Arch Dermatol
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Comparative Study
Objective assessment of compliance with psoriasis treatment.
To assess patient compliance with psoriasis treatment. ⋯ A range of disease-related and social factors may affect compliance with psoriasis treatment. The inversely proportional relationship between DLQI and medication adherence reflects the interaction of physical and psychological factors, as well as perceived treatment failure.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Photodynamic therapy using topical methyl aminolevulinate vs surgery for nodular basal cell carcinoma: results of a multicenter randomized prospective trial.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is increasingly used as a noninvasive treatment for nodular basal cell carcinoma (BCC), without a sound evidence base. ⋯ Methyl aminolevulinate PDT is an effective treatment for nodular BCC, and while there is a trend for higher recurrence with this modality, it conveys the advantage over surgery of better cosmesis.
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Rickettsialpox is a self-limited febrile illness with skin lesions that may be mistaken for signs of potentially more serious diseases, such as cutaneous anthrax or chickenpox. The cluster of cutaneous anthrax cases from bioterrorism in October 2001 likely heightened awareness of and concern for cutaneous eschars. ⋯ Rickettsialpox remains endemic in New York City, and the bioterrorism attacks of October 2001 may have led to increased awareness and detection of this disease. Because rickettsialpox may be confused with more serious diseases, such as cutaneous anthrax or chickenpox, clinicians should be familiar with its clinical presentation and diagnostic features. Immunohistochemical staining of skin biopsy specimens, particularly from eschars, is a sensitive technique for confirming the clinical diagnosis.
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Comparative Study
Neuronal sensitization for histamine-induced itch in lesional skin of patients with atopic dermatitis.
Lowered threshold of neurons (ie, neuronal sensitization) in atopic dermatitis was investigated by testing sensitivity to histamine. ⋯ As the area of axon reflex flare is an indirect measure of activity in primary afferent neurons, our results suggest a decreased activation of peripheral pruriceptors in patients with AD. The massively increased itch in lesional skin of patients with AD might therefore be based on sensitization for itch in the spinal cord rather than in primary afferent neurons. This sensitization does not appear to be simply based on skin inflammation because histamine-induced itch was not augmented in lesional skin of psoriasis.