Publications by authors named "Sawcer D"

Background: Immunocompromised patients, including those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have been observed to have verrucae that are more extensive and treatment-resistant compared to those in immunocompetent patients. However, there is a critical lack of data in the current literature on the characteristics of verruca vulgaris in individuals with HIV.

Methods: This retrospective chart review included a cohort of HIV-positive individuals and a control group of immunocompetent individuals presenting to an outpatient, county hospital-based dermatology clinic for evaluation of verruca vulgaris between the years of 2016 and 2018.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has multiple phases, with current treatment strategies largely focusing on late-stage disease in hospitals, while the viral phase in outpatients remains a key issue.* -
  • A review of 111 publications identified only 21 focusing on outpatient care, highlighting an imbalance in research and available treatments for patients not requiring hospitalization.* -
  • The authors advocate for public health authorities to approve low-risk treatments for outpatients alongside vaccination efforts, especially in light of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and limited monoclonal antibody supply.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a significant health issue that first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, leading to various treatments being explored over time.
  • The text discusses the importance of understanding the different stages and phases of COVID-19 to effectively time the use of therapeutics and improve patient outcomes.
  • The authors propose a framework that outlines key periods and phases of the disease, which can help guide research and treatment decisions for COVID-19 therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) induce apoptotic pathways in human cancer cells. The potential therapeutic effective of nsPEF has been reported in cell lines and in xenograft animal tumor model. The present study investigated the ability of nsPEF to cause cancer cell death in vivo using carcinogen-induced animal tumor model, and the pulse duration of nsPEF was only 7 and 14 nano second (ns).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulsed electric fields with nanosecond duration and high amplitude have effects on biological subjects and bring new venue in disease diagnosis and therapy. To address this respect, we investigated the responses of paired tumor and normal human skin cells - a basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cell line, and its sister normal cell line (TE) - to nanosecond, megavolt-per-meter pulses. When BCC (TE 354.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

When delivered to cells, very short duration, high electric field pulses (nanoelectropulses) induce primarily intracellular events. We present evidence that this emerging modality may have a role as a local cancer therapy. Five hematologic and 16 solid tumor cell lines were pulsed in vitro.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Migration of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) is critical for skin wound healing. The mechanism remains unclear. We report here that platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) is the major promotility factor in human serum for HDF motility on type I collagen.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The metastatic spread of cancer is a complex process that involves the combination of different cellular actions including cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix (ECM), breakdown of the ECM by specific matrix-degrading proteinases, and active cell locomotion. Contortrostatin (CN), a homodimeric snake venom disintegrin, has previously been demonstrated to be effective in blocking vitronectin/fibronectin-dependent adhesion and invasion of T98G human glioblastoma cells through Matrigel using in vitro studies. However, it is not known at what step of the invasion process CN exerts its inhibitory effect.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Linkage analysis in multiplex families has provisionally identified several genomic regions where genes influencing susceptibility to multiple sclerosis are likely to be located. It is anticipated that association mapping will provide a higher degree of resolution, but this more powerful approach is limited by the substantial genotyping effort required. Here, we describe the first use of DNA pooling to screen the whole genome for association in multiple sclerosis based on a 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A variety of facial scars--erythematous, pigmented, atrophic and hypertrophic--may occur as a result of trauma, surgery, burns and skin disease such as acne. Surgery with other adjunctive methods including radiotherapy, intralesional steroids and pressure therapy have shown variable results. Laser treatment has been attempted for scar revision since the 1980s.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Q-switched ruby laser is effective in the treatment of amateur tattoos and other pigmented lesions. Previous studies have shown that, though amateur tattoos usually respond well, professional tattoos show greater resistance to clearing. Our study evaluates the treatment of 20 patients with 28 professional (blue, green, black) tattoos by a Q-switched ruby laser with a 28-ns pulse width, and using high energy fluences up to 10 J/cm2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The nevus of Ota is a benign dermal melanocytic lesion that has previously proved difficult to treat. Recently, the Q-switched ruby laser has been reported to be successful in treating benign pigmented lesions and tattoos.

Objective: Our study evaluates the treatment of 16 patients with nevus of Ota with the Q-switched ruby laser (694 nm).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF