No abstract

This study demonstrated that sleep disorder is an independent risk factor for alopecia areata, especially in individuals under the age of 45 years old.

This study investigated the prevalence of psoriasis and trends in prescription of medications for patients with psoriasis using the Korean National Health Insurance Claims Database from 2006 to 2015. The prevalence of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis per 10,000 people increased from 47.4 to 61.5 and from 0.04 to 0.23 respectively. The prescription of topical agents was a mean of 73.3%. For systemic agents, prescription of acitretin decreased from 74.8 to 44.5%, methotrexate showed a fluctuation, with a mean of 14.9% and cyclosporine increased from 9.0 to 41.2%. The prescription of biological agents increased sharply from 18 to 1,127 patients. Use of ustekinumab increased from 4.1 to 82.4%; use of infliximab decreased from 20.7 to 6.7% and etanercept decreased from 100 to 6.1%. This study showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of psoriasis. We also reported a rapid increase in the use of biologics in recent years.

No abstract

This treatment was clinically effective and safe for early nevus of Ota using a low-fluence Q-switched Nd:YAG laser.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element that plays important roles in the immune system. There is little known about the role of trace elements in allergic diseases, and previous reports have shown conflicting results. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum Zn levels and total or allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels. The initial candidates for this study were those who participated in the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010 (n = 8,958), and 1,867 adults who had serum total and allergen specific-IgE levels measured were included. Upon adjusting for covariates, mean total IgE, Dermatophagoides farinae and dog-specific IgE levels increased significantly as the Zn levels decrease from the highest to the lowest quartile (p = 0.009, 0.004, and < 0.001, respectively). The multiple logistic regression analyses showed significant negative linear correlations between serum Zn levels and total, D. farinae-, cockroach-, and dog-specific IgE levels (p-value for linear trend = 0.004, 0.006, 0.027, and < 0.001, respectively). This study demonstrated that total/allergen specific IgE and Zn levels are significantly inversely related.

BackgroundRosacea treatments including oral/topical medications and laser therapy are numerous but unsatisfactory.ObjectiveTo compare the effectiveness of the dual wavelength long-pulsed 755-nm alexandrite/1,064-nm neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser (LPAN) with that of 585-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) for rosacea.MethodsThis was a randomized, single-blinded, comparative study. Full face received four consecutive monthly treatments with LPAN or PDL, followed-up for 6 months after the last treatment. Erythema index was measured by spectrophotometer, and digital photographs were evaluated by consultant dermatologists for physician's global assessment. Subjective satisfaction surveys and adverse effects were recorded.ResultsForty-nine subjects with rosacea enrolled and 12 dropped out. There were no significant differences between LPAN and PDL in the mean reduction of the erythema index (p=0.812; 3.6% vs. 2.8%), improvement of physician's global assessment (p=1.000; 88.9% vs. 89.5%), and subject-rated treatment satisfaction (p=0.842; 77.8% vs. 84.2%). PDL showed more adverse effects including vesicles than LPAN (p=0.046; 26.3% vs. 0.0%). No other serious or permanent adverse events were observed in both treatments.ConclusionBoth LPAN and PDL may be effective and safe treatments for rosacea.

CO2 laser combined with BTXA showed better effect than CO2 laser only.