Study of visfatin expression in acne patients in tissue and serum.

BACKGROUND: Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous units, of multifactorial pathogenesis, one of which could be an adipokine such as visfatin. AIM: The aim of this study was to study visfatin expression both in lesional skin and serum, of acne patients versus healthy controls. The secondary aim was to study the relationship of visfatin levels with dyslipidemia/metabolic syndrome. METHODS: This study included 30 patients with moderate and severe acne vulgaris and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Serum and tissue visfatin were estimated by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay. Clinical and laboratory examinations were done to assess the anthropometric data and various criteria of metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: Tissue and serum visfatin levels were significantly higher in patients as compared to healthy controls. Tissue visfatin levels were significantly higher than its serum levels in both patients and controls. Serum visfatin was significantly higher in overweight individuals. No correlations were found between tissue and serum visfatin levels in both patients and controls. Moreover, serum and tissue visfatin levels did not correlate to any of the lipid profile parameters or criteria of metabolic syndrome in acne patients. LIMITATIONS: The study had a small sample size and did not localize the exact source of tissue visfatin. Polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS was not evaluated. CONCLUSION: Visfatin is an important proinflammatory adipokine, with significantly higher expression in acne patients. Tissue rather than serum visfatin might play a key role in acne.

Recipient site preparation by cryoblebbing in melanocyte keratinocyte transplantation procedure over the fingers in vitiligo: A pilot study.

Surgical treatment of vitiligo lesions over the fingers has poor outcome. In this intra-patient comparative study, 12 patients with stable non-segmental vitiligo (NSV) affecting the middle three fingers of one hand were included. Three variations were used in treatment of finger vitiligo lesions: minipuch grafting, melanocytes keratinocyte transplantation procedure (MKTP) preceded by cryoblebbing or full CO2 laser resurfacing of the recipient site. Liquid nitrogen was used to create blebs in one finger 24 hours before therapy. On the following day, the second finger was treated by minipunch grafting and the third finger was resurfaced by CO2 laser. A suspension was prepared and 0.1 mL was injected into each cryobleb. It was also applied to the resurfaced skin. All patients underwent topical PUVA therapy and were followed-up for 12 months. Ten cases with 52 lesions completed the follow-up period. About 4/18 lesions treated by cryoblebbing followed by MKTP showed ≥75% repigmentation while only 1/17 lesions treated by laser resurfacing + MKTP and 1/17 lesions treated by minipunch grafting showed 30% and 10% repigmentation, respectively. No complications occurred in MKTP treated lesions. Cryoblebbing of the recipient site seems to improve the outcome of MKTP in lesions over the fingers in stable NSV.

Studying the effect of adding growth factors to the autologous melanocyte keratinocyte suspension in segmental vitiligo.

Addition of different growth factors to the medium used in autologous melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation procedure (MKTP) was reported in the literature. The aim of the current study was comparison of response to MKTP in segmental vitiligo (SV) with and without adding growth factors to the suspension medium. Eighteen cases with SV were randomly divided into two groups. In group A: Ham F12 medium was used for suspension and in group B: 5 ng/mL recombinant basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and 25 mg/500 mL 3'5' cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) were added to the medium. All cases received NB-UVB twice weekly for 24 weeks. The area of vitiligo lesions was measured before and after therapy by point-counting technique and complications were recorded. Excellent response (90%-100% repigmentation) occurred in 5/9 cases (56%) in group A and 7/9 cases (78%) in group B (with growth factors). A significant decrease in the area of treated lesions before and after therapy was found in both groups A and B (P = .0012 and .0004, respectively), however, a higher percentage of reduction in area of vitiligo was seen in group B cases (70% in group A vs 90% in group B; P value: .028). Marginal halo was seen in five cases in group A and six in group B. In conclusion addition of bFGF and cAMP to MKTP medium improved the results of the procedure. It could be considered if economically feasible.

Clinical and epidemiologic features of psoriasis patients in an Egyptian medical center.

BACKGROUND: Identification of epidemiologic and phenotypic variations of psoriasis among different ethnic groups can further our understanding of this perplexing disease, aiming at better management of patients worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To provide a descriptive analysis of psoriasis patients registered at Kasr Al-Ainy Psoriasis Unit Disease Registry. METHODS: This retrospective single-center registry study included patient records between November 2015 and November 2018 (2534 patients). Sociodemographic and phenotypic data were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age of the registered patients was 39.3 years and 56.3% were men. Stress was the main precipitating factor (48.3%), whereas the most common symptom reported was itching (82.4%). The median body mass index was 27.5, and the median percentage of body surface area involved was 10.0. The mean Psoriasis Area Severity Index score was 8.7, and the mean Psoriasis Disability Index score was 13.0. Both parameters correlated positively, and both showed significantly higher means in smokers. LIMITATIONS: Despite that the study was performed at a highly specialized tertiary care center with a high flow of patients, this was still a single-center registry. CONCLUSIONS: This work shows that the characteristics of Egyptian patients with psoriasis are comparable to those of other studied ethnic groups, with minor differences.

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals air pollutants by urban trees.

Leaf and bark of trees are tools for assessing the effects of the heavy metals pollution and monitoring the environmental air quality. In this study, the possibility of using leaves and bark of two urban trees, namely, Ficus nitida and Eucalyptus globulus as a bioindicator of atmospheric pollution was evaluated by determining the composition of heavy elements in the tree leaves, bark, soil, and the atmospheric dust. Two common tree species, namely, F. nitida and E. globulus were selected in the heavily industrial zone of surrounding Minya governorate, Upper Egypt. Two urban areas with heavy traffic load (sites 1 and 2), three industrial zones (sites 3, 4, and 5) and an uncontaminated area as a control were selected (site 6). Sampling from leaf, bark, soil, deposited dust of trees was carried out in winter and summer seasons (from November 2016 to March 2017). The concentrations of heavy metals in dust, soil, leaves, and bark possess the same trend: Pb>Cu>Cd. The highest concentration of cadmium, lead, and copper was found in the leaf of F. nitida and E. globulus higher than bark samples of the studied species, supporting the idea suggesting that tree leaves can be used as a good indicator of heavy metals accumulation. A high and statistically significant correlation (p < .05) was found between Pb concentrations in the atmospheric dust and those in the leaves of both species throughout the two growing seasons, confirming that the main source of incorporated Pb is the atmospheric dust. Otherwise, the obtained results showed that F. nitida tree does not seem to be a good accumulator of Cu. According to the obtained results, F. nitida and E. globulus trees are more likely to capture cadmium and lead from air, so planting these trees in industrial areas with such atmospheric pollutants would be beneficial.

Effect of Procedural-Related Variables on Melanocyte-Keratinocyte Suspension Transplantation in Nonsegmental Stable Vitiligo: A Clinical and Immunocytochemical Study.

BACKGROUND: Melanocyte-keratinocyte suspension (M-K susp) is gaining popularity for vitiligo treatment. Few studies have addressed procedure-related variables. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of different M-K susp procedure-related variables on the clinical outcome in stable vitiligo. METHODS: This prospective multicenter comparative study included 40 cases with nonsegmental stable vitiligo. Donor site was either a skin graft in noncultured epidermal cell suspension (NCECS) or hair follicle units in outer root sheath hair follicle suspension (ORSHFS). Recipient site was prepared by either cryoblebbing or CO2 laser resurfacing. Cell counts and viability were recorded in the cell suspensions. Tissue melanocytes and keratinocytes were examined by melan-A and cytokeratin, respectively. Assessment of repigmentation was performed 18 months after the procedure. RESULTS: Thirty-seven subjects completed the study. Cell count was significantly lower in the ORSHFS compared with NCECS with no significant difference in the repigmentation outcome. On comparing techniques of recipient site preparation, homogenicity was better in the CO2 group. Elbows and knees responded better to CO2 resurfacing, whereas distal fingers responded better to combination of cryoblebbing with NCECS. CONCLUSION: Using different techniques in M-K susp produces comparable results. However, the distal fingers showed better results using combination of donor NCECS and recipient cryoblebs.

Dermoscopic and Immunohistochemical Changes in Acquired Melanocytic Nevi following Narrow-Band Ultraviolet B Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Acquired melanocytic nevi (AMN) have been reported to undergo morphological and dermoscopic changes following exposure to narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) radiation. OBJECTIVE: To study the morphological, dermoscopic and immunohistochemical changes in AMN following NB-UVB radiation. METHODS: Suberythemogenic NB-UVB sessions were delivered to 40 patients with AMN. For each patient, a minimum of 2 nevi were selected. One nevus was surgically removed from each patient prior to sessions as control; for the other nevus, dermoscopic images were captured before and after NB-UVB sessions. The images were evaluated for changes. At the end, another nevus was surgically removed for immunohistochemical assessment of Ki-67 and melan-A. RESULTS: Our study showed a statistically significant increase in the size of AMN following NB-UVB radiation. Benign dermoscopic changes were observed. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between some dermoscopic findings and the total cumulative dose of NB-UVB. Immunohistochemical analysis did not show any significant change in the exposed AMN. CONCLUSION: AMN irradiated with repeated suberythemogenic doses of NB-UVB showed benign morphological and dermoscopic changes, and this was confirmed by our immunohistochemical study.

T helper 17 and Tregs: a novel proposed mechanism for NB-UVB in vitiligo.

Narrowband ultraviolet (NB-UV)B is accepted as corner stone therapy for vitiligo. Its influence on the expression of IL-17, IL- 22 and FoxP3 as markers for the Th17 and Tregs lineages has not been studied before in the context of non-segmental vitiligo (NSV). The study included 20 active NSV patients who received 36 NB-UVB sessions and 20 controls. Clinical evaluation Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI) and determination of tissue expression of IL-17, IL-22 and FoxP3 by qRT-PCR (lesional, perilesional) were carried out before and after therapy. Baseline levels of IL-17 and IL-22 were significantly higher in patients, whereas FoxP3 was significantly lower. After therapy, IL-17 and IL-22 significantly dropped, whereas FoxP3 significantly increased (lesional, perilesional). Baseline and post-treatment VASI showed significant positive correlations with IL-17 and IL-22 and significant negative correlation with FoxP3 expression. Restoration of the balance between Th17 and Tregs might represent a novel pathway for the improvement that NB-UVB exerts in vitiligo patients.