Dermatologic clinics
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Dermatologic clinics · Oct 1994
United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. Healthy skin for all.
The International League of Dermatologic Societies, the International Foundation for Dermatology, and the International Society of Dermatology: Tropical, Ecological, and Geographic, are the leading nongovernmental dermatology organizations that communicate with United Nations agencies such as the World Health Organization and UNESCO. The common goal of health for all must include healthy skin for all, and it therefore must include concepts such as primary health care, disability, wound healing, and advancement of women as well as the control and elimination of specific diseases such as leprosy.
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To summarize briefly, the suggested laboratory tests to diagnose the ichthyoses are listed below. Ichthyosis vulgaris: Skin biopsy if necessary. RXLI: Steroid sulfatase activity or levels of cholesterol sulfate. ⋯ Neutral lipid storage disease: Check blood smear for vacuoles; skin biopsy (frozen). Refsum's disease: Plasma phytanic acid levels. Sjögren-Larsson syndrome: Assay of FAO activity.
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Dermatologic clinics · Jan 1994
ReviewDiagnostic tests for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other rickettsial diseases.
Rickettsial diseases continue to confound physicians because of their usually sporadic occurrence and nonspecific clinical presentation. In past years, diagnosis was confirmed only during convalescence; however, newer, more widely available methods, such as antigen detection and improved in vitro cultivation, have enabled a diagnosis at a time when therapeutic decisions are made. Molecular nucleic acid-based techniques have also expanded the spectrum of etiologic agents and illnesses caused by rickettsiae.
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The fibrosis and scar formation that characterize adult wound healing are also the cause of clinical problems; scar contracture, hypertrophic scar, and pulmonary and hepatic fibrosis are only a few examples. Studies of fetal wound healing can provide an insight into the initiation and regulation of a scarless repair process akin to regeneration. Studies of fetal repair have already suggested mechanisms that might favorably alter adult healing. ⋯ It has been recognized that the addition of TGF-beta to fetal wounds causes an adultlike healing response with fibrosis and inflammation. A subsequent study using neutralizing antibody to TGF-beta in adult wounds showed enhanced healing with a more normal dermal architecture with fewer macrophages, fewer blood vessels, and less collagen. As our understanding of regenerative tissue repair increases, the opportunities to modulate adult fibrotic conditions should expand.
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Dressings are applications for wounds, burns, and ulcers. Dressings should be regarded as supportive of healing; they are desirable but not essential in an emergency. This article reviews measurement of wound healing and the functions of wound dressings. A variety of dressings and their respective advantages and disadvantages are discussed.