The production of FN and EDA(+) FN by fibroblasts and the signalling of STAT1 are abnormally regulated in psoriatic nonlesional skin.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the sequential combined 585 nm PDL and the 1064 nm neodymium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet laser (PDL/Nd:YAG) in the treatment of surgical scars and to evaluate the short-term effects by in vivo confocal microscopy (RCM) and the long-term effects by clinical assessment of the scars. Twenty-five patients were enrolled with 39 postoperative linear scars; each scar was divided into two fields. One half was treated with the combined PDL/Nd:YAG laser, whereas the other half remained untreated. Each scar was treated three times at monthly intervals. Scars were evaluated by an independent examiner, using the Vancouver Scar Scale. The combined PDL/Nd:YAG laser significantly improved the appearance of the scars. In order to study the short-term effects of combined laser treatment, six additional patients were enrolled with 7 postoperative linear scars. One half of scars was treated once with the combined PDL/Nd:YAG laser. One week after this laser treatment, both the treated and the nontreated parts of the scars were examined by dermoscopy and RCM. The dermoscopic pictures revealed improvements even in treated areas. In conclusion, the combined PDL/Nd:YAG laser was found to be effective in improving the quality and appearance of the surgical scars.

Noninvasive body shaping is becoming a growing demand. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of the combined treatments of 1064 nm Nd:YAG and 2940 nm Er:YAG in noninvasive lipolysis and skin tightening. Ten females were enrolled, and all women's side of the waist or the lower part of the abdomen were treated. In the first step, the 1064 nm Nd:YAG was used. As a second step, the 2940 nm Er:YAG laser was applied. Each woman was treated four times, once every 2 weeks. The effects were determined by comparative photo documentation, waist circumference measurement, two‐dimensional B‐mode ultrasonography and low‐dose native computer tomography (CT), whereas body fat was monitored with bioelectric impedance. The tissue firmness was measured by ultrasound shear wave elastography. Combined laser treatment significantly reduced waist circumference and total body fat. Ultrasonography has revealed that the treatment considerably decreased fat thickness and improved skin stiffness in the treated region. Subcutaneous fat volume, measured by low‐dose CT, displayed a moderate decrease in the waist region. The combined 1064 nm Nd:YAG and 2940 nm Er:YAG laser treatment results in the reduction of fat tissue and tightens the skin as confirmed by objective measurements.

BackgroundOculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a clinically and genetically heterogenic group of pigmentation abnormalities characterized by variable hair, skin, and ocular hypopigmentation. Six known genes and a locus on human chromosome 4q24 have been implicated in the etiology of isolated OCA forms (OCA 1–7).MethodsThe most frequent OCA types among Caucasians are OCA1, OCA2, and OCA4. We aimed to investigate genes responsible for the development of these OCA forms in Hungarian OCA patients (n = 13). Mutation screening and polymorphism analysis were performed by direct sequencing on TYR, OCA2, SLC45A2 genes.ResultsAlthough the clinical features of the investigated Hungarian OCA patients were identical, the molecular genetic data suggested OCA1 subtype in eight cases and OCA4 subtype in two cases. The molecular diagnosis was not clearly identifiable in three cases. In four patients, two different heterozygous known pathogenic or predicted to be pathogenic mutations were present. Seven patients had only one pathogenic mutation, which was associated with non-pathogenic variants in six cases. In two patients no pathogenic mutation was identified.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the concomitant screening of the non-pathogenic variants—which alone do not cause the development of OCA, but might have clinical significance in association with a pathogenic variant—is important. Our results also show significant variation in the disease spectrum compared to other populations. These data also confirm that the concomitant analysis of OCA genes is critical, providing new insights to the phenotypic diversity of OCA and expanding the mutation spectrum of OCA genes in Hungarian patients.

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) have emerged and spread in Romania since 2010. According to the reports of the EuSPACE (European survey of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae) the epidemio-logical stage of the CPE expansion in Romania has shifted from sporadic occurrence in 2013 directly to inter-regional spread in 2014-2015. In this study we aimed to provide data from the timeframe when the dissemination of the carbapenemase genes in Romania began, by retrospectively analyzing CPE strains in a tertiary care university hospital. During the period of November 2012 – October 2013 we found 107 CPE (8.78%) out of 1219 non-duplicate Enterobacterales strains. 26 isolates of various Enterobacterales species carried blaNDM-1, 83 Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were positive for blaOXA-48-like and 2 of these co-harboured blaNDM-1. The increased incidence of OXA-48 producing K. pneumoniae was linked to a two-peaked hospital outbreak during February and May 2013. The percentage of 24.3% of NDM-1 producers was alarming due to the diversity of involved species and the higher resistance levels to carbapenems compared with blaOXA-48-like gene carriers. Plasmid replicon typing revealed a great diversity of plasmids in NDM-1-positive strains, belonging to incompatibility groups A/C, FII, FIIk, HI2, L and M. The strong connection between certain plasmid groups and host species suggests that the transfer of broad host-range plasmids through conjugation does not play the main role in the successful spread of blaNDM-1 among Enterobacterales species.

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