Combined cryotherapy and intralesional MA is more effective than either cryotherapy or intralesional MA alone for the treatment of CL.

Ninety-six patients with a clinical and parasitological diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis were recruited to a comparative randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of topical paromomycin vs. weekly intralesional injections of meglumine antimoniate. The patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups: one group was treated with topical paromomycin ointment and the other with intralesional meglumine antimoniate. Treatment was continued in both groups until complete recovery occurred (defined as healing in less than 2 months with no residual scar or relapse for up to 1 year post treatment). Treatment failure was defined as an increase in the number and size of pre-existing lesions or untoward side-effects. The maximum treatment period was 3 months. The patients were followed up for 1 year. The results showed that intralesional meglumine antimoniate led to 41.7% complete recovery, However, topical paromomycin gave a lower cure rate of 16.6% (P < 0.05). Treatment failure was observed in 39.7% of the group receiving intralesional meglumine and in 72.9% of those on topical paromomycin (P < 0.05). This study indicates that intralesional meglumine antimoniate is superior to topical paromomycin in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Background Microneedling has shown to have positive therapeutic effects in treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA); however, the best microneedling protocol is still controversial. Aims Investigating effect of microneedling with 2 different depths of penetration on promoting hair growth in patients with AGA. Methods Sixty patients, in the age of 18‐45 years old with moderate and severe AGA, were allocated into 3 groups of control: treatment with minoxidil 5% lotion; group A: treatment with minoxidil 5% lotion and biweekly microneedling with a depth of 1.2 mm and group B: treatment with minoxidil 5% lotion and biweekly microneedling with a depth of 0.6 mm during 12 weeks. Efficacy parameters including change of hair count and hair thickness from baseline and assessment of hair growth by patient and investigator were evaluated. Results Compared with the baseline, a significant increase in hair count and hair thickness was observed in all three groups after completion of the treatment course (P < .05). The mean rise in hair count (P = .017) and hair thickness (P = .007) was significantly greater in group B compared with control group. Investigator's evaluation of hair regrowth was significantly greater in group A (P = .04) and group B (P = .007) compared with control group. Conclusion Microneedling with a depth of 0.6 mm in combination with minoxidil is more effective than minoxidil monotherapy in patients with AGA in terms of hair count and hair thickness. This depth of penetration tended to be more beneficial than depth of 1.2 mm.

The results of this and previous studies suggest that cutaneous leishmaniasis can be treated effectively with CO(2) laser if those providing the treatment are sufficiently experienced. Laser treatment is more cost-effective than other treatments and can be used as first-line therapy for cutaneous leishmaniasis (wet and dry types).

It would be very useful to have a more effective and more rapid method available for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The main aim of the present, Iranian study, was to see if the combination of cryotherapy and intralesional injections with meglumine antimoniate (C + MA) would be more effective than the injections given alone (MA) or the combination of cryotherapy plus intralesional sodium stibogluconate (C + SS). Forty patients (with 67 lesions) were treated with C + MA, another 40 (with 65 lesions) were treated with C + SS and 100 patients (with 180 lesions) were treated with MA. Follow-up for 6 months after the final treatment indicated that 89.5% of the lesions treated with C + MA, 92.3% of those treated with C + SS but only 50% of the lesions treated with MA only were completely cured. The frequencies of cure in the two cryotherapy groups were similar, both being significantly higher than that in the MA group (P < 0.05). The combination of cryotherapy with intralesional injections of meglumine antimoniate or sodium stibogluconate, which is much more effective than the use of intralesional meglumine antimoniate alone, should be promoted.