Wallonia (south-east Belgium).

Results: For both malignant melanomas and BCC late spring/early summer and mid-autumn were the periods of highest diagnosis prevalence irrespective of gender.