Acta dermato-venereologica
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Mar 1999
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialEffect of EMLA pre-treatment on capsaicin-induced burning and hyperalgesia.
Capsaicin, which has been studied extensively as a treatment for itch and several chronic pain disorders, induces burning during the first week of therapy, causing a substantial percentage of patients to discontinue treatment prematurely. We examined whether pre-treatment with the topical anesthetic EMLA reduces the burning sensation induced by capsaicin and alters capsaicin effects on thermal sensation and pain thresholds. Healthy adult volunteers participated in the single-blind, 6-day study. ⋯ Cold pain hypoalgesia persisted in both forearms. The warmth sensation threshold was significantly higher on the EMLA-pre-treated forearm after 1 and 5 days of treatment. In conclusion, pre-treatment with EMLA significantly reduced the burning sensation from capsaicin and attenuated heat hyperalgesia during treatment.
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Nov 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialChronic urticaria and Helicobacter pylori.
Chronic urticaria can result from multiple causes. A number of factors have been identified that can appear to be important in the pathogenesis of individual cases, including intolerance to food, drugs, some internal diseases and some infections. Recently a possible relationship between chronic urticaria and Helicobacter pylori has been suggested. ⋯ Three patients in the eradication therapy group showed complete remission of urticaria after 12 months of follow-up as compared with 1 patient in the control group. Twenty blood donors out of 46 were IgG anti-Helicobacter pylori positive. In conclusion, our data show that the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection is high in chronic urticaria patients, but eradication of the bacterium does not appear to influence the skin disorders nor the symptoms.
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Jul 1998
Clinical TrialOral isotretinoin therapy in severe acne induces transient suppression of biochemical markers of bone turnover and calcium homeostasis.
Although dietary vitamin A is required for normal growth and development, long-term or high-dose administration of vitamin A derivatives (retinoids) may produce a variety of skeletal side-effects in man. In this study we investigated the early effects of oral isotretinoin therapy on bone turnover and calcium homeostasis in eleven consecutive patients with nodulocystic acne. The effects on bone metabolism were correlated to radiological and bone mineral density measurements following drug therapy for six months. ⋯ With continued treatment, however, the abnormal levels of these markers returned to baseline values within 14 days. No significant roentgenological changes or effects on bone mineral density were found in response to the drug. The observed inhibitory effects of isotretinoin on bone turnover, despite elevated parathyroid hormone levels, indicates that the drug exerts a direct effect on bone tissue.
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Mar 1998
Histamine and cutaneous nociception: histamine-induced responses in patients with atopic eczema, psoriasis and urticaria.
Having observed altered itch and flare reactions after histamine application in patients with atopic eczema, we tried to determine these reactions in patients with urticaria and psoriasis. We investigated 16 healthy non-atopic subjects, 16 atopics in an eczema-free interval, 16 with acute atopic eczema, 16 with urticaria and 16 with psoriasis. Histamine was iontophoretically applied. ⋯ However, flares were "normal" in symptom-free atopics and were not significantly different from controls. In conclusion, all "acute" patients showed a diminished axon-reflex function, possibly due to a downregulation of C-fiber responsiveness to histamine or an increased turnover rate of inflammatory mediators. Both atopic groups reported weaker itching, suggesting altered central nervous processing of itch.