A comparative study of the effectiveness of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil on cutaneous squamous human carcinoma cell line: Potential chemotherapy alternative to surgery.

Surgery as treatment for local invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is not always feasible due to the age and/or the health status of patients. Thus, the investigation of new strategies to improve the quality of life of them is required. The aim of this work is to investigate two chemotherapy agents individually on cSCC cells with the purpose to provide a better understanding of the effectiveness underlying each one. The cisplatin effectiveness is compared at different times with that observed for the 5-fluorouracil treatment. The effectiveness of both was assessed by using flow cytometry to determine the survival cell ratio, and QBlue test to study the cell recovery ability after treatments. A significant increase in the number of apoptotic cells, especially 48 hours after treatments, has been detected. Despite this, cisplatin arises as the most promising agent for the treatment of local invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma due to the fact that a lower concentration and time are required to observe a higher effectiveness on cells with respect to the 5-fluorouracil. An optimal cisplatin-based chemotherapy might provide a better outcome for patients affected by a local invasive cSCC rather than surgery.

Expert recommendations on treating psoriasis in special circumstances.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: A great amount of information on systemic and biologic therapies for moderate to severe psoriasis is now available. However, applying the evidence in numerous clinical scenarios has engendered debate; under these circumstances, the consensus of experts is useful. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A scientific committee systematically reviewed the literature relevant to 5 clinical scenarios. An online Delphi survey of dermatologists with experience treating moderate to severe psoriasis was then carried out in order to shed light on questions that remained unresolved by the available evidence. RESULTS: Twenty-three dermatologists responded to the survey and consensus was reached on 37 (56%) of the 66 statements proposed. These results led to consensus on various clinical situations even though firm evidence was lacking. Thus, intermittent therapeutic regimens and strategies for reducing the intensity of treatment are considered appropriate for optimizing biologic treatment and reducing costs. The measurement of drug and antidrug antibody levels should be included routinely when following patients on biologics to treat psoriasis. Concomitant psoriatic arthritis or a history of cardiovascular conditions will influence the choice of biologic; in these situations, an agent with anti-tumor necrosis factor properties will be preferred. Tailored management is important when the patient is pregnant or intends to conceive; drug half-life and disease severity are important factors to take into consideration in these scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of systematic review of the literature and structured discussion of expert opinion facilitates decision-making in specific clinical scenarios.

Multidisciplinary psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis unit: report of 4 years' experience.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Up to 30% of patients with psoriasis develop joint disease, the course of which can be improved by early diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to describe our experience with a new multidisciplinary psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis unit over a period of 4 years (2009-2012). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Implementation of a PSOriasis Rheumatology and Dermatology unit (PSORD) to provide patient care and physician training. In the first phase of the project, referral criteria for the unit were defined and several meetings were organized to train and prepare the specialists involved in the program. In the second phase, a schedule was drawn up for monthly patient visits with the PSORD team. Starting in 2011, training was offered to dermatologists and rheumatologists from other hospitals interested in implementing a similar model. RESULTS: A total of 259 visits (71% first visits, 8% no-shows) were scheduled during the period analyzed, with a median of 8 visits (range, 2-14 visits) per session. Sixty-three percent of the patients were referred from the rheumatology department. Diagnosis and treatment were modified in 32% and 47% of cases, respectively. Three training courses were held with 15 physicians from 6 hospitals, 3 of which created similar units. CONCLUSIONS: The PSORD model improved the management of difficult-to-diagnose and/or uncontrolled disease, the early diagnosis and treatment of psoriatic arthritis, and collaboration between dermatologists and rheumatologists. Finally, the model lends itself to being exported to other settings.

Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein is increased in patients with psoriasis with metabolic syndrome, and correlates with C-reactive protein.

Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is a reliable indicator of serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) concentration. Raised levels of circulating LPS can trigger an increase in chronic pro-inflammatory cytokines, which may mediate the development of insulin resistance and obesity. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that has been associated with metabolic syndrome. We aimed to study the expression of LBP in patients with psoriasis treated with narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy, and controls matched by age, gender and body mass index (BMI). We did not find any differences in serum LBP concentration between patients and controls, and serum LBP did not correlate with the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. However, patients with psoriasis and metabolic syndrome had higher serum concentration of LBP than controls. Furthermore, correlation with BMI and apolipoprotein B was present in controls, but not in patients with psoriasis. Serum LBP level did not change significantly after treatment with phototherapy.

Effect of narrowband ultraviolet B therapy on inflammatory markers and body fat composition in moderate to severe psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis. OBJECTIVES: To characterize the anthropometric and metabolic profile of Spanish patients with moderate to severe psoriasis compared with controls without psoriasis matched for gender, age and body mass index (BMI), and to evaluate the impact of narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) therapy on patient profiles. METHODS: Baseline waist circumference, body fat composition, lipid, carbohydrate and calcium metabolism profile, inflammation markers, homocysteine, vitamins D, B(6) and B(12) and folic acid of 50 patients with psoriasis and 50 matched controls were recorded then evaluated after NB-UVB in patients with psoriasis and correlated with clinical outcome. RESULTS: Despite very similar BMIs, 54% of patients met International Diabetes Foundation criteria for metabolic syndrome compared with 42% of controls (P = 0·01); body fat was 29·9% in patients and 28·0% in controls (P = 0·037), correlating with waist circumference; while patient atherogenic profiles were less favourable, with higher apolipoprotein B and low density lipoprotein cholesterol than controls, and both patients and controls showed insufficient vitamin D serum levels (< 20 ng mL(-1)). Mean improvement of Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) after NB-UVB was 78·2%. Ferritin, B(12) and C-reactive protein decreased significantly after NB-UVB therapy. Vitamin D levels reached adequate levels after phototherapy; however, no relationship with PASI improvement was observed. CONCLUSIONS: We characterized inflammatory and atherogenic profiles of Spanish patients with psoriasis compared with matched controls. After NB-UVB therapy we demonstrated improvement in psoriasis and some systemic inflammation markers, which were not mediated by enhancement of vitamin D synthesis.

[Etanercept and infections]. / Etanercept e infecciones.

The biological treatments for psoriasis, mainly the tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNF-alpha), have demonstrated their efficacy and safety beginning with the clinical trials up to their subsequent marketing. However, pharmacovigilance studies have detected a mild increase in infections. For the management of infectious risk in patients with psoriasis being treated with etanercept or other anti-TNF medications, an evaluation should be made of the adequacy of its use in patients infected by HCV, HBV, HIV, with localized or generalized infections, with risk of sepsis (carriers of intravenous catheter and indwelling urinary catheter) or with underlying disorders that could predispose them to infections (diabetes, hemodialysis). If a patient under treatment with etanercept presents an infection, if the infection is serious, treatment should be discontinued and if it is mild, the patient should be closely monitored and treatment interrupted if decided based on the evolution. Long experience on the use of etanercept in different diseases has made it possible to state that it has a good safety profile in regards to infections, if precautions are taken in regards to tuberculosis and the concomitance of other active infections during the treatment.

[Reactions to infliximab infusions in dermatologic patients: consensus statement and treatment protocol. Working Group of the Grupo Español de Psoriasis de la Academia Española de Dermatología y Venereología ]. / Reacciones a la infusión de infliximab en pacientes dermatológicos. Grupo de Estudio, Grupo Español de Psoriasis de la Academia Española de Dermatología y Venereología.

Infliximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to and blocks tumor necrosis factor alpha and is the most effective biologic agent approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. It is administered by intravenous infusion, usually in day hospitals on an outpatient basis. The main problem with the administration of infliximab is the possibility of infusion reactions, which may be immediate or delayed; these reactions are related to the immunogenicity of this monoclonal antibody, leading to the production of anti-infliximab antibodies. Infusion reactions to infliximab are not usually anaphylactic (ie, they are not mediated by immunoglobulin E), and re-exposure of the patient using specific protocols to prevent and treat these reactions is therefore possible. The extensive experience in the use of infliximab for the treatment of rheumatic conditions and chronic inflammatory bowel disease has made it possible to develop infusion reaction management protocols; these can be applied to dermatologic patients, who constitute a growing proportion of patients treated with intravenous biological agents. The aim of this review is to draw up a consensus protocol for the treatment of infusion reactions in dermatologic patients treated with infliximab.

[Calcific uraemic arteriolopathy (calciphylaxis): incidence, clinical features and long term outcomes]. / Arteriolopatía urémica calcificante (calcifilaxis): incidencia, formas de presentación y evolución.

UNLABELLED: Calcific uraemic arteriolopathy, also named calciphylaxis, is a rare but serious disorder characterized by medial mural calcification of small vessel leading to tissue ischaemia. It most commonly occurs in end stage renal disease patients on dialysis or recently received renal transplant with chronic nephropathy allograft. The pathogenesis of calciphylaxis is poorly understood. Abnormalities in mineral metabolism are clearly involved, but the specific factors that induces this disorder are not completely known. OBJECTIVES: Describe the main clinical features, outcomes and follow up of all calciphylaxis cases recorded in our dialysis unit in order to analyse the incidence, the main biologic parameters and the therapeutic background in which calciphylaxis appeared. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a descriptive study about all the calciphylaxis cases diagnosed at our dialysis unit between the years 1991 and 2005. RESULTS: 8 cases, 6 women. Mean age: 65.3 years. All the patients were on haemodialysis treatment (one previous renal transplant). Mean time on dialysis was 76.6 months. Cumulative incidence was 1.17%. The principal end stage renal disease aethiology was neprhoangioeslerosis in four patients. Secondary hiperparatyrhoidism was present in 4 patients and 2 of them had been paratyrhoidectomized previously. A second cutaneous biopsy was needed for correct diagnosis in 3 patients. Calciphylaxis distal lesions were present in 7 patients. Two cases required urgent paratyrhoidectomy in order to control calciphylaxis. Only in 2 cases a Ca x P product > 60 mg/dL was present and 3 cases had PTHi values higher than 300 pg/mL. Calcium phosphate binders and vitamin D were present in 2 and 4 cases, respectively. One patient with proximal calciphylaxis died due to skin injury infection. CONCLUSIONS: Calciphylaxis is a rare disorder but not exceptional, related to end stage renal disease patients. The diagnosis requires a high clinical suspicion, being sometimes difficult to distinguish from other entities in spite of pathological study. Proximal distribution of calciphylaxis had worst prognostic. Metabolic disorders and therapeutics background were not different from other patients included in dialysis treatment.

Multiple furunculoid myiasis on the scalp of a child.

Cutaneous myiasis is easy to diagnose and treat if clinicians are aware of the condition. Because of widespread travel, physicians may encounter this infestation in patients living in geographical regions where the condition is rare. A child is presented with cutaneous myiasis that presented as furuncle-like nodules on the scalp. The larvae were identified as a stage of the bluebottle-like fly, Dermatobia hominis.

[Type II essential mixed cryoglobulinemia and renal disease. Hepatitis C virus association]. / Afectación renal en la crioglobulinemia mixta tipo II.

UNLABELLED: Recently a number of studies have implicated C virus as a major cause of mixed cryoglobulinemia. Several authors described that up to 95% of "essential" mixed cryoglobulinemia could be attributed to this viral infection. Nevertheless, its prevalence and clinical significance are not well known. We review our experience in relation with the clinical, biological and evolutive characteristics of patients diagnosed of type II mixed cryoglobulinemia. METHODS: Descriptive and protocolized study of all cases found to have type II mixed cryoglobulinemia over a period of 8 years. Secondary cryoglobulinemic nephropathy was defined in a restrictive way: a plasma creatinine > 1.5 mg/dl and/or proteinuria > 500 mg/24 h and/or hematuria (> 15 red blood cells) need to be present in the absence of any other pathological conditions that could justify these alterations. Furthermore, the information obtained from available kidney biopsies was considered. RESULTS: 62 patients have been detected. C virus infection was demonstrated in 44 (72%). 52% had clinical symptoms related with cryoglobulinemia. 56% had alteration of renal tests, and 17 (27%) fulfil the conditions for the diagnosis of cryoglobulinemic nephropathy (nearly all with persistent microhematuria, median proteinuria 4.2 +/- 3.9 g/24 h; median plasma creatinine 2.8 +/- 1.8 mg/dl). Nine patients had been histologically examined, showing 6 cases a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis pattern, one with associated extraglomerular vasculitis; two with mesangial proliferative pattern and one with membranous glomerulonephritis. The most striking differences between cryoglobulinemic nephropathy patients and the rest has been: higher amount of cryoglobulins (49 +/- 28 vs 20 +/- 22); more frequent hypocomplementemia, especially C4 (93% vs 59%) and recurrent purpura (75% vs 32%). No differences in the presence of C virus infection could be observed (75% vs 71%). IN CONCLUSION: 72% of patients with type II mixed cryoglobulinemia are infected by C virus (so 28% in our serie are "essential"); 52% have symptoms related with the presence of cryoglobulins, half of them with cryoglobulinemic nephropathy.

Pigmented squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Melanoma is the most common malignant tumor in which melanin synthesis occurs, although other nonmelanocytic tumors synthesize melanin or contain nonneoplastic melanocytes. We present two cases of infiltrating pigmented squamous cell carcinoma of the skin and review the clinical, morphologic, and ultrastructural features. Melanin was found in epithelial tumor cells as well as in macrophages and dendritic melanocytes. Interestingly, one of the neoplasms was associated with an adjacent melanocytic nevus and pigmented solar keratosis. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that neoplastic cells stained for keratin and melanin-filled dendritic cells were found to be S-100 protein and HMB45 positive. A careless examination of the immunohistochemical stains for S-100 protein and HMB45 could cause the misdiagnosis of melanoma, a neoplasm that has a more ominous outlook.

[Tumorous lymphedema of the penis. Report of verrucous elephantiasis. A brief case. Preliminary note]. / Linfedema tumoral del pene. A propósito de una elefantiasis verrucosa. Caso sucinto. Nota preliminar.

Exclusively penial lymphatic affections can be considered a highly infrequent occurrence. In the absence of an scrotal oedema, an "elephantiac" involvement with tumoral appearance in the penis, is indeed exceptional. A clinical case is briefly commented here. It refers to a patient with a significant sociopathy who presented a lymphedema confined to the penis in its maximum expression (elephantiasis verrucosa nostras).