Oral TA may prove a safe and efficient treatment option for melasma in combination with low-fluence QSNY laser therapy.

A 1,550 nm Er:Glass fractional laser and CROSS method are both well-tolerated and effective treatment options in the acne scars. However, there was a relatively small difference between the two treatment modalities. Therefore, dermatologists should consider the acne scar type to select the treatment options. Lasers Surg. Med. 41:545-549, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The topical application of 0.2% HA gel seems to be an effective and safe therapy in patients with recurrent oral ulcers; the study supports the use of HA in BD with oral ulcers.

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The quality of life of adolescents with vitiligo is closely related to the patients' apprehensions about their disease, psychosocial adjustment, and psychiatric morbidity, rather than the clinical severity of the condition itself. Clinicians should recognize and deal with psychological adaptation along with medical intervention when treating adolescent patients with vitiligo.

Introduction Melanocytes produce pigment granules that color both skin and hair. In the hair follicles melanocytes are derived from stem cells (MelSC) that are present in hair bulges or sub-bulge regions and function as melanocyte reservoirs. Quiescence, maintenance, activation, and proliferation of MelSC are controlled by specific activities in the microenvironment that can influence the differentiation and regeneration of melanocytes. Therefore, understanding MelSC and their niche may lead to use of MelSC in new treatments for various pigmentation disorders. Areas covered We describe here pathophysiological mechanisms by which melanocyte defects lead to skin pigmentation disorders such as vitiligo and hair graying. The development, migration, and proliferation of melanocytes and factors involved in the survival, maintenance, and regeneration of MelSC are reviewed with regard to the biological roles and potential therapeutic applications in skin pigmentation diseases. Expert Opinion MelSC biology and niche factors have been studied mainly in murine experimental models. Human MelSC markers or methods to isolate them are much less well understood. Identification, isolation and culturing of human MelSC would represent a major step toward new biological therapeutic options for patients with recalcitrant pigmentary disorders or hair graying. By modulating the niche factors for MelSC it may one day be possible to control skin pigmentary disorders and prevent or reverse hair graying.

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These findings may provide guidelines for the clinical differentiation between RAS and BD. In addition, patients with multiple major aphthae, particularly with articular symptoms, should be closely followed up for the development of BD, and the possibility of other diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease should also be considered.