News

Treatment of pigmented lesions has evolved over the past five to 10 years, according to Eliot Battle Jr., M.D., cosmetic dermatologist and chief executive officer, Cultura Dermatology & Laser Center, Washington, and clinical instructor, department of dermatology, Howard University Hospital.

Recent publications in pediatric literature are driving practice changes relative to conditions ranging from Kawasaki disease to child abuse to hemangiomas. Perhaps the most important recent pediatric publication many dermatologists may have missed addresses evaluating abuse versus accidental trauma in infants and young children, says Robert Sidbury, M.D., M.P.H., chief of pediatric dermatology and associate professor of pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital.

Diane Berson, M.D., lives for life's interactions. "I just enjoy interactions on a daily basis, whether that's with my patients, my family, my colleagues or my friends," she says.

Melasma can be both recurrent and persistent, so it is imperative that clinicians treat it sooner rather than later, according to a dermatologist specializing in treating the condition.

Mr. Eye, who was hearing impaired, was to be scheduled for Mohs micrographic surgery. Unfortunately, before his surgery he became ill and did not recover, nor did he return to Dr. Skin's office for six months. Unfortunately, Dr. Skin's staff had forgotten about Mr. Eye's hearing impairment. They took his lack of response as senility consistent with his age. Dr. Skin chose to use only palliative treatment while watching the carcinoma invade Mr. Eye's orbit over the next year.

Molecular diagnostic strategies are redefining the clinical management of a wide range of skin disorders, facilitating diagnosis, staging and prognostication, selection of appropriate therapy, monitoring of treatment response and identification of novel therapeutic targets.

When analyzing suspicious lesions, any diagnostic tool is only as good as the physician using it. Besides patients' suspicions, dermatologists can rely on objective diagnostic tools including dermoscopy and total body photography.

Although treating patients with vulvar disorders can be challenging, confidence and compassion go a long way toward helping these patients. Sometimes, dermatologists allow themselves to be intimidated by the idea that vulvar and mucosal problems differ vastly from the usual issues they treat.

Many physicians don't understand the key characteristics that differentiate currently available hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers, says Derek H. Jones, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology, University of California, Los Angeles.

There are innovations in nonsurgical modalities for the treatment of actinic keratoses (AKs) and nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) and a basis for broadening the use of preventive strategies, says Leonard H. Goldberg, M.D.

Most of us have had experiences of being unjustly accused of poor medical care by a person whose capabilities to make these sorts of judgments are suboptimal at best. What can be done to combat these annoying and sometimes slanderous utterances placed online?

Approaches to treatment of primary Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) have varied widely, but results of a published study (Schwartz JL, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2011;29(8):1036-1041) support nodal staging as an important component in managing this cutaneous malignancy, according to investigators from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

In healing persistent surgical or other wounds of the lower leg, says Jeffrey E. Petersen, M.D., it's dermatologists' understanding of the fine balance required for wound healing - and how to manipulate this balance - that "allows us to walk where others fear to tread."

Analyses of prospectively collected data from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) suggest periodontal disease (PD) may be a risk factor for psoriasis, reported Sarah Nakib, M.D., M.P.H., at the 2011 meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

Dermatology practices are busy places where even a small delay in the morning can throw physicians off schedule for the remainder of the day. The result isn't just more stress; it can include unhappy patients and perhaps even staff overtime costs. None of those outcomes is good for you, your patients or your staff.

Medina, Ohio, dermatologist Helen M. Torok, M.D., says her busy practice could spend $3,000 to $5,000 every quarter on a printed and snail-mailed patient newsletter. Instead, creating a business page on Facebook eliminated that expense and allows her to offer patients more timely information.

While the standard of care to treat melanomas is surgery, when melanomas appear as in situ or as lentigo malignas, which have the potential for invasion, imiquimod can serve as a first-line option for treatment.

A review of published studies suggests that a new, effective class of psoriasis drugs may not raise the risk of heart problems, but researchers say the analysis is likely too small to detect rare cases, Reuters reports.

A new study links higher levels of vitamin D within the normal range with an increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer, Medpage Today reports.

A new international professional group has been formed for dermatologic and aesthetic surgeons, Medscape Today reports.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Avita Medical’s investigational device exemption feasibility study for the use of ReCell Spray-On-Skin in the treatment of hypertrophic dyspigmented scars.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the oral targeted therapy vemurafenib (Zelboraf, Plexxikon/Roche) for treatment of metastatic and unresectable melanomas, Medscape Today reports.

The number of children hospitalized for skin and soft-tissue infections, mainly due to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has more than doubled over the past decade, Medical News Today reports.

Results of a small study suggest that there is significant potential for a pressure device used to supplement other treatments for auricular keloids, Medical News Today reports.

Most doctors will face at least one malpractice lawsuit by age 65, according to a new study. But dermatologists are among the least-sued specialists, Medscape Today reports.

Frequent tanning bed users may have a neurological reward-and-reinforcement trigger similar to that seen in drug or alcohol abusers, Medical News Today reports.

Two cases of otherwise healthy men acquiring a rare bacterial skin infection apparently after receiving tattoos at a Seattle parlor have prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend that tattoo artists use sterilized water in their procedures, Medical News Today reports.

Environmental factors, injuries and occupations that involve heavy lifting are significantly associated with the development of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), HealthDay News reports.

Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of food sensitization in children with certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), HealthDay News reports.

Government regulatory agency Health Canada has issued a consumer alert that finasteride, a drug used to treat male pattern hair loss and enlarged prostate, can increase the risk of breast cancer, Toronto’s Globe and Mail reports.