Journal of Skin and Stem Cell
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Sep 2014

Alopecia areata is a disorder causing local or total body hair loss. Various therapeutic modalities have been used for the treatment of this disease; however, none of them were completely effective.

In this study, we compared the efficacy of topical Elidel alone and Elidel accompanied with tretinoin in the treatment of alopecia areata.
Patients and

This randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on patients with alopecia areata in Rasul-e Akram Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from 2010 to 2011. Patients in the Elidel group applied Elidel 1% cream twice a day. The second group received 1% Elidel in the mornings and 0.05% tretinoin in the evenings. The results compared after three months of treatment.

A total of 80 patients were randomly allocated to two treatment groups. The mean age of the patients was 21.8 ± 3.9 and 21.6 ± 4.4 years in the Elidel and Elidel plus tretinoin groups, respectively (P = 0.879). There were 26 males (65%) in the Elidel and 24 (60%) male patients in Elidel plus tretinoin groups (P = 0.481). In The Elidel group, the complete cure was observed in eight patients (20%), relative cure in 14 (35%), no change in 10 (25%), and disease aggravation in 8 (20%) cases; in the Elidel plus tretinoin group, the complete cure was reported in 18 patients (45%), relative cure in 12 (30%), no change in 8 (20%), and disease aggravation in 2 (5%) (P = 0.048) cases. The cure rate in both groups significantly changed in comparison to the previous findings (P < 0.001).

Our study showed that the combined use of Elidel and tretinoin was more effective than Elidel alone

The association of the human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) with Mycosis fungoides (MF) and large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP) has been assessed previously and contradictory results were reported. Although it was investigated in different countries and different ethnic groups, there was no study concerning Iranian population with these lymphoproliferative diseases.

We aimed to assess the association of HHV-8 with MF and LPP in biopsy samples of Iranian patients with these lymphoproliferative conditions.
Patients and

Paraffin-embedded samples from patients who were diagnosed by histopathological examination as MF or LPP were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in a molecular epidemiology case-control study. Primerdesign Genesig kit for HHV-8 Genomes was used to extract total DNA. Samples from chronic dermatitis were used as control; five samples from patients with kaposi sarcoma were used as positive control in PCR.

The investigated samples consisted of 13 patient with MF, 10 patients with LPP, and 23 patients with chronic dermatitis; the diagnosis of these skin conditions were confirmed histopathologically. The RT-PCR could not detect HHV-8 DNA sequence in any of the examined samples, ie. MF, LPP, and chronic dermatitis. The PCR results for all kaposi sarcoma samples were positive for HHV-8 genome.

There was no association between HHV-8 and MF or LPP in Iranian population. This is in accordance with most of the reports from different countries.

Hemangioma is the most common benign cutaneous vascular tumor in infants and children. The Hemangioma incidence in the neonates is 2% to 3% that increases to 10% in those younger than one year of age. Before introduction of propranolol in 2008, different medications such as systemic corticosteroids and vincristine, with different side effects, were used for years. Since then, over 200 studies concerning propranolol administration have been published. This study reviews propranolol use in infantile hemangioma.

Vitiligo is a common skin pigmentation disorder affecting 0.5-2% of the general population. The pathogenesis of vitiligo is not well-known; however, some evidences have shown the role of autoimmune processes. Increased prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disorders in patients with vitiligo has been reported.

We aimed to assess the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disorders among patients with vitiligo who referred to Sina Hospital of Hamadan in west of Iran in 2008.
Patients and

This case-control study comprised 45 patients with vitiligo and 45 healthy individuals (control group). Data on age, gender, family history of vitiligo, distribution pattern and duration of the disease were collected through a questionnaire. Fasting blood samples of the patients were tested to measure blood thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxin (T4), and anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) levels.

The mean ages of cases and controls were 30.71 ± 4.8 and 30.31 ± 3.7 years old, respectively. Totally, 86.7% of cases had generalized lesions. In 32.2% of cases, trunk was the first involved region. Average duration of the disease was 7.76 years. The mean T4 level was 1.55 ± 0.27 pmol/L in case and 1.48 ± 0.22 pmol/L in control groups. The mean blood TSH levels were 1.94 ± 1.42 mIU/L in case and 2.8 ± 6.51 mIU/L in control groups and the mean anti-TPO levels were 136.82 ± 45.54 and 86.87 ± 23.05 IU/mL in case and control groups, respectively. None of the aforementioned differences were statistically significant.

Our findings showed that the small difference in thyroid test results between the two groups was not statistically significant. According to our findings, patients with vitiligo were not at a higher risk for either autoimmune or functional thyroid disorders in comparison with the healthy ones

Cement has a wide industrial usage and it is the leading cause of occupational skin diseases among construction workers, which are present as contact urticarial and contact dermatitis.

A 79-year-old water sewage worker man referred to our department with numerous symmetric hyper-keratotic papules with an erythematous base on both hands and feet for about 20 years.

In this case, a large number of hyperkeratotic papules on common sites of cement contact are significant which is not reported among literature to the author’s knowledge. These lesions are painful and pruritic; however, symptoms releived after stopping cement exposure. In our case, occupational injury occurred because the patient’s lacks of knowledge about safe working with cement and its importance.

Isfahan province is one of the common foci of the cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran, particularly the wet or rural zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL). Several factors other than the location of the disease are implicated in the epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis, such as the presence of sandflies as vectors and the role of rodents as reservoirs. These factors that contribute to the transmission of the disease include agricultural projects, migration of the non-immune individuals to the endemic areas, rapid and unplanned urbanization, environmental changes (such as irrigation, dam construction, and desertification).

Due to the lack of information about the epidemiology and prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Isfahan province, Iran, this study was designed to investigate the aforementioned factors.
Patients and

Data were collected from the recorded data of patients with leishmaniasis referred to Isfahan Province Health Care Center, Isfahan, Iran. The patients were diagnosed by direct microscopic examination of the samples in Leishmaniasis and Skin Diseases Research Center and other health care centers. Data concerning demographic features, the number and location of lesions, duration of disease, area of residence, work location, the history of travel within the past two months, address, and telephone number of the patients was collected. The epidemiological status of leishmaniasis was determined from the recorded data.

In total, data of 28315 patients with leishmaniasis during 2001 to 2011 were studied .Among them, 10809 (38.2%) patients were female and 17491 (61.8%) patients were male. The mean age of the patients was 22.40 ± 16.52 years (range, 1-100 years). The incidence of lesions in different body parts was as follows: face, 12.1%; hands and legs, 12.3%; face and hands, 4.5%; legs, 24.1%; hands prevalence, 32.3%; and the other parts of body, 11.5%. The number of the lesions on the trunk ranged from one to three. In this study, 12163 (43%) patients had one, 6330 (22.4%) had two, 503 (8.1%) had three, and 8008 (28.3%) had more than three lesions. Overall, 17883 (63.2%) patients lived in urban areas and 8241 (29.1%) in rural areas and most of the cases were seen among those who lived in cities and urban areas.

Considering the high prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Isfahan province, eliminating the leishmaniasis vector and its reservoirs in this endemic area seems to be necessary. During the years, it has been showed that leishmaniasis is endemic in Isfahan province hence, a more extensive epidemiologic study is recommended.

Foot ulcer, with a prevalence of 15% in general population, is one of the main complications in patients with diabetes. So far, different therapeutic methods have been provided for the treatment of foot ulcers. When no response to the standard treatment methods is observed, other methods would be applied.

In this report, we introduce two men with type 2 diabetes mellitus and recalcitrant diabetic foot ulcer who were treated with topical 50% trichloroacetic acid solvent and autologous fibroblasts. The treatment resulted in complete healing of foot ulcers in both patients.

Trichloroacetic acid and autologous fibroblast can be considered as therapeutic choice for recalcitrant diabetic foot ulcer