فصلنامه پوست و زیبایی
سال ششم شماره 4 (پیاپی 24، زمستان 1394)

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common form of alopecia in men, worldwide and topical minoxidil appears to be the most effective and safe treatment for AGA beside oral finasteride. Safety assessment of topical minoxidil formulation could be conducted using in vivo studies on human volunteers. Using skin biophysical parameters is a fast and noninvasive method for safety assessment of topical products.
A topical combination of Minoxidil 5% solution in combination with chamomile extract from Iran’s pharmaceutical market tested on the skin of the forearm of 15 healthy volunteers. Changes in transepidermal water loss (TEWL), stratum corneum hydration, pH, melanin and hemoglobin contents have been evaluated, using biometric assessments with MPA 580 Cutometer®.
There was not any significant change in skin hydration (P=0.692), TEWL (P=0.191), stratum corneum pH (P=0.613), melanin (P=0.533), and hemoglobin (P=0.579) contents before and after topical minoxidil application.
No significant change detected in skin erythema and assessed parameters Application of minoxidil 5% chamomile 7% topical solution on human volunteers has not shown any adverse effects and these formulations could be recommended to use.

Trichomonas vaginalis infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases of women and men in the world. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no previous report of the prevalence and complications of trichomoniasis in women of Qom.
In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence of T. vaginalis in women whom were admitted to a referral gynecology clinic in the city of Qom. For this purpose, two diagnostic methods, wet mount and ITS-PCR, were used to examin the vaginal swabs taken from the participants. Microscopic examination of cellular morphology and bacteria was also conducted on the stained smear.
Three hundered volunteers were enrolled. Of 300 specimens, 7 (2.67%) by wet mount and 34 (11.3%) by ITS-PCR method were positive. The positive results of ITS-PCR were confirmed by sequencing of PCR products. In comparison with women without T. vaginalis infection, infection with T. vaginalis was associated with increased the risks of low birth weight (OR=43.3; 95% CI=2.8-671.9), in women with history of abortion (OR=91.8; 95% CI=15.5-544.2), and in women with premature rupture of membrane (PROM) (OR=21.6; 95% CI=2.1-22.9). Probability of finding of epithelial cells (OR=36.9; 95% CI=6.9-197.3) and white blood cells (OR=43.3; 95% CI=2.8-665.1) in stained smear were higher in women with T. vaginalis compared to those without T. vaginalis.
Comparing with wet mount, ITS-PCR seems to be a more sensitive and reliable technique in detection of T. vaginalis infection in women. The high prevalence of trichomoniasis emphasizes the need for screening of women in Qom. Early examination and accurate diagnosis of T. vaginalis, especially in middle-aged women, could prevent pregnancy-related complications of T. vaginalis.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common cause of hair loss after puberty and its association with comorbid diseases including metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases has become well known over the past two decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between androgenetic alopecia with carotid artery intima media thickness as a marker for early diagnosis of atherosclerosis in women.
Fifty-four women, 27 with AGA and 27 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Demographic and clinical information of the patients were recorded in the predesigned questionnaires. Carotid intima media thickness was measured using ultrasound and the obtained data were recorded as well. Mann-Whitney and t tests were used to make comparisons between the two groups.
The mean age of case and control groups were 28.8 ± 6.6 and 28.1 ± 6.7 years, respectively. No statistically significant association between AGA and carotid intima media thickness was found, although the findings showed an increase in carotid intima media thickness in patients (P>0.05) No statisctically significant association between carotid intima media thickness and the onset of disease, grade or pattern of AGA was found (P>0.05).
The results of this study did not show any statistically significant relationship between AGA and carotid intima media thickness. However, increased carotid intima media thickness in patients with AGA was found. Better designed studies with larger sample size are recommneded to evaluate carotid intima media thickness as a predictor for cardiovascular disease.

Lack of information on how to protect and prevent cutaneos leishmaniasis plays an important role in the susceptibility to the disease. Therefore, preventive measures will be effective if the parents have awareness about the disease. This study was aimed to invetigate the effects of educational interventions on mother’s knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis.
In this quasi-experimental study, 120 married women who were 15 years of age or older and were referred to Ab-o-Bargh Health Center in Mashhad were recruited. The participants were divided into three groups: participation in an educational lecture, participation in an educational group discussion session, and a control, non-intervention group. A researcher-developed questionnaire including questions on demographic data, and developed knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis were used for data gathering. The evaluation of educational intervention effects were assessed before, immediately after the interventions, and one month after the educational interventions.
Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in the mean of awareness scores between the three groups (P=0.71). However, there was a significant difference in awareness scores between the three groups immediately after the intervention. The observed scores did not change significantly after one month (P=0.001). Also, there was there was a significant difference in the rate of attitude score towards cutaneous leishmaniasis after the intervention between three groups (P=0.001).
Individual and group educational interventions regarding cutaneous leishmaniasis were effective to increase the knowledge and improve the attitude of the participants towards the disease. We recommend to apply effective educational interventions like group discussions to improve the mother's knowledge and their insights about cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Malignant melanoma is one of the most dangerous types of skin cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate Spatial Thermographic Imaging (STI) in differentiating benign from malignant skin lesions.
One-hundred and ten STI images were taken from the volunteers who had lesions being suspected for malignant melanoma. Benignity or malignancy of lesions was determined according to the changes detected in tissue using texture filters. The STI data were compared with histopathology results.
Out of 110 investigated patients with STI, three cases of malignant melanoma were found. Two cases were in men and the other one was in a woman. Accuracy of STI in diagnosis of malignant melanoma was 98%.
STI may potentially be used as a non-invasive method for the detecting skin malignant melanoma.

Postsurgical scars are of significant concern to both the patients and surgeons. Different laser systems have been used to accelerate and improve the healing process in surgical scars. Some studies have demonstrated the benefits of prophylactic laser application on pre-scars. It seems that using laser energy in the early phase of the healing process may produce changes in the physiology of wound healing toward a more fetal-like tissue regeneration and healing. Laser-Assisted Skin Healing (LASH) is a new approach in which laser irradiation is applied immediately after surgery in order to improve the resulting surgical scars. LASH produces controlled homogenous heating throughout the full thickness of the skin around the wound which accelerates wound healing without thermal damage to the tissue.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the available peer-reviewed research literature on the application of LASH, the in-vitro, animal and human studies and the suggested mechanisms of action. Further studies are necessary to optimize the best laser parameters especially according to different skin phototypes and better understanding of the mechanisms of action.

Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases which is caused by an intracellular protozoal infection. It is the third most common opportunistic infectious disease in HIV positive patients worldwide. In this article, we present a 30-year-old women who was a known case of HIV/AIDS infection and developed multiple papules and nodules as on her face, arm and shoulder with diagnoses of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. PCR was performed for determination of parasites species and Leishmania tropica was identified as the causative agent. The patient was treated with parenteral amphotericine B and topical neosomal paromomycin for 3 weeks and all lesions healed without scaring.
She discontinued her anti-retroviral therapy a few months later and the lesions recurred. Finally, she died due to sepsis and pulmonary emboli.