Male sex workers: practices, contexts, and vulnerabilities for HIV acquisition and transmission.

Male sex workers who sell or exchange sex for money or goods encompass a very diverse population across and within countries worldwide. Information characterising their practices, contexts where they live, and their needs is limited, because these individuals are generally included as a subset of larger studies focused on gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) or even female sex workers. Male sex workers, irrespective of their sexual orientation, mostly offer sex to men and rarely identify as sex workers, using local or international terms instead.

Evaluation of a Pseudoceramide Moisturizer in Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis.

Introduction: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a pseudoceramide-containing moisturizer as maintenance therapy in patients with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm, open-label clinical trial of a twice-daily application of a pseudoceramide-containing moisturizer for 4 weeks as maintenance therapy in 40 patients with stable, mild-to-moderate AD in a tropical climate. Clinical and skin barrier assessment was done at week 0, week 2 and week 4.

Dermatology in the military field: What physicians should know?

In the civilian dermatological setting, the top 5 skin diseases usually seen are eczema/dermatitis, acne, benign skin tumors, viral infections and pigmentary disorders. In comparison, the top 5 skin conditions encountered in the military sector are usually fungal infections, eczema/dermatitis, insect bite reactions, bacterial infections and acne. This is not surprising as military personnel, due to the special environment and vocations they are in, are prone to getting eczema as heat, sweating and wearing of the military uniform aggravate the condition.

Periorbital hyperpigmentation in Asians: an epidemiologic study and a proposed classification.

Background: Periorbital hyperpigmentation (POH) presents with a dark area surrounding the eyelids. It is an ill-defined condition, and the pathogenesis can be multifactorial.

Objective: This epidemiologic study was conducted to assess the prevalence of periorbital hyperpigmentation in Singapore in an attempt to propose a classification.

Tumour-like presentations of anogenital herpes simplex in HIV-positive patients.

Genital and perianal ulcers seen in patients with HIV are commonly due to herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. While it is well known that the characteristic presentation of HSV is a vesicular rash or crops of erosions, the clinical presentation of genital HSV infection in HIV is varied and can assume vegetative, hypertrophic, condyloma-like, nodular, ulcerative and tumour-like nodules or plaques. These unusual presentations often lead to a delayed diagnosis.

Meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials comparing griseofulvin and terbinafine in the treatment of tinea capitis.

Background: Griseofulvin has been the standard treatment for tinea capitis but newer antifungal agents, particularly terbinafine, are increasingly being used because of their shorter duration of treatment and more consistent absorption rates.

Objective: We sought to compare the efficacy of oral griseofulvin and oral terbinafine in the treatment of tinea capitis.

Methods: A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials, and the Cochrane Skin Group Ongoing Skin Trials Register was performed up to January 2010 for randomized controlled trials comparing griseofulvin and terbinafine in the treatment of tinea capitis in immunocompetent patients.

Therapeutic hotline: Successful treatment of Morbihan's disease with oral prednisolone and doxycycline.

Persistent facial swelling can occur as a rare complication of rosacea. This finding is referred to as lymphedematous rosacea or Morbihan's disease. We report a case of a 45-year-old male with no previous history of rosacea who developed bilateral periorbital swelling associated with facial erythema and edema that responded to a combination of oral corticosteroids and doxycycline.

Risk factors associated with having psoriatic arthritis in patients with cutaneous psoriasis.

The aim of this study was to determine if the following characteristics were associated with the presence of psoriatic arthritis in a sample of psoriasis patients: race, family history of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, age of onset of psoriasis, smoking, alcohol consumption and the maximum body surface area (BSA) affected by psoriasis. This was a case-control study involving 400 psoriasis patients who attended the Psoriasis and Photo-medicine clinic in the National Skin Center of Singapore over a 1-year period. Cases were psoriasis patients with psoriatic arthritis while controls were psoriasis patients without psoriatic arthritis.

Itch in ethnic populations.

Racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence and clinical characteristics of itch have rarely been studied. The aim of this review is to highlight possible associations between ethnicity and different forms of chronic itch. We provide a current review of the prevalence of different types of itch in ethnic populations.

Chronic autoimmune urticaria: where we stand?

It is well-recognized that 30-40% of chronic idiopathic urticaria is autoimmune in nature. Chronic autoimmune urticaria is caused by anti-FcepsilonRI and less frequently, by anti-IgE autoantibodies that lead to mast cell and basophil activation, thereby giving rise to the release of histamine and other proinflammatory mediators. Activation of the classical complement pathway and formation of C5a are important in dermal mast cell activation.

A practical classification of childhood hypopigmentation disorders.

Hypopigmentation disorders in children can be due to a wide variety of congenital and acquired diseases. A clinical approach to hypopigmentation disorders based on the typical age of onset and the extent of lesions is proposed. The disorders are categorized into onset in early and later childhood, and in each category they are subdivided into localized and generalized pigmentary disorders.

A rare connexin 26 mutation in a patient with a forme fruste of keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness (KID) syndrome.

Background: Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness (KID) syndrome is a rare ectodermal dysplasia characterized by generalized erythrokeratotic plaques, sensorineural hearing loss, and vascularizing keratitis. Cutaneous changes and hearing loss typically present in early childhood, whereas ocular symptoms present later. Mutations in the connexin (Cx) 26 gene, GJB2, are now established to underlie many of the affected cases, with the majority of patients harboring the p.

Dramatic clearance of a recalcitrant acral viral wart using methyl aminolevulinate-red light photodynamic therapy.

A 20-year-old man presented with a 3-month history of a viral wart located on his right thumb. Cryotherapy was administered weekly to the wart over 5 months without any significant improvement. A decision was made to treat the wart with red light photodynamic therapy (PDT) using topical methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) administered as three treatments 1-week apart.

Drug interactions in dermatological practice.

Systemic drugs are increasingly used in the treatment of dermatological diseases. Due to the high prevalence of polypharmacy, dermatologists are increasingly faced with the complex problem of drug interaction. Unlike adverse drug reactions, which are often unpredictable, drug interactions can be avoided.

Leprosy-associated eccrine syringofibroadenoma of Mascaro.

Eccrine syringofibroadenoma of Mascaro is a rare benign tumour. There are five subtypes, one of which is known to occur in reaction to inflammatory and neoplastic dermatoses. We describe a patient with previous lepromatous leprosy presenting with multiple flesh-coloured verrucous plaques over the right foot.

Clinical and molecular dilemmas in the diagnosis of familial epidermolysis bullosa pruriginosa.

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is a rare and clinically heterogeneous mechanobullous disorder. One unusual clinical variant is epidermolysis bullosa pruriginosa (EBP), in which the combination of pruritus and skin fragility can lead to hypertrophic, lichenified nodules and plaques. This form of inherited epidermolysis bullosa may not develop clinically until adult life, leading to diagnostic confusion with acquired disorders, such as nodular prurigo, lichen simplex, lichen planus, hypertrophic scarring, or dermatitis artefacta.

Nonablative infrared skin tightening in Type IV to V Asian skin: a prospective clinical study.

Background: Nonablative skin tightening devices have been developed to treat facial and neck skin laxity without damage to the epidermis. There are at present two main approaches: the pioneer method by monopolar radiofrequency and the second by infrared light.

Objective: This study aims to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of nonablative infrared light in the treatment of facial and neck skin laxity in Type IV to V Asian skin.

Progressive macular hypomelanosis in Singapore: a clinico-pathological study.

Introduction: Progressive macular hypomelanosis (PMH), a condition of uncertain etiology, is characterized by asymptomatic hypopigmented macules predominantly located on the trunk. To date, there are no reports from South-East Asia concerning this condition. We sought to record the clinical features of PMH in Asian patients, identify etiologic factors, and study the structural and ultrastructural features of melanocytes in this disorder.

Squamous cell carcinoma developing in two Chinese patients with chronic discoid lupus erythematosus: the need for continued surveillance.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare late sequel of chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (CDLE). We report two cases of SCC developing in Chinese patients with CDLE. The first patient had prior biopsies from the same site that showed viral warts and the second patient had multiple histologically confirmed viral warts around the vicinity of the previously excised SCC.

Acitretin induced bipedal edema.

Generalized edema has been reported to be a rare side effect of systemic retinoids. We report a patient who developed localized bipedal edema from acitretin. Other causes of bipedal edema were excluded and withdrawal of acitretin led to resolution of the edema.