Treatment of inflammatory nail disorders.

This article provides an updated review on diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory nail disorders including psoriasis, lichen planus, trachyonychia, and autoimmune bullous disorders. Despite the significant negative repercussion of the nail psoriasis in the quality of life of patients, treatment is often not sufficiently effective. The efficacy of topical therapies is limited to nail bed psoriasis. Intralesional corticosteroid injections are extensively utilized in nail matrix psoriasis. Systemic immunosuppressant drugs such as methotrexate and cyclosporine have shown efficacy. Biologics, particularly infliximab and etanercept, have also demonstrated high efficacy in the treatment of severe nail disease. Nail matrix lichen planus can cause nail atrophy and irreversible nail scarring and requires prompt treatment with systemic steroids. There is not gold standard therapy for trachyonychia, but in most cases the nail signs improve spontaneously and treatment is not necessary. Nail changes in pemphigus and other autoimmune disorders respond promptly to systemic therapy with steroids and immunosuppressants.

Open label study to evaluate the efficacy of re-treatment with etanercept in patients with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Etanercept has been used to treat chronic plaque psoriasis. Previously reported data demonstrated that some patients experienced secondary failure and frequently rotational-switch therapy is used. The re-treatment with etanercept as part of the rotational therapy could be considered as another safe and efficient therapeutic approach. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the re-treatment with etanercept in patients with a history of etanercept use with good response and secondary loss of efficacy. METHODS: This is an open label prospective study involving 20 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, who had been initially treated with etanercept and were re-treated after a variable interval with 50 mg BIW for 12 weeks. RESULTS: At week 12 of etanercept re-treatment, 13 of 20 patients (65%) achieved a PGA score of 2 or less and 40% (8 of 20), achieved a PGA score of 0 to 1. Etanercept was well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported. LIMITATIONS: Our study involved a small number of patients. Failure of etanercept was establish by patient's history. However we were able to correlate such failure from our medical records in 17 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Re-treatment with etanercept, after secondary loss of efficacy should be considered in patients with psoriasis if satisfactory therapy cannot be achieved with other therapeutic regimens.

The use of cyclosporine in dermatology.

Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressive drug that acts selectively on T-cells by inhibiting calcineurin phosphorylase. It has been used in dermatology since its approval for US Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for the use in psoriasis. While indicated only for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis, cyclosporine has also been used as an off-label drug for the treatment of various inflammatory skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis, blistering disorders, and connective tissue diseases. In this article, we review the use of cyclosporine in dermatology.

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis: A case report with response to adalimumab.

Although MRH can mimic rheumatoid arthritis, its ability to rapidly progress to arthritis mutilans and association with malignancy in up to 25% of patients warrant prompt recognition and treatment along with age-appropriate malignancy work-up.

Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis taking biologic therapies in a dermatologic private practice in Miami, Florida.

BACKGROUND: The reactivation of a latent tuberculosis infection is one of the possible major events that may occur during biologic therapies for inflammatory chronic diseases such as psoriasis. Although its main screening test is regularly used in clinical practice, there are few studies about the prevalence of this silent mycobacterial infection and the rate of positive convertors during treatment. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis receiving biologic therapy by using tuberculin skin test as a screening method and to evaluate the rate of conversion of tuberculin skin test (TST) during the treatment with biologics. METHODS: A total of 445 patients were included in our retrospective study, conducted from January 2006 to September 2012. Tuberculin skin test was performed in all patients prior to treatment and once a year during the follow-up. PPD was considered positive with an induration above 5 mm, following the recommendations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ America Thoracic Society. Data analysis was obtained with SPSS 20.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBI in our population before initiating the treatment was 4.5% by using TST screening method. During the treatment, 10 cases that were initially TST-negative became positive. Only one of the patients developed active tuberculosis infection. The other 9 TST-positive patients were detected during the regular annual screening, and no symptoms or findings on chest x-ray were seen. All the patients were treated with isoniazid (INH) for nine months, and biologic therapy was restarted after one month of treatment with INH without development of overt TB infection in any of them during the follow-up period of the study. The mean time to becoming TST positive from start date was 26.7 months (range from 8 months to 5 years). As the PPD was done annually, it is unknown exactly when the patients became TST positive. Prior to initiating treatment, 20 patients were found to be TST positive. All patients had clear chest x-rays and were treated with nine months of INH prior to initiating biologic therapy at least month later. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a screening tool for LTBI is mandatory in patients taking biologic therapies to avoid severe infectious complications. Periodic follow-up is also crucial as positive results may be seen after prolonged use of these agents.

An Update on the Treatment of the Cutaneous Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis: The Dermatologist's Point of View.

Systemic sclerosis is a connective tissue disorder that affects multiple organs. Although the initial symptoms of the disease are vascular, skin involvement is almost universally present in patients with systemic sclerosis. The presence of Raynaud's phenomenon, progressive thickening of the skin, digital ulcers, and calcinosis all correlate proportionally with disease severity. Since no treatment is available to completely prevent the natural course of the disease, emphasis is often placed on managing symptoms and complications. In this review, the authors focus on the management of each one of the skin manifestations seen in systemic sclerosis, as the dermatologist may facilitate the early recognition and treatment of these complications.

Extensive, non-healing scalp ulcer associated with trauma-induced chronic osteomyelitis.

A 77-year-old woman presented with a trauma to the scalp caused from the blade of a windmill. The condition was persistent from the past 50 years. At the initial examination, a deep, foul-smelling and well-circumscribed ulcer was apparent on the head region, involving the majority of the cranium. Skin biopsy specimens of the lesion were nonspecific. The bone biopsy showed extensive necrotic areas of bone and soft tissues, with lymphocytic exudate foci. A computed tomography scan of the head revealed bone destruction principally involving both the parietal bones, and parts of the frontal and occipital bones. Streptococcus parasanguis was isolated from the skin culture, and Proteus mirabilis and Peptostreptococcus sp. were identified in the cultures from the bone. A long-term treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (1 g/12 h) and levofloxacin (500 mg/day) was prescribed, but even after 6 months, the lesion remained unchanged. The frequency of occurrence of scalp ulcers in dermatological patients is less, principally because of the rich blood supply to this area. We have not found any similar case report of a scalp ulcer secondary to chronic osteomyelitis discovered more than 50 years after the causal trauma. We want to highlight the importance of complete cutaneous evaluation including skin and bone biopsies, when scalp osteomyelitis is suspected.