Melasma and assessment of the quality of life in Brazilian women.

Background: Melasma is a chronic, acquired hyperpigmentation disease on sun-exposed areas of the skin, which affects patients' quality of life.

Objective: To assess the impact on the quality of life of women living in Florianópolis, Brazil, through questionnaire (MelasQol), and investigate the clinical aspects and risk factors for melasma, correlating them with the MelasQol scores.

Methods: This study was performed on 51 melasma patients cared for at the University Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

Indeterminate leprosy and lepromatous index case: four cases in the same family.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Brazil remains as the country with the second largest number of cases in the world. We report the case of three patients diagnosed with indeterminate leprosy in the same family.

Dermoscopic features of thin melanomas: a comparative study of melanoma in situ and invasive melanomas smaller than or equal to 1mm.

Background: Dermoscopy allows the early detection of melanomas. The preoperative determination of Breslow index by dermoscopy could be useful in planning the surgical approach and in selecting patients for sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Objectives: This study aims at describing the dermoscopic features of thin melanomas and comparing melanomas in situ with invasive melanomas less than or equal to 1 mm thick.