Iranian Journal Of Dermatology
Volume:22 Issue: 4, Winter 2019

Radiation-induced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) can be multiple, large, and recurring, which complicates its treatment in some cases. According to reports on the role of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) inhibitors in the treatment or prevention of non-melanoma skin cancers and considering the fact that COX2 expression has not been evaluated in radiation-induced basal cell carcinoma, weset out to assess the expression of COX2 in these lesions.

In this study, COX2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry using anti-COX2 antibody on paraffinembedded blocks of 86 patients referred to Emam Reza Hospitalin Mashhad with BCC diagnosis by pathological examination (43 patients with and 43 without a history of radiotherapy) followed by semi-quantitative evaluation of COX2.

In our study, COX2 expression score was significantly higher in patients with a history of radiotherapy than those without radiotherapy (P<0.001). No correlation was found between theintensity and percentage of staining with sex, age, site of lesion, recurrence, and pathology of the tumor.

Given the higher expression level of COX2 in the radiation-induced BCC patients, the use of COX2 inhibitors in these individuals may be effective in the incidence, recurrence, or treatment of BCC.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most prevailing type of progressive hair loss. Thus far, some previous studies have investigated the correlation between AGA and metabolicsyndrome (MetS). However, due to the inconsistency of their results, our study aims at evaluating the association between AGA and MetS.

Fifty two male patients with grade III-V AGA, based on Ebling’s scale, and 50 control subjects were enrolled in the present study. All participants were evaluated for the presenceof Mets based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III).

The prevalence of MetS was 51.3% in AGA group and 17.8% in control group (P=0.003). Among MetS parameters, Systolic blood pressure (P=0.003) and waist circumference (P<0.001)were statistically significant in AGA patients compared to the control group.

Our study demonstrated that the association between AGA and MetS is of great importance. Therefore, early detection can be beneficial for early intervention to lower the incidence of MetS and further complications.

Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to evaluate patients with lichen planus using carotid Doppler ultrasound parameters.

Forty patients with lichen planus and 40 controls were included in this study. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the number of atherosclerotic plaque weremeasured and compared to the control group. Total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were measured. Leptin level (Pg/ml)was measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method (Leptin ELISA kit, Orgenium, Finland).

Significant difference was found between the groups in terms of CIMT (P=0.005). The median range for blood leptin level, triglyceride, cholesterol, and LDL was higher for lichen planus patients than for controls. We found a significant difference between the severity of LP and CIMT (P=0.035). No statistical difference was found between LP and the number of atherosclerotic plaque.

Our study suggested that measurement of the mean intima media wall thickness of the common carotid artery could be beneficial as a valuable method for early diagnosis of atherosclerosis in lichen planus.

Atopic dermatitis is the most common inflammatory skin disease in children. Severe itching may lead to an impaired quality of life in the patients. In this study, we evaluated the validity and reliability of Persian version of a questionnaire regarding the infants’ dermatitis quality of life in children suffering from atopic dermatitis. When the original authors approved of the Persian version of the questionnaire, the parents completed the questionnaire for their 98 children with atopic dermatitis aged less than four years. We analyzed the data by SPSS 16. Cronbach’s alpha and inter-item and calculated the correlations to evaluate the reliability and validity via Kaiser criterion and scree plot. The calculated mean score of questionnaire was 9.65±5.41. The first (itching and scratching) and eight questions (treatment problems) obtained the highest and lowest scores, respectively. There was a strong, positive correlation between the severity of the disease and the quality of life score in the patients. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated as 0.88 which is a sign of good internal consistency of the items. The inter-item correlative coefficients varied between -0.004 to 0.87. We used Kaiser’s criterion and scree plot to evaluate the validity and achieve a two-factor solution. Persian version of infants’ dermatitis quality of life index questionnaire was valid and reliable.

Skin diseases in the pediatric population are common worldwide, including rural and urban areas. There is a variation in the pattern and presentation of dermatoses, with eczemas being the most common skin disorder in developed countries and infestations in the developing countries. To study pattern, age-gender wise distribution and seasonal variations of various pediatric dermatoses.

All children in the age group of 1-12 years of either sex were recruited in the dermatology outpatient department from November 2014 to October 2016.

Infections and Infestations were the most common dermatoses (46.3%), followed by dermatitis and eczema (20.24%). Among, the most common types of infections and infestations were scabies (33.49%), followed by viral (30.4%), and bacterial (23.3%) infections. Impetigo (P<0.001), furunculosis (P=0.025), molluscumcontagiosum (P<0.001), hand foot mouth disease (P=0.004) and atopic dermatitis (P=0.003) were significantly higher in the age group of 1 4 years. We also found a significant association between the seasonal variation and the bacterial infections, pediculosis and varicella.

In our study, skin infections and infestations outnumbered other pediatric dermatoses. These are potentially controllable and hence strategies that target infections and infestations may be a key to an efficient child health care program.

There are many immune mediated disorders with the corroborated role of vitamin D or Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms in their pathogenesis, immunologic regulation, and disease characteristics. Therefore, in this review, we searched PubMed data base in regard to the role of VDR gene polymorphisms in common autoimmune disorders, emphasizing on dermatologic diseases.

Varicella is a common viral infection that occasionally results in scar. Despite a number of measurements taken to combat this infection, they have all been either impractical or limited.The current study presents a 28-year-old woman diagnosed with varicella 10 years ago which caused her to have several depressed skin scars over the face. She was subjected to sequential treatment of punch elevation, fractional CO2 laser therapy, and autologous fat injection in one session. Over two years of postoperative follow-up, remarkable aesthetic improvements were observed in her face. This method had some advantages including high speed, convenience, application of conventional medical devices, and the minimal manipulation. The only limitation of our method was mild-to-moderate improvement of the previous hyperpigmentation of the scar.