Melasma is a chronic hyperpigmentation disorder. Although several treatment methods are used for patients, it remains a challenging problem for physicians. Erbium-YAG laser is one of the laser ...treatment methods that proved its efficacy in melasma treatment. We aimed to compare the efficacy of combining the fractional Er: YAG laser and Kligman’s formula with Kligman’s formula alone in the treatment of melasma. Twenty female patients with bilateral melasma were randomly treated in a split-face controlled manner with a fractional Er: YAG laser followed by Kligman’s formula on one side and Kligman’s formula on the other side. All patients received three laser sessions with four-week intervals. The efficacy of treatments was determined through photographs, Visioface, and Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI) score, all performed at baseline and three months after the end of laser sessions. Fractional Er: YAG laser and Kligman’s formula showed a significant decrease in MASI score than Kligman’s formula alone (
P
= 0.005). There was a significant decrease in cheek Visioface score on Er: YAG laser and Kligman’s formula vs Kligman’s formula (
P
= 0.02). However, the Patient Global Assessment Scale of both sides was not statistically significant (
P
= 0.23). The combination of Fractional Er: YAG laser with Kligman’s formula is an effective treatment method for melasma.
Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is one of the important causes of cicatricial alopecia. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in the setting of a clinical trial in ...patients with LPP.
We included patients with LPP between 2018 and 2020. Patients were allocated to two groups. The first group received topical clobetasol plus oral low dose naltrexone (3 mg) while the second received topical clobetasol plus placebo. The assessment was made for the disease severity by lichen planopilaris activity index (LPPAI) instrument and the safety of the drug in 2-month intervals up to 6 months. To compare both groups, we used the ANOVA test for repeated measures. Clinical trials registry code: IRCT20180809040747N1.
Thirty-four patients were analyzed in an intention-to-treat fashion. There was a decrescendo pattern on LPPAI scores that was statistically significant within the LDN (p = .001) but almost significant within the placebo group (p = .060) and non-significant between the groups (p = .813). The side effects attributable to the low dose naltrexone was not statistically different between studied groups.
Low-dose naltrexone (3 mg) failed to improve the severity of the LPP more than what is achievable with topical clobetasol.
Currently, mesenchymal stem/stromal stem cell (MSC) therapy has become a promising option for accelerating cutaneous wound healing. In vivo reports have outlined the robust competences of MSCs to ...offer a solid milieu by inhibition of inflammatory reactions, which in turn, enables skin regeneration. Further, due to their great potential to stimulate angiogenesis and also facilitate matrix remodeling, MSCs hold substantial potential as future therapeutic strategies in this context. The MSCs-induced wound healing is thought to mainly rely on the secretion of a myriad of paracrine factors in addition to their direct differentiation to skin-resident cells. Besides, MSCs-derived exosomes as nanoscale and closed membrane vesicles have recently been suggested as an effective and cell-free approach to support skin regeneration, circumventing the concerns respecting direct application of MSCs. The MSCs-derived exosomes comprise molecular components including lipid, proteins, DNA, microRNA, and also mRNA, which target molecular pathways and also biological activities in recipient cells (e.g., endothelial cell, keratinocyte, and fibroblast). The secreted exosome modifies macrophage activation, stimulates angiogenesis, and instigates keratinocytes and dermal fibroblast proliferations as well as migrations concurrently regulate inherent potential of myofibroblast for adjustment of turnover of the ECM. In the present review, we will focus on the recent findings concerning the application of MSCs and their derivative exosome to support wound healing and skin regeneration, with special focus on last decade in vivo reports.
Glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI)-anchored proteins (GpiPs) are related to the cell wall biogenesis, adhesion, interactions, protease activity, mating, etc. These proteins have been identified in ...many organisms, including fungi such as
Neurospora crassa
,
Candida albicans
,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
, and
Fusarium graminearum
.
MGL-3153
gene of
Malassezia globosa
(
M. globosa
) encodes a protein which is homologous of the
M. restricta
,
M. sympodialis
,
M. Pachydermatis
, and
U. maydis
GpiPs. Real-time PCR assay showed that the expression of
MGL_3153
gene was significantly up-regulated among
M. globosa
isolated from patients with pityriasis versicolor (PV) compared to a healthy individual, suggesting the contribution of this gene in the virulence of
M. globosa
. Accordingly, the sequence of this protein was analyzed by bioinformatics tools to evaluate the structure of that. The conservation analysis of MGL-3153 protein showed that the C-terminal region of this protein, which is responsible for GPI-anchor ligation, was highly conserved during evolution while the N-terminal region just conserved in
Malassezia
species. Moreover, the predicted tertiary structure of this protein by homology modeling showed that this protein almost has alpha helix structure and represented a stable structure during 150 ns of molecular dynamic simulation. Our results revealed that this protein potentially belongs to GPI-anchored proteins and may contribute to the virulence of
M. globosa
which warrants further investigations in this area.
Hippo signalling pathway that is evolutionarily conserved affects diver's pathology and physiology processes, including tissue repair, wound healing, tissue size and tissue regeneration. Epigenetic ...changes are post-translational modifications in DNA proteins and histones. Epigenetic changes including histone acetylation and deacetylation, miRNAs dysregulation, and aberrant DNA methylation, inflammatory genes actives abnormal in Hippo signaling pathway. Using some treatments, including Histone Deacetylases (HDACs), herbal composition, siRNAs and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) for suppressing cancer cells by targeting Hippo pathways, may open new views in cancer target therapy fields. The aim of this review study is firstly to demonstrate the importance of Hippo signalling and its association with epigenetic changes in cancer and then to demonstrate progress in targeting Hippo signalling in cancer therapy.
Background and Aims
Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune nonscarring hair disorder with strong genetic links. It seems to be associated with several comorbidities affecting the AA treatment ...plan. On the other hand, the prevalence of comorbidities in different populations can be different based on genetic differences. This study aimed to clarify the association between age and sex with various comorbidities in AA patients.
Methods
This cross‐sectional study was conducted on 402 patients suffering from AA referred to our hospitals between 2018 and 2021. The clinical records of the patients were reviewed, including demographic and clinical information.
Results
The most common diseases associated with AA were anxiety (36%), dermatitis (30%), hypothyroidism (9%), hyperlipidemia (5%), and vitamin D deficiency (4%). The most common comorbidities in AA patients over 18 years were allergic rhinitis, psychological problems, diabetes, hypertension, and hypothyroidism (p < 0.05). Hypothyroidism was more common in female patients than in male patients (p = 0.002). In contrast, hyperlipidemia was more common in male patients than in female patients (p = 0.024). There was a significant association between the severity of AA and hyperlipidemia and vitiligo (p = 0.003 and 0.045).
Conclusion
Sex and age could affect comorbidities. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was higher in our study; it was higher in women than in men. Thyroid function tests were recommended for AA patients.
Keypoints
The prevalence of comorbidities in different populations can be different based on genetic differences.
Sex and age could affect comorbidities. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was higher in our study; it was higher in women than in men.
The two less-known subtypes of lichen planus (LP) are lichen planus actinicus (LPA) and lichen planus pigmentosus (LPP), with the highest prevalence in the Middle East.
We aimed to evaluate the ...clinicopathological profile of these patients.
Three hundred and seven cases including 184 LPA and 123 LPP patients were recruited from the registered pathology reports of Razi Skin Hospital of Tehran from April 2016 to March 2021. The clinical features and pathological reports were extracted and analyzed.
Among 307 patients, 117 (63.9%) in the LPA group and 88 (71.5%) in the LPP group were women. Duration of disease ranged from 1 month to 20 years and 1 month to 12 years in the LPA and LPP groups, respectively. Face (159 patients), limbs (68), and neck (23) were the most frequent sites of involvement in LPA patients, whereas face (60 patients), limbs (47), and trunk (42) were more commonly involved in the LPP patients. Pruritus and oral mucosal lesions were found with similar frequency in both groups. Pathological evaluation showed vacuolar degeneration of basal layer (100%), lymphocytes infiltration (97.3%), and melanin incontinence (58.2%) as the most frequent findings in LPA and vacuolar degeneration of basal layer (100%), lymphocytes infiltration (100%), and melanin incontinence (52/8%) as the most frequent findings in LPP cases.
LPA and LPP were both more prevalent among women. Face was the most common site of involvement in both LPA and LPP. Vacuolar degeneration, lymphocyte infiltration, melanin incontinence, and hyperkeratosis were more common histological findings in this study.
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