It appears unlikely that anxiety and depression play a major role in the etiopathogenesis of AA, but stressful life events may act as a trigger in the onset and/or exacerbation of the disease. Furthermore, AA seems to have a partly negative impact on the health-related quality of life.

No abstract

Background: Onychomycosis has a high prevalance among immunocompromised patients such as diabetics and hemodialysis patients. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of onychomycosis among hemodialysis patients with and without diabetes mellitus, and to find out the factors likely to be associated with the development of onychomycosis among hemodialysis patients.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 2.5 mg/kg/day cyclosporin (CsA) treatment in patients with severe chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) and the impact of CsA treatment on several cytokines involved in the etiopathogenesis of CIU. Twenty-seven CIU patients and 24 healthy control subjects were included in the study. The autologous serum skin test (ASST) for autoantibodies and urticaria activity scoring (UAS) were measured for the evaluation of the clinical severity and the response to therapy, and the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-2 receptor, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-5 were measured. The mean UAS score was 32.07 ± 7.05 and 6.22 ± 3.84 before and after CsA treatment, respectively. The serum IL-2 receptor, TNF-α and IL-5 levels of patients before CsA treatment were statistically higher than those of the control group (P = 0.001), and after 4 weeks of CsA therapy the mean IL-2R, TNF-α and IL-5 levels were significantly decreased. The data from this study demonstrate that CsA therapy is efficient and safe for CIU patients. Increase in clinical efficacy and marked decreases in serum cytokine levels suggest that inhibition of cytokine generation is involved in the action of the drug in this clinical setting.

In this small study, metabolic syndrome was found to be more frequently identified in Turkish patients with psoriasis than in controls; metabolic syndrome could lead to increased cardiovascular disease risk in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.

Objectives: To evaluate the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of vitiligo and the effect of narrowband (NB) ultraviolet (UV) B phototherapy on oxidative stress markers. Methods: Patients with vitiligo and healthy control subjects were included in the study. Patients in the vitiligo group were treated with an NB-UVB regimen (3 Â weekly for 6 months). Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), erythrocyte malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH-Px) levels were assessed in all participants at baseline, and after NB-UVB phototherapy in patients with vitiligo. Results: A total of 24 patients with vitiligo and 27 control subjects were included in the study. Before treatment, erythrocyte MDA levels were significantly higher, and SOD and GSH-Px levels were significantly lower, in patients with vitiligo compared with controls. NB-UVB phototherapy was associated with a significant reduction in MDA levels and a significant increase in GSH-Px levels, compared with baseline, in patients with vitiligo. Conclusion: NB-UVB phototherapy may relieve oxidative stress in patients with vitiligo by reversing the oxidant-antioxidant imbalance that is considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Brucellosis remains an important public health problem in Turkey, just as it is in other regions of the world. This study was conducted to determine the types and rates of cutaneous lesions that occur in patients with brucellosis. Brucellosis was diagnosed by standard tube agglutination testing for Brucella antibodies at a titer of 1/160 or higher in the presence of compatible clinical findings. A total of 140 patients who had been given a diagnosis of brucellosis were prospectively observed in the dermatology clinic. Of these patients, 102 (72.9%) were female, with a mean age of 44.11+/-18.22 y, and 38 (27.1%) were male, with a mean age of 46.44+/-14.58 y. The duration of symptoms was less than 2 mo (acute) in 75 patients (53.5%), from 2 to 12 mo (subacute) in 30 patients (21.4%), and longer than 12 mo (chronic) in 35 patients (25.0%). Cutaneous findings related to brucellosis were observed in 8 (5.71%) of the 140 cases. Maculopapular eruptions were observed in 2 patients (25%), erythema nodosum-like lesions in 2 (25%), psoriasiform lesions in 1 (12.5%), palmar erythema in 1 (12.5%), malar eruption in 1 (12.5%), and palmar eczema in 1 (12.5%). The investigators concluded that although cutaneous findings encountered in brucellosis are generally not specific to this disease, the presence of these findings may be useful in diagnosing brucellosis in persons who live in, or used to live in, endemic regions.

Glycolic acid peeling is an effective modality for the treatment of atrophic acne scars, but repetitive peels (at least six times) with 70% concentration are necessary to obtain evident improvement. Long-term daily use of low-strength products may also have some useful effects on scars and may be recommended for patients who cannot tolerate the peeling procedure.