Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2014 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 6 Articles
Psoriasis is a lifelong disorder characterized by approximately 8-fold reduction of the duration of normal skin keratinocyte cell\r\ncycle and 2-fold increase of the number of dividing cells. Multiple genes, several environmental factors, and immune system\r\nalterations are involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.Hyperleptinemia is associatedwith psoriasis and leptin acts as an angiogenic\r\nfactor. Angiogenetic processes precede the epidermal hyperplasia in psoriasis, indicating possible involvement of leptin in the\r\npathogenesis of psoriasis. Leptin gene polymorphisms and their association with psoriasis have been given very little attention.\r\nWe present a study of the rs2060713C/T genetic polymorphism in the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris in 263 vulgaris patients\r\nand 252 unrelated matched healthy controls. No statistically significant differences were observed between patients and controls.\r\nA statistically nonsignificant trend was observed in males with the early onset type of psoriasis (11.1% C/T in patients versus 5.6%\r\nin controls) and in females with the late onset type of the disease (12.8% C/T in patients versus 3.3% in controls). Still, there is no\r\nhard evidence on correlation of psoriasis vulgaris with this polymorphism. Possible association with specific forms of the disease\r\nand either gender needs further investigation in larger studies....
Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a chronic mucocutaneous autoimmune skin blistering disease.The pathogenic relevance\r\nof autoantibodies targeting type VII collagen (COL7) has been well-documented. Therefore, EBA is a prototypical autoimmune\r\ndisease with a well-characterized pathogenic relevance of autoantibody binding to the target antigen. EBA is a rare disease with an\r\nincidence of 0.2 new cases per million and per year. The current treatment of EBA relies on general immunosuppressive therapy,\r\nwhich does not lead to remission in all cases. Therefore, there is a high, so far unmet medical need for the development of novel\r\ntherapeutic options. During the last 10 years, several novel in vitro and in vivo models of EBA have been established. These models\r\ndemonstrated a critical role of the genetic background, T cells, and cytokines for mediating the loss of tolerance towards COL7.\r\nNeutrophils, complement activation, Fc gammareceptor engagement, cytokines, severalmolecules involved in cell signaling, release\r\nof reactive oxygen species, and matrix metalloproteinases are crucial for autoantibody-induced tissue injury in EBA. Based on this\r\ngrowing understanding of the diseases� pathogenesis, several potential novel therapeutic targets have emerged. In this review, the\r\nclinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and current treatment options for EBA are discussed in detail....
We aimed to describe and compare patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma (MM), depending on their initial contact with\r\ncare andwith regard to age, sex, andMMtype and thickness, and to explore pathways and time intervals (lead times) between clinics\r\nfrom the initial contact to diagnosis and treatment. The sample from northern Sweden was identified via the Swedish melanoma\r\nregister. Data regarding pathways in health care were retrieved from patient records. In our unselected population of 71 people\r\ndiagnosed with skin melanomaof SSMandNMtypes, 75%of patientswere primarily treated by primary health-care centres (PHCs).\r\nThe time interval (delay) from primary excision until registration of the histopathological assessment in the medical records was\r\nsignificantly longer in PHCs than in hospital-based and dermatological clinics (Derm). Thicker tumors were more common in the\r\nPHC group. Older patients waited longer times for wide excision. Most MM are excised rapidly at PHCs, but some patients may\r\nnot be diagnosed and treated in time. Delay of registration of results from histopathological assessments within PHCs seems to be\r\nan important issue for future improvement. Exploring shortcomings inMMpatients� clinical pathways is important to improve the\r\nquality of care and patient safety....
Health communication scholars have a responsibility to be certain that both healthcare practitioners and government agencies\r\naccurately communicate health information to the public. In order to carry out this duty, health communication scholars must\r\nassess how messages are being received and if they are being received at all by the public. This paper details a two part study which\r\nassesses this phenomenonwithin the context of skin cancer. Study 1 utilized 29 in depth qualitative interviews to identify subcultures\r\namong college students whose communication puts them at risk for skin cancer by encouraging poor sun exposure behaviors. The\r\nresults indicate that farmers, African Americans, and individuals who regularly participate in outdoor athletics are at risk groups.\r\nStudy 2 reports a content analysis of the known population of skin cancer Public Service Announcements (PSAs) available via the\r\ninternet in 2013. The aforementioned groups were not present in any of the PSAs. Detailed results and implications are discussed....
Background. Skin biopsy is an established method for allying the dermatologist in overcoming the diagnostic dilemmas which\r\noccur during consultations. However neither do all skin biopsies produce a conclusive diagnosis nor the dermatologists routinely\r\nperform this procedure to every patient they consult. The aim of this study was to investigate the favourable clinical diagnoses set\r\nby dermatologists when performing skin biopsy, the diagnoses reached by the dermatopathologists after microscopic examination,\r\nand the relationship between them and finally to comment on the instances that skin biopsy fails to fulfill the diagnostic task.\r\nMethods. Six thousand eight hundred and sixteen biopsy specimens were reviewed and descriptive statistics were performed.\r\nResults. The mean age of the patients was 54.58 �± 0.26 years, the most common site of biopsy was the head and neck (38.3%),\r\nthe most frequently proposed clinical diagnoses included malignancies (19.28%), and the most prevalent pathological diagnosis\r\nwas epitheliomas (21.9%). After microscopic examination, a specific histological diagnosis was proposed in 83.29% of the cases and\r\na consensus between clinical and histological diagnoses was observed in 68% of them. Conclusions. Although there are cases that\r\nskin biopsy exhibits diagnostic inefficiency, it remains a valuable aid for the dermatology clinical practice....
Interferons (IFNs) are a family of naturally existing glycoproteins known for their antiviral activity and their ability to influence\r\nthe behavior of normal and transformed cell types. Type I Interferons include IFN-?? and IFN-??. Currently, IFN-?? has numerous\r\napproved antitumor applications, includingmalignant melanoma, in which IFN-?? has been shown to increase relapse free survival.\r\nMoreover, IFN-?? has been successfully used in the intralesional treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal\r\ncell carcinoma (BCC). In spite of these promising clinical results; however, there exists a paucity of knowledge on the precise antitumor\r\naction of IFN-??/?? at the cellular and molecular levels in cutaneous malignancies such as SCC, BCC, and melanoma. This\r\nreview summarizes current knowledge on the extent to which Type I IFN influences proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and\r\nimmune function in normal skin, cutaneous SCC, BCC, and melanoma....
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