Automatic data-processing equipment of moon mark of nail for verifying some experiential theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Doctors who practice Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnose using four methods - inspection, auscultation and olfaction, interrogation, and pulse feeling/palpation. The shape and shape changes of the moon marks on the nails are an important indication when judging the patient's health. There are a series of classical and experimental theories about moon marks in TCM, which does not have support from statistical data. OBJECTIVE: To verify some experiential theories on moon mark in TCM by automatic data-processing equipment. METHODS: This paper proposes the equipment that utilizes image processing technology to collect moon mark data of different target groups conveniently and quickly, building a database that combines this information with that gathered from the health and mental status questionnaire in each test. RESULTS: This equipment has a simple design, a low cost, and an optimized algorithm. The practice has been proven to quickly complete automatic acquisition and preservation of key data about moon marks. CONCLUSION: In the future, some conclusions will likely be obtained from these data; some changes of moon marks related to a special pathological change will be established with statistical methods.

Comparison between elemental composition of human fingernails of healthy and opium-addicted subjects by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

The objective of the present work is to identify differences in elemental fingernail composition between opium-addicted and healthy adult human subjects using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Thirty nails from normal, healthy male subjects and 30 nails from opium-addicted male individuals were analyzed. Measurements on 60 nail samples were carried out, identifying 13 key species including 11 neutral elements and 2 ions. Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) was used to classify the samples between the two groups. Spectral line intensities of elements including Fe, C, Ti, Mg, Si, Al, Ca, H, K, O, and Na were considered variables in DFA. This analysis demonstrates the efficient discrimination between the two groups. However, the number of samples in this work is not sufficient for a decisive conclusion and further research is needed to generalize this idea.

Nutrition and nail disease.

The nail is a specialized keratinous skin appendage that grows approximately 2 to 3 mm per month, with complete replacement achieved in 6 to 9 months. Although this structure can be easily overlooked, nail disorders comprise approximately 10% of all dermatologic conditions. This contribution first provides an overview on the basic anatomy of the nail that will delineate between the nail unit (eg, hyponychium, nail bed, proximal nail fold, and matrix) and anatomic components not part of the nail unit (eg, lateral nail folds, nail plate, and eponychium). The function of each nail structure will also be presented. The chemical profile of the normal nail plate is reviewed with a discussion of its keratin content (hair type keratin vs epithelial type keratin), sulfur content, and mineral composition, including magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, sodium, and copper. The remainder will focus on nail manifestations seen in states of malnutrition. Virtually every nutritional deficiency can affect the growth of the nail in some manner. Finally, the discussion will include anecdotal use of nutritional and dietary supplements in the setting of brittle nail syndrome as well as a brief overview of biotin and its promising utility in the treatment of nail disorders.

Vitamins and minerals: their role in nail health and disease.

Nail health and appearance are global concerns. We investigated the use of biotin vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin A, retinoids, retinol, retinal, silicon, zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) in nail health and disease. The evidence that we adduce in this paper suggests that: 1) proper nail care seems to help maintain nail health; 2) no evidence supports the use of vitamin supplementation with vitamin E, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin A, retinoids, retinol, retinal, silicon, zinc, iron, copper, selenium, or vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) for improving the nail health of well-nourished patients or improving the appearance of nails affected by pathologic disease; and 3) brittle nail syndrome appears to abate with supplementation with a 2.5-mg dose of biotin daily or a 10-mg dose of silicon daily, a useful form of which is choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid.

Topical application of acidified nitrite to the nail renders it antifungal and causes nitrosation of cysteine groups in the nail plate.

BACKGROUND: Topical treatment of nail diseases is hampered by the nail plate barrier, consisting of dense cross-linked keratin fibres held together by cysteine-rich proteins and disulphide bonds, which prevents penetration of antifungal agents to the focus of fungal infection. Acidified nitrite is an effective treatment for tinea pedis. It releases nitric oxide (NO) and other NO-related species. NO can react with thiol (-SH) groups to form nitrosothiols (-SNO). OBJECTIVES: To determine whether acidified nitrite can penetrate the nail barrier and cure onychomycosis, and to determine whether nitrosospecies can bind to the nail plate. METHODS: Nails were treated with a mixture of citric acid and sodium nitrite in a molar ratio of 0.54 at either low dose (0.75%/0.5%) or high dose (13.5%/9%). Immunohistochemistry, ultraviolet-visible absorbance spectroscopy and serial chemical reduction of nitrosospecies followed by chemiluminescent detection of NO were used to measure nitrosospecies. Acidified nitrite-treated nails and the nitrosothiols S-nitrosopenicillamine (SNAP) and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) were added to Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophytes cultures in liquid Sabouraud medium and growth measured 3 days later. Thirteen patients with positive mycological cultures for Trichophyton or Fusarium species were treated with topical acidified nitrite for 16 weeks. Repeat mycological examination was performed during this treatment time. RESULTS: S-nitrothiols were formed in the nail following a single treatment of low- or high-dose sodium nitrite and citric acid. Repeated exposure to high-dose acidified nitrite led to additional formation of N-nitrosated species. S-nitrosothiol formation caused the nail to become antifungal to T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes. Antifungal activity was Cu(2+) sensitive. The nitrosothiols SNAP and GSNO were also found to be antifungal. Topical acidified nitrite treatment of patients with onychomycosis resulted in > 90% becoming culture negative for T. rubrum. CONCLUSIONS: Acidified nitrite cream results in the formation of S-nitrosocysteine throughout the treated nail. Acidified nitrite treatment makes a nail antifungal. S-nitrosothiols, formed by nitrosation of nail sulphur residues, are the active component. Acidified nitrite exploits the nature of the nail barrier and utilizes it as a means of delivery of NO/nitrosothiol-mediated antifungal activity. Thus the principal obstacle to therapy in the nail becomes an effective delivery mechanism.

Psoriasis of the nail: anatomy, pathology, clinical presentation, and a review of the literature on therapy.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that affects millions of people throughout the world. Even though cutaneous signs and symptoms are the most common clinical manifestations, the nails can be involved in up to 50% of cases, and their involvement remains an important yet often overlooked aspect of the disease. There is a broad spectrum of nail dystrophies associated with psoriasis, ranging from the common pitting and loosening of the nail plate to the less frequent discoloration and splinter hemorrhages seen in the nail bed. This article discusses the normal anatomy and embryology of the nail unit as well as the current understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. It also provides an extensive review of the existing literature with respect to psoriatic nail therapy. Although there have been many recent advances in the treatment of the cutaneous form of the disease-most notably in the field of immunotherapies-the options for nail psoriasis are far more limited. While a number of treatment alternatives currently exist for nail disease, the general paucity of clear evidence regarding these choices often makes it difficult to select the most efficient, safe, and optimal treatment for the patient. Even though the current literature has shown some support for the use of topical, intralesional, radiation, systemic, and combination therapies for nail psoriasis, the available studies lack sufficient power to extrapolate a standardized therapeutic regimen. Therefore, until better-documented evidence validating the treatment options emerges within the literature, clinicians and patients are left with a vague and relatively unproven approach to psoriatic nail disease.

Biophoton emission from fingernails and fingerprints of living human subjects.

Biophotons emitted from the center of fingernails and fingerprints from living humans are measured for twenty healthy subjects. We devised a dark box with a photo multiplier tube (H6180-01, Hamamatsu, Japan) whose spectral range is 300 nm to approximately 650 nm and a mount with a light-receiving hole of diameter 8 mm such that biophotons from the small circular area of nail or print of each finger are detected. Significantly more biophotons are emitted from fingernail than fingerprint for each finger of every subject. For thumb the average biophoton emission rate is 23.0 +/- 4.5 counts per second, and 17.2 +/- 2.0 counts per second from the nail, and print, respectively. There is a slight tendency that the little finger emits less than the other fingers. But some fingers emit far stronger than others, and it depends upon each individual subject which finger emits strongest.

The nails and diagnosis in homoeopathy

The nails are continuously growing structures which reflect many aspects of the body's functions. The anatomy and physiology of the nails is described. Abnormal appearances of the nails are described in terms of: General appearance, form, colour, structural abnormalities and nail biting. The implications of various appearances of the nails of different digits for prescribing are described