Assessment of quality of life (QOL) of patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has become increasingly important, both in order to evaluate the influence of the disease on patients and the therapy they require. We aimed to assess QOL in subjects complaining from AGA and evaluated the effects of various sociodemographic factors affecting their QOL. QOL was assessed in 400 patients with AGA and 100 controls using the World Health Organization Quality of life (WHOQOL‐BREF) questionnaire. Four domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental) and two items (overall perception of QOL and health) of the WHOQOL‐BREF were the primary end points of this study. Patients had a lower QoL and less general satisfaction in all four domains of assessment than controls. The social impact was significantly higher in patients < 30 years of age (P = .003). Patients with severer form of AGA significantly had higher scores in all domains compared to those with less severe forms. Disease severity negatively impacted all the four domains significantly (P = .021). AGA harmfully affected the patient's QOL which warns the physicians to pay more attention to QOL impairment in patients of AGA for the better understanding of the disease burden on individual patients.
BackgroundErectile dysfunction (ED) has common risk factors with many cardiovascular (CV) impairments. In view of these facts, hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcys) has been postulated for involvement in endothelial dysfunction.ObjectivesWe evaluated peripheral and penile homocysteine (Hcys) plasma levels before and after folic acid supplementation in idiopathic vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) patients. Materials and methods: This study included 50 consecutive patients and 50 consecutive healthy controls that were recruited from December 2017 to December 2018. The patients received folic acid (FA) daily for 3 months and were evaluated by the abridged 5‐item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF‐5) and penile duplex before and after therapy, in addition to plasma Hcys levels.ResultsOur study showed improvement in the severity of ED in our patients as all of them became mild to moderate ED after folic acid administration. Additionally, the median scores of IIEF‐5 significantly increased from 6 to 14, respectively (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the median peripheral and penile Hcys plasma levels (μmol/l) significantly decreased after folic acid administration as 39 patients with moderate ED and 11 patients with severe ED were 0.62, 0.34, 5.37, 0.37, respectively, became mild to moderate ED with their median peripheral and penile Hcys plasma levels became 0.19, 0.15, p < 0.001, <0.001, respectively. Peripheral Hcys level correlates significantly with penile Hcys before and after folic acid administration (r: −0.06 p: 0.8, r: 0.9, p < 0.001, respectively).Discussion and conclusionRecently, an emerging body of evidence suggests a role for Hcys and folate in erectile function. Interestingly, our interventional study is one of the first that evaluated the effect of folic acid supplementation on HHcys where it demonstrated a significant decrease in peripheral and penile Hcys plasma levels after folic acid administration. Thus, FA should be prescribed concomitantly with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in ED patients.
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common chronic dermatological illness that affects both men and women. 1 Throughout their lives, it impacts up to 80% of men and 50% of women. 2 It is characterized by gradual thinning, miniaturization, and hair loss at the afflicted locations. The extent and intensity of hair loss vary greatly between frontotemporal recession and residual occipital band, and patients may go through several stages in between. 3
Vitiligo affects 0.5-1% of the general population and represents the commonest depigmenting skin disease. 1 Therapeutic options available for vitiligo include topical and systemic immune-modulatory agents, surgery, cosmetic camouflage, and photo[chemo]therapy. Conventional phototherapies include psoralen and ultraviolet (UV) A (PUVA), broadband UVB (BB-UVB, 290-320 nm), and narrowband UVB (NB-UVB, 311-313 nm). 2 Targeted phototherapy uses special delivery mechanisms to target only the affected skin such as hand-held NB-UVB delivery systems, excimer laser, and excimer lamp. Two major types of machines utilize a xenon-chloride (XeCl) gas mixture to emit monochromatic excimer light (MEL, 308 nm) with almost equivalent efficacy: the
Background
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that causes non‐scarring hair loss. To date, there is no single cure and treatment remains challenging.
Objectives
To evaluate the efficacy of Jessener solution versus intralesional steroid in treatment of Alopecia Areata.
Methods
This study included 40 patients who presented with multifocal patchy alopecia areata (AA). For each patient, three patches were randomly selected to be treated one with intralesional steroid, another with topical Jessner solution and the third with normal saline. Three sessions were done 3 weeks apart and were followed up for 3 months. Response was assessed clinically and by trichoscope.
Results
Fifteen percent of patches coated with Jessner or injected with steroids showed an excellent response while 20% of patches coated with Jessner and 32.5% patches injected with steroids showed a good response. A significant difference was observed between the three modalities of treatment regarding the prognostic score for response (p < 0.001) as patches coated with Jessner and those steroid injected showed a significant higher response rate than patches injected with saline (p < 0.001) while no significant difference was reported between patches either treated with Jessner or steroids (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
Jessners solution can be a novel and feasible and well tolerated modality of treatment for patients suffering from alopecia areata.
Cancer stem cells (CSC) are populations of cells responsible for tumor initiation, progression and therapeutic resistance in many cancers. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the expression pattern and clinical significance of the stem cell marker nestin, in Squaous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC).
Background
Cutaneous lupus erythematosus is an umbrella term for a group of autoimmune connective tissue disorders affecting the skin. Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is the chronic condition and most common form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus.
Aims
Current therapies of DLE are challenging and not completely satisfactory, highly expensive, off‐label, or poorly available (like antimalarials due to COVID‐19 outbreaks). Nicotinamide, also called niacinamide, is a water‐soluble form of vitamin B3 (niacin). Its multiple effects let us think that nicotinamide could be a therapy for lupus‐associated skin lesions.
Methods
We performed a prospective randomized double‐blind clinical trial on 60 subjects diagnosed with Discoid lupus erythematosus using topical Nicotinamide 2% and 4% preparations in form of cream and gel on skin and scalp lesions. Control group was included using only cream/gel base as placebo control.
Results
Obtained data showed that topical Nicotinamide can be used for the treatment of DLE as adjuvant to other treatment regimens with good cosmetic results and minimal side effects. Topical 4% Nicotinamide is superior to 2% preparation in response but associated with a higher incidence of irritation.
Conclusion
Topical Nicotinamide can be used for the treatment of DLE as an adjuvant to other treatment regimens with good cosmetic results and minimal side effects. Further trials with long‐term therapy, follow‐up period, and bigger sample sizes are required.
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