In this community-based cross-sectional study, 1443 Japanese adolescents aged 13-19 years participated from two schools in Kagawa Prefecture. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire to assess the prevalence of acne, knowledge about acne, self-management of acne and emotional well-being. A five-item version of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI) subscale of the Short Form 36 was used to assess psychological health and depression status. Among respondents, 859 (59.5%) said they had acne (51.6% of the boys and 64.8% of the girls). A majority (56.8%) of those who said they had acne also reported a family history of acne. Of the 555 female respondents with acne, 39.1% reported experiencing acne flares in temporal proximity to menstruation. Less than half (38.8%) of respondents with acne had sought or were seeking treatment. The three most common factors believed to trigger or exacerbate acne were stress, lack of sleep and sweat. The mean MHI score of 847 students with acne was significantly lower than 475 students without acne. The mean MHI score of female students with acne was significantly lower than male students with acne. Students with acne were also significantly more depressed than those without acne and female students were significantly more depressed than male students. Acne is a common problem for Japanese teenagers and causes personal and social difficulties. Our results suggest the necessity of educational programs in school or public to ensure that adolescents are aware of acne and to encourage young people to improve their mental health through better acne treatment.

Acne vulgaris significantly affects patients' quality of life (QOL) and their lives in various ways, including social behavior and body dissatisfaction. This may be heightened by acne's typical involvement of the face. We investigated whether the use of skin care and makeup could influence the QOL of affected patients without deteriorating conventional acne treatments. Fifty female patients with acne were recruited for our study. Twenty-five patients were instructed how to use skin care and cosmetics, while 25 patients received no specific instructions from dermatologists. Both groups received conventional topical and/or oral medication for acne during the study period for 4 weeks. Both groups did not show any significant difference in clinical improvement of acne severity. Two validated QOL questionnaires, World Health Organization (WHO)QOL26 and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were administered to all patients at first visit and 4 weeks later. The mean scores of psychological and overall domains in WHOQOL26 for patients with instructions were improved significantly, while only the overall score was significantly improved for patients without instructions. The total mean scores and all domains except work/school in DLQI for patients with instructions were improved significantly, while the total scores and all domains except discomfort for treatment in DLQI were significantly improved for patients without instructions. Thus, instructions on the use of skin care and cosmetics for female acne patients did not deteriorate acne treatment and influenced patients' QOL effectively. We therefore suggest that instructions for using skin care and cosmetics complement conventional medical treatments for acne.

A Japanese woman had bullous eruptions on her palms and soles for two months, histopathologic examination, immunofluorescence microscopy, and ELISA for BP180 antigen led to the definitive diagnosis of dyshidrosiform pemphigoid (DP). This paper also includes a study of 15 other cases of DP.

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The efficacy of combined therapy with a retinoid and antibiotic for Japanese patients with acne vulgaris remains to be established. Further, maintenance strategies limiting the use of topical retinoids must be identified. The objectives of this study are to determine the efficacy of sequential application of topical adapalene and clindamycin phosphate and to assess the impact of this regimen on patients' quality of life. Sixty-six patients were recruited. The regimen comprised two phases. For the 4-week initial treatment, 1% clindamycin phosphate gel was applied twice daily and 0.1% adapalene gel, once. In the 4-week maintenance phase, patients were randomly assigned to the OD group (adapalene applied once daily) or the TW group (adapalene applied once daily on 2 days per week). The acne severity score, lesion counts, microcomedone count, and sebum amount were measured. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using Skindex-16. All parameters improved significantly by week 4 of initial treatment. No statistically significant differences were found in the improvement of clinical findings between the groups. All QOL scores improved significantly and did not significantly differ between the groups. Our regimen may enable clinical control of acne in Japanese patients and improve their QOL. For limiting retinoid use, weekly application of adapalene during maintenance is suitable.