News

The out-of-pocket expenditures needed to buy the equipment used in every practice have always been reduced or helped by tax laws. Today, thanks to the new Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, the needed equipment may be more affordable than ever.

Q I am currently acting as the trustee of my dermatology practice's retirement plan. How do I avoid potential liability issues as my plan's fiduciary?

It is not uncommon for a physician to leave a group practice and become a solo practitioner. The decision is usually related to a desire for autonomy, greater control of the practice, and often times, financial issues.

Chicago - Being interviewed by a journalist is just like performing a patient procedure. It doesn't have to be painful - for either of you.

Frequently, I am invited to give talks about medical subjects, and this has turned into quite an an enjoyable and lucrative business. Some people have wondered how I go about doing this work. First, I will discuss the myriad of little details which I must attend to if I want to be considered a "good speaker."

Dateline - Dermatologists looking for a collagen alternative for facial soft tissue augmentation might want to look to Radiance or Radiance FN (fine needle) - products that already have good track records with cosmetic surgeons.

New York - While the micronized formulation of Alloderm (Cymetra, LifeCell Corp.) is an appropriate substance for correcting certain facial defects, the physician who wants to use it may need to manage patient expectations, according to Anthony P. Sclafani, M.D.

New Orleans - Radiofrequency energy is a viable option for tightening facial and neck skin, but it is not a replacement for severe laxity and surgical alternatives.

New Orleans - Dermatologists who prescribe acitretin to patients who have had organ transplants can rest easy that the drug will not adversely affect wound healing, according to a new study.

New Orleans - When alar reconstruction results in asymmetry, patients are often reluctant to undergo revisional surgery. This makes prevention of asymmetry of the alar rim an imperative goal, according to Stephen D. Antrobus, M.D.

San Francisco - Increased understanding of the routes of drug metabolism has facilitated better potential drug interaction predictions, said Neil H. Shear, M.D.

San Francisco - The presence of bacteria can have an effect on the course and severity of inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, according to Jeffrey B. Travers, M.D., Ph.D. An understanding of the mechanisms behind this effect will assist in choosing which patients may potentially benefit from antibiotic treatment as part of their therapy.

New York - Lasers, both excimer and pulsed dyed, and narrowband ultraviolet light sources are effective in treating limited plaque psoriasis, according to several practitioners across the United States who have done studies with these therapies.

Chicago - Although some drugs used to treat psoriasis are known teratogens, dermatologists still have a range of options they might choose from for managing psoriasis across its spectrum of severity in women who are or wish to become pregnant, Mark Lebwohl, M.D., said at Academy '03.

Chicago - Results of two clinical trials involving bexarotene (Targretin) and presented at recent meetings of the American Academy of Dermatology offer hope for patients with severe forms of psoriasis refractory to systemic therapies, according to researchers.

New York - It seems pregnancy brings more than a "healthy glow." It might also help clear psoriasis for those who have the skin disease. A new study shows that psoriatic women who have high estrogen levels during pregnancy experience significant improvements of their psoriasis.

Auckland, New Zealand - Intradermal injection of a purified cell wall component from heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae may one day be used to treat children with severe atopic dermatitis, if a clinical program carried out by a New Zealand company continues to be successful.

Las Vegas - Long gone are the days when only bodybuilders would take anabolic-androgenic steroids to gain so great a muscle mass that they would get stretch marks on their arms. The use of high doses of anabolic steroids by all types athletes, bodybuilders, and people just trying to look good is widespread in the United States. It's rapidly increasing among both sexes and people of many ages.

Chicago - The Koo-Menter Psoriasis Instrument (KMPI) offers dermatologists a simple and practical assessment tool for determining psoriasis status and identifying patients who may be candidates for systemic therapy, said Alan D. Menter, M.D., who developed the instrument in collaboration with John Y.M. Koo, M.D.

San Francisco - Recent literature contains a number of reports with relevant information for enhancing the management of patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), Jeffrey P. Callen, M.D., said.

Q. What is the difference between a dry and oily hair shampoo?

New Orleans - The pain associated with cryotherapy for removal of abnormal skin growths like warts and actinic keratoses long has been a problem. The efficacy of topical anesthetics to attenuate this pain has been disappointing, but some careful experimenting by James G. Lahti, M.D., M.P.H., suggests that they can be helpful after all, if used in the correct manner.

San Francisco - When reconstruction of a surgical defect requires a split-thickness skin graft, some dermatologists will refer the patient to a plastic surgeon. However, that procedure is quite simple and is something that can be completed very quickly with a minimum of equipment, Paul J.M. Salmon, M.D., said.

New Orleans - Dermatologic surgeons seeking a simple solution to difficult problems would do well to consider a method recently presented by John A. Zitelli, M.D. Developed approximately 20 years ago and performed on more than a dozen patients since then, his method provides a much more reliable solution than does the traditional approach to repairing notches that may be left after procedures such as skin grafts and local flaps heal, Dr. Zitelli said.

National Report - Something as simple as aspirin in large amounts may alleviate a rare, complex, inherited form of cancer called familial cylindromatosis in which giant mushroom-shaped tumors arise from hair follicles and sweat glands, according to Dutch researchers.

Chicago - An orally active small molecule inhibitor of Raf kinase, the first of its class to enter clinical trials, is well tolerated when combined with standard chemotherapy agents, and may have activity against metastatic melanoma, Keith T. Flaherty, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

New York - The safety and efficacy of the new biologic agents for psoriasis suggest a new treatment strategy that departs from the current stepwise approach, according to Craig L. Leonardi, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri.

Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon), died of colon cancer on Aug. 16, 2003 at the age of 83. From 1959 until his retirement in 1987, Fitzpatrick served as professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and as Chief of the Dermatology Service at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Chicago - Psoriasis in the HIV-infected patient can present a treatment challenge, but there are a number of safe and effective options to consider, Mark Lebwohl, M.D., said at Academy '03.

The FDA will review both Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.'s Restylane and Inamed Corp's Hylaform on November 21.