Colorimetry provides a rapid objective measurement of de novo hair growth rate in mice.

BACKGROUND: Depilated mice have been used as a test platform for hair growth-regulating agents. However, currently available assessment tools for hair growth in mice are less than ideal. METHODS: Tristimulus colorimetry of the fur color of depilated agouti, albino, and black mice with L*, a*, and b* values were performed daily until the full growth of pelage. Using light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation (650 and 890 nm) with a daily dose of 3.5 J/cm(2) as hair growth regulators, the hair growth rates observed by the global assessment were compared with those derived from colorimetry. RESULTS: In contrast to a* and b* values, L* values changed more drastically over time in the anagen phase regardless of fur color. Unlike the inhibitory effect of 650 nm irradiation, LED of 890 nm promoted de novo hair regrowth in mice. The difference in hair growth rates detected by colorimetry paralleled the observation made by the global assessment. CONCLUSION: The L* value of fur color obtained by tristimulus colorimetry was a sensitive yet quantitative indicator of de novo hair growth, and could be used to project the hair growth rate in mice.

Decision factors and the recognition of medical specialty in patients receiving cosmetic laser and intense pulsed light treatment.

BACKGROUND: In addition to dermatologists and plastic surgeons, physicians of other medical specialties also provide cosmetic laser and light treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the major decision factors in patients who received cosmetic laser or intense pulsed light treatment and how they perceived different medical specialties in providing such services. METHODS: The method of factor analysis was adopted to extract the common characteristics (major decision factors) from a list of 17 items patients would regard as important when they planned to receive laser and intense pulsed light treatment. In addition, the level of recognition of different medical specialties in cosmetic patients was indirectly forecast using an analytic hierarchy process. RESULTS: Medical competence (0.3296) was the most important decision factor, followed by recommendation (0.2198), friendliness (0.1350), cost (0.1307), complete service (0.0984), and the physical attributes of the physician (0.0865). Dermatologists and plastic surgeons outscored cosmetic practitioners in five factors except for cost, in which the plastic surgeons were weakest. CONCLUSION: Medical competence and recommendation are the core issues for cosmetic patients. Dermatologists and plastic surgeons gain better overall recognition than physicians of other medical specialties in cosmetic patients.

Pimecrolimus and narrowband UVB as monotherapy or combination therapy in children and adolescents with atopic dermatitis.

Topical pimecrolimus and narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) are both known to be effective in treating atopic dermatitis. We compared the clinical efficacy of monotherapy with either twice daily topical 1% pimecrolimus cream or twice weekly narrowband UVB, and combination therapy in 26 children and adolescents with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in a half-side manner for 6 weeks. Twenty-four patients completed the study. Monotherapy and combination therapy notably reduced the scores of the Eczema Area and Severity Index ( p = 0.002) and the severity of pruritus ( p < or = 0.004). There was no significant difference in therapeutic efficacy among the treatment regimens at week 6. In conclusion, because of the lack of short-term additive therapeutic efficacy, concomitant use of pimecrolimus and narrowband UVB is inadvisable in treating moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents.

Comparison of tazarotene 0.1% gel plus petrolatum once daily versus calcipotriol 0.005% ointment twice daily in the treatment of plaque psoriasis.

Tazarotene and calcipotriol are both effective in the treatment of psoriasis. An investigator-blind, bilateral comparison of 44 lesion pairs in 19 patients was conducted to evaluate the efficacy, side effects and duration of therapeutic effects of once-daily tazarotene 0.1% gel plus petrolatum with twice-daily calcipotriol 0.005% ointment in plaque psoriasis. It consisted of a 12-week treatment phase, followed by a 4-week post-treatment observation phase. At the end of the treatment phase, tazarotene-petrolatum was as effective as calcipotriol in both objective and subjective overall efficacy assessment. Calcipotriol had a significantly greater effect in reducing erythema than tazarotene-petrolatum at weeks 2-8. At week 16, tazarotene-petrolatum demonstrated a significantly better maintenance effect in all parameters. Local irritation was noted only in tazarotene-petrolatum-treated lesions. Once-daily tazarotene 0.1% gel plus petrolatum was as effective as twice-daily calcipotriol 0.005% ointment in the treatment of plaque psoriasis, but had a better maintenance effect after the cessation of therapy.

Blue light phototherapy in the treatment of acne.

BACKGROUND: Blue light irradiation is known to be effective against acne. However, the profile of a good candidate is still unclear. METHODS: Thirty-one Taiwanese with symmetrical facial acne were irradiated with blue light on one side of the face selected randomly twice weekly for 4 consecutive weeks. The other half of the face was left untreated as control. Parameters, including scar type, pore size, and facial follicular porphyrin fluorescence intensity, were documented. The severity of acne was assessed before the treatment, after two, four, and eight sessions of treatment, and 1 month after the treatment was completed. RESULTS: Compared with the non-irradiation side, eight sessions of blue light irradiation were effective in acne treatment (P<0.001). Gender (P=0.471), scar type (P-values of pitted, atrophic, and hypertrophic type were 0.688, 0.572, and 0.802, respectively), pore size (P=0.755), and pretreatment fluorescence intensity (P=0.656) could not be used as predictive factors of therapeutic effectiveness. Compared with pretreatment, nodulocystic lesions tended to worsen despite treatment. In addition, the therapeutic effectiveness was not related to the fluorescence intensity change (P=0.812). CONCLUSIONS: Blue light irradiation is effective in acne treatment. Patients without nodulocystic lesions are better candidates for blue light irradiation.

Cutaneous manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus infection in Taiwan.

Cutaneous manifestations are common and often the presenting feature of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but a comprehensive study of HIV-associated skin lesions is not available in Taiwan. We reviewed all skin lesions in all HIV patients diagnosed in our department between 1990 and 1998 to document the spectrum of skin manifestations, the frequency of each disorder, and their relationship with CD4 counts. A total of 64 HIV patients were studied, including 38 with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (CD4 < 200 x 10(6) cells/L) and 26 who had not developed AIDS (non-AIDS). There were 142 episodes of skin conditions representing 25 different skin diseases, including oral candidiasis (15% in non-AIDS vs 71% in AIDS patients), drug eruptions, herpes simplex, seborrheic dermatitis, dermatophytosis, herpes zoster, secondary syphilis, condyloma acuminatum, Kaposi's sarcoma (16% among AIDS patients), hairy leukoplakia, and molluscum contagiosum (13% among AIDS patients), in decreasing order. Several unusual cases are briefly described, including verrucous herpes infection, condyloma-like molluscum contagiosum, and AIDS-associated pigmented erythroderma. In our study, 70% of all HIV patients had skin diseases, with an average of 2.2 conditions per patient (3.2 in AIDS patients vs 0.7 in non-AIDS patients; p < 0.001). A broad spectrum of HIV-associated skin diseases was observed in our series. The frequency of HIV-associated skin disease was 92% in AIDS patients and 39% in non-AIDS patients; 78% of skin lesions in AIDS patients were diagnosed when CD4 counts were below 100 x 10(6) cells/L.