Changing age distribution of melanoma patients: a 22-year, single-site perspective.

Objectives: To investigate possible changes in the demographics of patients with melanoma during a period of 22 years in one dermatopathology practice.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 1835 cases of in situ and invasive melanomas histologically diagnosed between 1989 and 2010 in a private dermatopathology laboratory in Norfolk, Virginia. The age and sex of patients with in situ and invasive melanomas were recorded and compared with similar data for patients from whom any histopathologic specimen was received during the same interval.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of adalimumab in the treatment of cutaneous sarcoidosis.

Background: Many medications, including tumor necrosis factor antagonists, have been anecdotally reported to be effective in treating cutaneous sarcoidosis, but controlled study is lacking.

Objective: We sought to determine if adalimumab is a safe and effective treatment for cutaneous sarcoidosis.

Methods: Adalimumab or placebo was administered to 10 and 6 patients, respectively, in double-blind, randomized fashion for 12 weeks, followed by open-label treatment for an additional 12 weeks, followed by 8 weeks of no treatment.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans arising at a Rho(D) immune globulin injection site.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare soft tissue tumor arising in the dermis. It is notorious for high rates of local recurrence despite its low metastatic potential. Although the etiology is unknown, DFSP often is considered to arise within scars and at sites of prior vaccination or trauma.

Reporting, representation, and subgroup analysis of race and ethnicity in published clinical trials of atopic dermatitis in the United States between 2000 and 2009.

To review the literature on atopic dermatitis (AD) clinical trials published in the United States between 2000 and 2009 to examine the representation of racial and ethnic minorities in those trials and determine the extent to which investigators reported on demographic variables and performed a subanalysis. A PubMed search was performed including all clinical trials for management of AD published between 2000 and 2009. Three reviewers analyzed articles matching the search criteria.

An open-label pilot study of apremilast for the treatment of moderate to severe lichen planus: a case series.

Background: Current treatments for chronic lichen planus (LP) are often ineffective and may have significant adverse side effects. An alternative safe and effective treatment for recalcitrant LP is needed.

Objectives: We sought to study the safety and efficacy of apremilast in the treatment of moderate to severe LP.

Light microscopic hair shaft analysis in ectodermal dysplasia syndromes.

The objective of the study was to catalog hair shaft abnormalities in individuals with ectodermal dysplasia (ED) syndromes using light microscopy and to compare findings with those in unaffected controls. Light microscopy was performed in a nonblinded manner on hair shafts from 65 participants with seven types of ED (hypohidrotic ED, ED-ectrodactyly-cleft lip or palate, ankyloblepharon-ectodermal defects-cleft lip and palate, Clouston syndrome, Goltz syndrome, Schopf-Schulz Passarge syndrome, and oculodentodigital dysplasia) and 41 unaffected controls. Hair donations were collected at the 28th Annual National Family Conference held by the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasia.

Scurvy in a 10-year-old boy.

Scurvy, or hypovitaminosis C, is an uncommon condition that exists today primarily within certain unique populations-particularly the elderly subjects, patients with neurodevelopmental disabilities or psychiatric illnesses, or others with unusual dietary habits. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient in the human body, and is important in synthesizing collagen factor whose faulty production is responsible for most of the clinical manifestations of scurvy. These clinical manifestations can include dystrophic or corkscrew hairs, gingival hyperplasia, and weakened blood vessel walls, causing bleeding in the skin, joints, and other organs.

Advanced age exacerbates the pulmonary inflammatory response after lipopolysaccharide exposure.

Objective: The aged population is at a higher risk of mortality as a result of complications of injury or infection, such as acute lung injury. The objective of this study was to analyze pulmonary inflammatory responses in young and aged mice after administration of lipopolysaccharide.

Design: Prospective, controlled laboratory study.