The British journal of dermatology
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With the continued development of noninvasive therapies for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) such as photodynamic therapy and immune therapies, noninvasive diagnosis and monitoring become increasingly relevant. High-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) is a high-resolution imaging tool, with micrometre resolution in both transversal and axial directions, enabling visualization of individual cells up to a depth of around 570 μm, and filling the imaging gap between conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT) and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). ⋯ Using features already suggested by RCM and conventional OCT, the study implies that HD-OCT facilitates in vivo diagnosis of BCC and allows the distinction between different BCC subtypes for increased clinical utility.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib, an oral Janus kinase inhibitor, in the treatment of psoriasis: a Phase 2b randomized placebo-controlled dose-ranging study.
Tofacitinib is a novel, oral Janus kinase inhibitor under investigation as a potential treatment for plaque psoriasis. ⋯ Short-term treatment with oral tofacitinib results in significant clinical improvement in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and is generally well tolerated.
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Keloid is a unique proliferative disorder of fibroblasts resulting from derailment of the typical wound healing process. Due to lack of animal models for therapeutic testing, treatment of keloids remains a clinical challenge. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-related signalling plays a key role in keloid formation. As tacrolimus (FK506) has been reported to inhibit the effects of TGF-β1 on cultured fibroblasts, we hypothesized that FK506 may be useful in treating keloids. ⋯ Our results demonstrate that FK506 effectively blocks the TGF-β/Smad signalling pathway in KFs by downregulation of TGF-β receptors and suggest that FK506 may be included in the armamentarium for treating keloids.