Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: A systematic review of treatment outcomes.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is a common consequence of inflammatory dermatoses. It is more common in patients with darker skin and has significant morbidity. This systematic review summarizes treatment outcomes for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation to help physicians better predict clinical response and improve patient outcomes. Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed databases and clinicaltrials.gov were searched in accordance with PRISMA guidelines using a combination of relevant search terms. Title, abstract and full text screening were done in duplicate. Studies were included if they met our predetermined PICOS framework criteria. Results are presented in descriptive form. In total, 41 studies representing 877 patients were included. Complete response was achieved by laser and energy-based devices in 18.1% (n = 56/309) of patients, topicals in 5.4% (n = 20/369) and combination therapies in 2.4% (n = 4/166). Partial response was achieved by combination modalities in 84.9% (n = 141/166) of patients, topicals in 72.4% (n = 267/369), laser and energy-based devices in 61.2% (n = 189/309) and peels in 33.3% (n = 5/15). Poor to no response occurred with peels in 66.7% (n = 10/15) of patients, topicals in 22.2% (n = 82/369), laser and energy-based devices in 18.1% (n = 56/309) and combination modalities in 12.7% (n = 21/166). Additionally, in 2.6% (n = 8/309) of patients treated with laser and energy-based devices, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation worsened. Adverse events were reported in 10 patients, all while using topical treatments. In conclusion, the current treatment approaches yielded unsatisfactory rates of complete response. However, combination therapies, laser and energy-based devices and topical therapies showed high rates of partial response. Of note, the majority of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation cases included were associated with acne, and therefore, the findings and conclusions drawn may have limited applicability to other types of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

A silver stain for the rapid quantitative detection of proteins or nucleic acids on membranes or thin layer plates.

A relatively simple silver stain which takes less than 15 min to perform has been developed for the detection of nanogram quantities of proteins and DNA on cellulose membranes and thin layer plates. This stain demonstrates a reproducible curvilinear relationship between silver density and the amount of protein or DNA, over an averaged concentration range from 1 to 300 ng for proteins and 10 to 710 ng for DNA. The ease of staining proteins and DNA on membranes, combined with the stain's sensitivity and reproducibility, permits the use of this procedure for the quantitative determination of nanogram amounts of proteins and DNA. The simplicity of this silver stain has also permitted a survey of the staining properties of individual amino acids, purine and pyrimidine bases, nucleosides, nucleotides, homopolymers, and small peptides of known sequence. This survey demonstrated the importance of the basic amino acids, particularly lysine and histidine, and the sulfur-containing amino acids in the detection of proteins. It also indicated that the purine bases may play an important role in the detection of DNA.