Quality of life assessment among patients suffering from different dermatological diseases.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with different dermatological diseases. Multiple international studies have evaluated the QoL among patients with different dermatological diseases; however, few studies of this kind have been conducted in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out in the dermatology outpatient clinics of King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from September 2019 until February 2020. Data was collected using the validated Arabic version of the Dermatology of Life Quality Index (DLQI). RESULTS: A total of 391 patients ≥18 years participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 33 years (18-75 years). Most participants in this study reported that their dermatological disease had a small or no effect on their QoL (62.5%). The majority of patients who had acne vulgaris (79.7%), vitiligo (79.3%), hair disorders (76.9%), or rosacea (71.5%) reported a small to no effects on their QoL. However, diseases that reflected the largest percentages of a large to extremely large effect on QoL were urticaria (37.1%), eczema (26.6%), and psoriasis (24%). A total of 42.9% of the participants suffered from lichen planus and 66.7% of participants suffered from cutaneous neoplasms reported a moderate effect on their QoL. CONCLUSION: Understanding the impact of different dermatological diseases on QoL can help dermatologists to improve thier patients' QoL. Therefore, we recommend that further studies on this topic be conducted in multiple health centers.

Myofibroblast-Mediated Contraction.

Myofibroblast-mediated contraction is viewed as a cycle of four steps. The first step is stimulation of myofibroblasts by lysophospholipids leading to the activation of G proteins and ending with contraction of the actin-myosin complex. The next step is the transmission of the intracellular contractile force at the focal adhesions of myofibroblasts; a step that involves talin, vinculin, paxillin, Hic-5, and the integrin receptors. In the third step, fibronectin will act as the extracellular link between the integrin receptors and the extracellular collagen. Finally, "sensing" tension and the maintenance of myofibroblast activity represent the fourth step. The clinical relevance of each step is then discussed in the form of modalities to prevent excessive scarring/fibrosis.