Patient Reported Improvement in Quality of Life Associated With Successful Laser Hair Reduction at Hemodialysis Site With 1064-nm Nd:YAG Laser.

Laser hair reduction is a well-established modality for a wide range of medical indications. Laser hair reduction can be beneficial for hemodialysis patients who undergo repeated adhesive tape application and removal at their hemodialysis site during hemodialysis sessions. There is a paucity of published literature on efficacious laser hair removal treatments for hemodialysis patients. Herein, we present a case of a 50-year-old male (Fitzpatrick III) with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis, who achieved successful laser hair reduction at his hemodialysis vascular access site with five sessions of a neodymium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser (1064 nm) to improve his quality of life by reducing the hair burden at the adhesive tape site application. We recommend providing this safe and effective hair reduction treatment option for hemodialysis patients given the decreased quality of life associated with end stage renal disease and hemodialysis. J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(7):794-795.

Intramuscular Steroids in the Treatment of Dermatologic Disease: A Systematic Review.

IMPORTANCE: Intramuscular (IM) steroids can be used to treat a wide variety of dermatologic diseases. Although seemingly effective and safe, this form of corticosteroid therapy may be underused amongst dermatologists. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to determine the evidence regarding the efficacy and side effect profile of intramuscular triamcinolone in the treatment of dermatologic disease. EVIDENCE REVIEW: A PubMed search engine was used for this study. Inclusion criteria were studies that examined human subjects, reported clinical outcomes and side effects of intramuscular steroids for the treatment of dermatologic disease, cutaneous disease where steroids remain an accepted standard of care, studies published after 1980, and English language articles. FINDINGS: A total of 62 papers were reviewed. Six papers met criteria. They looked at alopecia areata, (2) systemic lupus erythematosus (1), Behcets disease (1), and nail lichen planus (2). Collectively, the studies included 342 patients. Study types included case series (1), retrospective observational (2), randomized prospective (2), and double-blind placebo controlled (1) studies. In this systematic review, intramuscular steroids were found to have comparable efficacy and side effect profile alone or in comparison with other steroid modalities for the select number of dermatoses investigated. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: We conclude that intramuscular steroids can be regarded as having comparable efficacy to other steroid modalities in the treatment of steroid responsive dermatoses; and also appear to be safer in most instances with the exception of dysmenorrhea in females. Additional studies are greatly needed.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(3):323-329.

Apremilast for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatoryarthropathy that affects joints and entheses andis associated with psoriasis (PsO). There are fiveclinical patterns of PsA: symmetrical polyarthritis,distal interphalangeal arthropathy, asymmetricaloligoarthritis, arthritis mutilans, and spondylitis, withor without sacroiliitis. Concerning PsA, the goals oftherapy are to control inflammation, prevent articulardamage, and reduce discomfort in the affected joints.Although there are many therapeutic options forthe treatment of PsAs, physicians most often beginwith nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)for mild disease. Disease-modifying anti-rheumaticdrugs (DMARDS) are reserved for moderate to severedisease. Apremilast may be a useful option for somepatients.

Treatment of Brooke-Spiegler Syndrome Trichoepitheliomas with Erbium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet Laser: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Patients with Brooke-Spiegler Syndrome (BSS) can present with benign cylindromas, spiradenomas, spiradenocylindromas, and trichoepithelioma. Therapy options include excision, electrocautery, CO2 laser ablation, dermabrasion, and radiofrequency. Here, we present a patient with BSS with multiple trichoepitheliomas who was successfully treated with erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser therapy and review similar cases of BSS treated with a YAG laser modality.

Systematic review of anti-drug antibodies of IL-17 inhibitors for psoriasis.

Three main biologics target the IL-17 pathway; these include secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab, all of which are approved for treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine if IL-17 inhibitors are prone to develop anti-drug antibodies (ADA) and how efficacy of treatment is influenced. A total of 14 papers were reviewed. Only one secukinumab trial detected treatment-emergent ADA in 4 out of 996 (0.41%) patients during the 52-week treatment period. Two of these patients (1 on 150-mg retreatment as needed and 1 on 150-mg fixed interval) were found to have neutralizing antibodies; however, they were not associated with decreased efficacy. One paper reported ADAs against ixekizumab. One out of 1150 (9%) developed titers to ixekizumab after receiving 160-mg-loading dose followed by 80 mg every 2 weeks. Nineteen out of 1150 (1.7%) developed high titer (>1:1280) which impacted clinical outcomes. Three studies did detect ADA against brodalumab; however, none were neutralizing. It is difficult to draw a conclusion from our findings given the variability in ADA development. Most trials did not develop ADA, and if they did, the majority of the time they were not neutralizing. Only ixekizumab showed decreased efficacy, but no increased adverse events in cases with neutralizing ADA.