Photoplethysmography-Based Angiography of Skin Tumors in Arbitrary Areas of Human Body.

Noninvasive, rapid, and robust diagnostic techniques for clinical screening of tumors located in arbitrary areas of the human body are in demand. To address this challenge, we analyzed the feasibility of photoplethysmography-based angiography for assessing vascular structures within malignant and benign tumors. The proposed hardware and software were approved in a clinical study involving 30 patients with tumors located in the legs, torso, arms, and head. High-contrast and detailed vessel maps within both benign and malignant tumors were obtained. We demonstrated that capillary maps are consistent and can be interpreted using well-established dermoscopic criteria for vascular morphology. Vessel mapping provides valuable details, which may not be available in dermoscopic images and can aid in determining whether a tumor is benign or malignant. We believe that the proposed approach may become a valuable tool in the preliminary cancer diagnosis and is suitable for large-scale screening.

Meta-analysis on the Efficacy of Platelet-rich Plasma in Patients with Androgenetic Alopecia.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous platelet concentrate in plasma enriched with growth factors that may stimulate tissue regeneration, collagen formation, re-epithelization, and angiogenesis. PRP is widely used as an androgenetic alopecia treatment option. The present work aims to test the efficacy of various PRP methods, including those with single-spin and double-spin centrifugation. We performed a review of articles published from 2011 to 2021 in PubMed and ScienceDirect. The studies vary in the preparation procedure, dose, number, intervals between the procedures, and the injection technique because of low standardization of PRP preparation, complicating the evaluation of the clinical efficacy of the method. Based on the conducted statistical analysis, we came to the conclusion that the double-spin PRP preparation method was superior to the single-spin technique, which may be taken into account for AGA management.

Sarcoid Granulomas and Systemic Sarcoidosis Triggered by Cosmetic Tattoos.

Cosmetic tattooing of eyebrow and lips has become very popular and is expected to be paralleled by more frequent complications. We present 4 cases of granulomas in cosmetic tattoos complicated by regional or systemic manifestations of sarcoidosis including affection of the lungs in 2 cases, the activity triggered by the tattoo. Three cases of traditional decorative tattoos on extremities serve as reference. It is noteworthy that cosmetic tattoos despite small size and thereby low relative dose of pigment injected in the skin can trigger fully developed systemic sarcoidosis. It is hypothesized that iron oxide pigments popular in cosmetic tattoo inks of red or brown color may be prone to elicit sarcoid reactions and thus carry a special risk of granuloma. In decorative tattoos, carbon black is the commonest trigger. It is emphasized that the finding of granulomas in tattoos shall be followed by search of other manifestations of sarcoidosis through patient history and diagnostic examinations to exclude pulmonary, ocular, and other organ manifestations. Patients with granulomas in tattoos shall be informed that active sarcoidosis, if not already present, can become manifest later with a latency of months or years and often with abrupt debut when the triggering tattoo may be overlooked by the doctor who is unfamiliar with this less common type of sarcoidosis.

Topical antimicrobial peptides in combined treatment of acne patients.

BACKGROUND: Acne vulgaris (AV) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous unit that affects over 80% of adolescents and young adults. This study aimed to compare the therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of an isotretinoin treatment course with GDP-20 (granulysin-derived peptides) versus the conventional isotretinoin monotherapy prescribed to patients with mild-to-moderate acne. METHODS: Our study included 60 Russian subjects affected with AV of mild-to-moderate severity divided into two therapeutic groups. Half of the patients were female; mean age was 19.5 ± 5.6 years. Group 1 was treated with topical GDP-20 twice daily to the affected skin of the face combined with systemic isotretinoin in a fixed low dose of 0.3 mg/kg/day. Group 2 was treated with systemic isotretinoin as a monotherapy. RESULTS: The assessment of the changes of AV lesion count on the 12th week of the treatment showed that in Group 1, the mean value of open comedo number reduced from 21.4 ± 6.1 at day 0 to 4.4 ± 2.5 (p < 0.05), the mean number of closed comedo reduced from 7.6 ± 3.5 to 2.4 ± 1.05 (p < 0.05), and those of papules-pustules reduced from 6.1 ± 1.03 to 1.4 ± 0.2 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Topical antimicrobial peptides (GDP-20) combined with low doses of systemic isotretinoin mild-to-moderate resulted in considerable improvement of clinical manifestations of mild-to-moderate AV and threefold reduction in the disease severity with IGA score 0-1 after 12 weeks. Topical application of GDP-20 antimicrobial peptides can improve the efficacy of low-dose systemic isotretinoin in combined treatment of mild-to-moderate AV.

Molecular detection and genotyping of ß-human papillomavirus and it's association with epithelial skin neoplasms.

Epidemiological and molecular biological data suggest that ß-human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause epithelial skin tumors, but the relationship remains unclear. A new approach to the diagnosis of HPV is based on the measurement of viral consistence. We examined 52 immune-compromised and immune-competent patients in order to identify the association of epithelial neoplasms with ß-HPV. Determination of HPV was performed by polymerase chain reaction with hybridization-fluorescence detection in real-time. Amplification and detection were carried out with "Rotor-Gene" 3000 ("Corbett Research," Australia). To quantify the beta HPV genus, we used recombinant plasmid positive controls as well as control plasmid of ß-globin fragments taken from human genes (Central Scientific Institute of Epidemiology Rospotrebnadzor). We have found that ß-HPV DNA predominated in fibroepithelial polyps (64%) and in the apparently healthy skin (54%) of immune-compromised patients versus 47% in the skin of healthy donors. Mixed infection was detected in fibroepithelial polyps of 57% in the immune-compromised patients. Viral consistence in the fibroepithelial polyps was higher than in the apparently normal donors' skin. The high detection of HPV DNA was found in fibroepithelial polyps and in the apparently healthy skin of immune-compromised patients whereas a high level of HPV DNA was only found in fibroepithelial polyps.

Cutaneous manifestations of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a malignant lymphoproliferative disease characterized by the accumulation of immature monoclonal B lymphocytes in blood cells, bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes. This is the most common type of leukemia among the Caucasoid race. When CLL skin lesions occur in about 25% of patients, they are extremely diverse. These lesions can be divided into specific, including infiltration of the skin by leukemic cells and the skin form of Richter's syndrome, secondary skin tumors, nonspecific lesions and associated skin diseases.Leukemic infiltration of the skin in patients with leukemia is called specific skin lesions (SSL). Many authors associate the unfavorable prognosis with the transformation of CLL with specific infiltration of the skin into Richter syndrome, as well as the appearance of SSL before the diagnosis of CLL. The risk of developing various cancer pathologies in patients with CLL is three times higher than in healthy people identical in sex and age. It was found that the risk of skin cancer in these patients is eight times higher than in the healthy population. The most common secondary skin tumors in CLL are basal-cell carcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma, melanoma, and Merkel tumor.Nonspecific skin changes are extremely diverse and occur in patients with CLL in 30-50% of cases. The most common secondary changes in the skin in CLL are those of infectious nature. There are also increased reactions to insect bites, generalized itching, exfoliative erythroderma, nodular erythema, paraneoplastic pemphigoid, bullous pemphigoid, drug eruption. Concomitant dermatoses in these patients are more severe and often torpid to the previously conducted therapy. There is no doubt that together with the clarification of the etiology and pathogenesis of CLL, particular issues related to the study of clinical and morphological changes in individual organs and systems, in particular the skin, formed at various stages of the development of this disease should be studied in detail. This can not only expand and clarify our understanding of this pathology, but also can help to clarify the essence of the disease.

COVID-19 and immunosuppressive therapy in dermatology.

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID 19) was first detected in December 2019 in China. It has become a pandemic. With concern about therapies that may decrease immunity and enhance the severity of an individual's COVID-19 infection, leading to a possibly fatal outcome, use of immunosuppressants has become an important concern. This work focuses on management of various skin diseases individuals lacking immunity to COVID-19 but requiring a systemic immunosuppressant, keeping in view the challenge of the COVID 19 pandemic and that our knowledge of this virus and its effects on the immune system are incomplete including knowledge as to an individual's immunity after COVID-19 infection.

Skin DNA methylation profile in atopic dermatitis patients: A case-control study.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a worldwide disease with a complex aetiology. Both genetic and environmental factors cause a predisposition to AD. DNA methylation may be an additional predisposing factor. The goal of our study was to investigate genome-wide methylation profiles of skin from patients with AD and healthy persons. This case-control study included 12 AD patients and 6 healthy volunteers. DNA methylation levels in skin samples were analysed using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We found that the methylation profile of skin from patients with AD was significantly different from that of healthy controls. Differential DNA methylation was observed for genes involved in a number of AD-related processes including regulation of the immune response, activation of lymphocytes, cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation of the epidermis. Our study indicates the involvement of epigenetic regulation in the development of atopic dermatitis.

Skin pathologies in pregnancy.

Progesterone is a hormone responsible for pregnancy maintenance and the amount of progesterone increases in a woman's body during pregnancy, as well as the level of female sex hormones, estrogens are also upregulated. Due to these changes the cutaneous sensitivity to external stimuli (meteorological factors, bacteria, etc.) increases. In general, all skin changes during pregnancy can be divided into three groups: physiological changes (hormone-associated), nonspecific or dermatoses that existed before pregnancy or were triggered by it, and specific pregnancy-related dermatoses, which appear during pregnancy and resolve in the postpartum period. In this brief  review, we describe the dermatoses commonly seen in pregnancy and present our own clinical examples. We hope the review will be of some practical help for dermatologists and obstetricians.

Vitiligo - New Treatment Approach.

INTRODUCTION: Vitiligo is one of the most common hypomelanoses. Current treatments include ultraviolet, topical corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors. Orally administered vitamins, acting as anti-oxidants and in combination with ultraviolet light have also demonstrated skin re-pigmentation. In our pilot study of seven patients, we injected skin affected with vitiligo intra-dermally with a complex of vitamins and minerals and assessed the outcome. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel treatment modality for vitiligo. METHODS: We present a pilot study of seven patients; each having been diagnosed with generalized progressive vitiligo. In all cases, multiple therapies had been previously attempted. All patients were subjected to intradermal injections of biorevitalizant NCTF 135 (3 mls) in the hypo-pigmented areas of skin, once a week for 5 weeks. A 30Gx13 mm needle was used for the 0.025 mls intradermal injections to create micro-papules with a 1 cm distance between the injection sites. The results were assessed at 2 weeks and 5 weeks and were considered successful if partial or complete repigmentation was achieved. RESULTS: Partial or complete skin re-pigmentation post-treatment was observed in vitiligo macules of all patients (100%). No significant side effects, or exacerbation of vitiligo were observed during or after treatment with NCTF 135 in the following 6 months (five patients) and 12 months (two patients). DISCUSSION: Increasing the armamentarium of new treatments of vitiligo is important. Previous studies showed the effectiveness of oral and intramuscularly injected multivitamins in the treatment of vitiligo, explaining the results by the antioxidative qualities of the above. Our study demonstrated that intradermal mesotherapy injections of NCTF135, rich with vitamins and other antioxidants are well tolerated and effective in achieving significant re-pigmentation of de-pigmented skin in all patients studied, including five who had been resistant to previous standard therapies.