Clinical and experimental dermatology
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Clin. Exp. Dermatol. · Oct 2014
ReviewEssential regional nerve blocks for the dermatologist: part 1.
The aim of this two-part series is to provide an up-to-date review of essential regional nerve blocks for dermatological practice. In Part 1, we give a concise overview of local anaesthetics and their potential complications, as well as the relevant anatomy and cutaneous innervation of the face and scalp. This culminates in a step-by-step practical guide to performing each nerve block.
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IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly recognized condition that is characterized by raised levels of serum IgG4, tissue infiltration of IgG4-positive plasma cells and presence of fibrosis. It affects multiple organs, including the pancreas, bile duct, and lacrimal and salivary glands. Skin lesions have rarely been reported, and those that have were described as distributed mainly in the head and neck region. ⋯ The skin lesions responded well to oral prednisolone (PSL); however, tapering of PSL to 5 mg/day resulted in recurrence. At present, the skin disease is well controlled at a dose of 7 mg/day. Interestingly, IgG4 levels fluctuated with changes in the PSL dose but did not coincide with the severity of the skin disease, implying that the raised levels of IgG4 did not directly influence the skin symptoms.
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Clin. Exp. Dermatol. · Jul 2014
Simplified noncultured autologous cell grafting for the treatment of chronic nonhealing ulcers: the six-well plate technique.
Chronic recalcitrant ulcers are associated with severe morbidity, and there are few effective treatment options available. Living skin substitutes are an important form of adjuvant therapy to enhance healing of such wounds. We investigated a novel, simplified, noncultured, autologous, cell grafting procedure, using a six-well plate technique, to treat chronic recalcitrant wounds. ⋯ Overall, 28.3% of the ulcers achieved complete healing, and 71.3% of the ulcers had reduction in wound size. Post-graft, there was also improvement in secondary wound bed parameters and all quality of life domains of the Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule. These results suggest that this noncultured autologous six-well technique might be beneficial for treating recalcitrant ulcers.