Objective: To record the prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban primaryschool children in relation to several socio-economic and demographic factors. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting/subjects: A representative sample of 729 schoolchildren (379 male and 350 female), aged 9-13 years, stratified by parental educational level, was examined in the urban region of Athens. Weight and height were measured using standard procedures. The International Obesity Task Force thresholds were used for the definition of overweight and obesity. Several socio-economic and demographic data and the child's 'popularity' score were also recorded with specifically designed standardized questionnaires.

clusion:The study supported the hypothesis that leptin and resistin concentrations are higher and adiponectin concentrations are lower in patients with psoriasis compared to controls. Hereby, the suggested pathogenic link between psoriasis and metabolic syndrome/obesity is reinforced and the role of comorbidities in psoriasis is highlighted.

A case-control study was performed to assess the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-12/23p40, and IL-17 in patients with plaque psoriasis, compare them with healthy controls, and correlate them with disease severity, as represented by Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI). 32 consecutively selected, untreated patients with active, chronic plaque psoriasis were recruited and compared to 32 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Serum cytokine levels were determined by solid phase sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (R&D Systems Europe, Ltd.). The mean serum levels of TNF-α were significantly higher in psoriatic patients compared to those of controls (Mann-Whitney U test; P = 0.000). However, the median serum levels of neither IL-12/23p40 nor IL-17 differ significantly between the 2 groups (Mann-Whitney U test; P = 0.968 and P = 0.311, resp.). No significant correlations were found between PASI and any of the cytokine serum levels (Spearman's rank test; P > 0.05). Despite the well-evidenced therapeutic efficacy of biologic agents targeting TNF-α, IL-12/23p40, and IL-17, serum levels of TNF-α, IL-12/23p40, and IL-17 do not seem to correlate with the severity of psoriatic skin disease in untreated patients, as represented by PASI. Further investigation may add more data on the pathogenetic cascade of psoriasis.

Nail psoriasis and onychomycosis can often be hard to differentiate clinically and may coexist, complicating each other's course. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of onychomycosis among patients with nail psoriasis not being treated with immunosuppressive agents, which constitute an independent risk factor for fungal infections. A cross-sectional study was performed. All adult patients with nail psoriasis who were not receiving antifungal and/or immunosuppressive treatment were recruited at the 2nd University Dermatology Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki from 10/2016 till 02/2017. If onychomycosis was clinically suspected, nail samples were collected and direct microscopy with 15% KOH solution and culture were performed. Target-NAPSI and DLQI score were also calculated. Of the 23 patients recruited, 20 were men and 3 were women, with a mean age of 53.43 years (48.25, 58.62), a mean target-NAPSI score of 10.72 (9.62, 11.77) and a mean DLQI score of 10.17 (7.46, 12.89). A total of 34.78% of patients tested positive for onychomycosis. Yeast were isolated in 37.50% of cases, non-dermatophyte filamentous fungi in 37.50% and T. rubrum in 12.50%. The prevalence of onychomycosis among nail psoriasis patients is higher than that among the general population of Greece (15%-20%). Yeast and moulds predominate in infection cases of nail psoriasis patients.

Background:Occurrence rates of specific features of psoriatic nails, as well as the influence of variable clinical parameters on nail involvement in psoriasis, are not determined. Objective:To evaluate the frequency and characteristics of nail involvement in patients with psoriasis and determine the relationship between nail psoriasis and clinical parameters (age, gender, family history, clinical type, age of onset, duration, joint involvement). Methods: 228 psoriatic patients, who had not received any systematic or topical antipsoriatic treatment for at least a year, were consecutively selected to participate in this cross-sectional study. Results: 66.7% of patients had nail psoriasis. A logistic regression model showed that none of the clinical covariates were statistically significant in predicting nail psoriasis. Conclusion: The majority of psoriatic patients presented nail psoriasis. The most common feature was oil drop. There was a difference in the prevalence of each feature between fingernails and toenails. In correlation with clinical parameters, nail psoriasis evolves independently.

A 27-year-old female, gravida 1, para 0, in week 22 of pregnancy, presented with an eruption consisting of annular erythematosquamous plaques with an active polycyclic elevated border comprised of superficial micropustules. Clinical and histological features were typical of impetigo herpetiformis (IH). Systemic steroids resulted in an unstable condition, with no resolution of lesions. Resistance to the above therapeutic scheme served as a stimulus to discuss the use of cyclosporine as a therapeutic option in this condition. Reviewing the limited literature, cyclosporine seems to serve not as a monotherapy in the management of IH but as an additional medication, in order to achieve a stable course of the disease and avoid high doses of systemic steroids.

Benign cephalic histiocytosis (BCH) is a rare type of non-Langerhans histiocytic disorder, usually presenting with small, yellow-red or yellow-brown, asymptomatic papules, located mostly on the head and neck of infants and young children. The histopathologic hallmark of BCH is a well-circumscribed histiocytic infiltrate in the superficial to mid-reticular dermis. BCH is a self-healing disorder, with the eruptions regressing spontaneously in most cases; therefore no treatment is required. We present a case of BCH in a 7-month-old boy who was referred to our department with multiple, asymptomatic, yellow-red papules located on his face, and we review 55 cases published in the English-language literature in an effort to better describe and understand this unusual entity.

39 bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients were studied to assess the clinical significance of anti-BP180 and anti-BP230 circulating autoantibodies of BP and correlate their titers with the clinical scores of the BP Disease Area Index (BPDAI) and the Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS) as well as with the intensity of pruritus measured by the BPDAI pruritus component. All parameters were evaluated by the time of diagnosis (baseline), month 3, and month 6. Titers of anti-BP180 autoantibodies were strongly correlated with BPDAI (r = 0.557, P  value < 0.0001) and ABSIS (r = 0.570, P  value < 0.0001) values, as well as with BPDAI component for the intensity of pruritus (rho = 0.530, P  value = 0.001) at baseline. At month 3, titers of anti-BP180 autoantibodies were strongly correlated with BPDAI (rho = 0.626, P  value = 0.000) and ABSIS (rho = 0.625, P  value = 0.000) values, as well as with the BPDAI component for the intensity of pruritus (rho = 0.625, P  value = 0.000). At month 6, titers of anti-BP180 autoantibodies were strongly correlated with BPDAI (rho = 0.527, P  value = 0.001) and ABSIS (rho = 0.526, P  value = 0.001) values, as well as with the BPDAI component for the intensity of pruritus (rho = 0.525, P  value = 0.001). There was no statistically significant correlation between titers of anti-BP230 autoantibodies and the BPDAI, ABSIS, and BPDAI component for the intensity of pruritus at the same time points.