Latest articles: 

1. Adverse event reporting in clinical trials of finasteride for androgenic alopecia: A meta-analysis
JAMA Dermatology, 04/09/2015Belknap SM, et al. 

Aim. To assess safety reporting for clinical trial reports of finasteride for androgenic alopecia (AGA).

Conclusion.  Finally, they concluded that published reports of clinical trials provide insufficient information to establish the safety profile for finasteride in the treatment of AGA. 

2. Antiviral gene expression in psoriasis

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 04/08/2015

Objective of this study is to determine if psoriasis is associated with pervasive expression of antiviral genes in skin and blood. The findings highlight psoriasis as an inflammatory disease with cutaneous but not systemic immune activation against viral pathogens.

3. Helicobacter pylori infection in psoriasis: Results of a clinical study and review of the literature

International Journal of Dermatology, 04/03/2015

Campanati A, et al. – This study was carried out to evaluate prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with mild to severe psoriasis, correlation between H. pylori infection and severity of psoriasis, and effect of H. pylori eradication on the clinical course of psoriasis. Patients with mild to severe psoriasis do not show a greater prevalence of H. pylori infection; however, H. pylori seems able to affect the clinical severity of psoriasis.

Methods

210 patients with psoriasis and 150 healthy controls were screened for H. pylori through [13C] urea breath test at baseline (T0).

All patients with psoriasis received standardized phototherapy treatment, and those infected by H. pylori were also treated with a 1–week triple therapy, then they were all re–evaluated four weeks later at the end of therapy (T5).

Results

The prevalence of H. pylori was not higher in psoriasis than in the control group (20.27 vs 22%; P>0.05).

Patients infected by H. pylori showed more severe psoriasis than uninfected patients (psoriasis area and severity index score 17.9 ± 7.1 vs 13.7 ± 6.9; P=0.04), and patients who received successful eradication of H. pylori infection showed a greater improvement of psoriasis than the others (psoriasis area and severity index score at T5 in patients infected by H. pylori was 8.36 ± 3.76, in uninfected patients was 10.85 ± 3.49; P=0.006).

4. Efficacy and safety of a lindane 1% treatment regimen for scabies, confirmed by dermoscopy-guided skin scraping with microscopic examination

Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 04/09/2015Park SE, et al

Methods

For this retrospective study, researchers analyzed patients treated for scabies between January 2012 and December 2013.

Patients were treated with 1% lindane cream twice weekly (days 0 and 1) and were evaluated with DSGSS-ME on day 7.

Results

the cumulative efficacy of lindane 1% cream was 40% (20/50) after 1 week, 88% (44/50) after 2 weeks, and 98% (49/50) after 3 weeks of treatment.

5. Safety and Efficacy of Pimecrolimus in Atopic Dermatitis: A 5-Year Randomized Trial

Pediatrics, April 02, 2015

:100.0%'>International Journal of Dermatology, 04/03/2015

Methods:  2418 infants were enrolled in this 5-year open-label study. Infants were randomized to PIM (n = 1205; with short-term TCSs for disease flares) or TCSs (n = 1213). The primary objective was to compare safety; the secondary objective was to document PIM’s long-term efficacy. Treatment success was defined as an Investigator’s Global Assessment score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear).

Results: Both PIM and TCSs had a rapid onset of action with >50% of patients achieving treatment success by week 3. After 5 years, >85% and 95% of patients in each group achieved overall and facial treatment success, respectively. The PIM group required substantially fewer steroid days than the TCS group (7 vs 178). The profile and frequency of adverse events was similar in the 2 groups; in both groups, there was no evidence for impairment of humoral or cellular immunity.

Conclusions: Long-term management of mild-to-moderate AD in infants with PIM or TCSs was safe without any effect on the immune system. PIM was steroid-sparing. The data suggest PIM had similar efficacy to TCS and support the use of PIM as a first-line treatment of mild-to-moderate AD in infants and children. 

Top read last month

1. Tazarotene as alternative topical treatment for onychomycosis

Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 02/20/2015

Patients and methods: 15 patients, treated with topical tazarotene 0.1% gel once per day for 12 w. Mycological cultures and potassium hydroxide stains of nail samples were performed at the beginning and end of the study.  Fungistatic activity of tazarotene was evaluated by disk diffusion assay.
Results: Six patients (40%) reached a mycological cure after 4 weeks of treatment. Complete clinical healing and negative cultures were reached in all patients at week 12. Disk diffusion assay after 48 hours of incubation with tazarotene showed a central area of inhibition in all examined fungal cultures.
Conclusion: Our results documented a good clinical outcome using topical tazarotene 0.1% gel in distal and lateral subungual onychomycosis and its fungistatic activity of tazarotene in vitro. The majority of patients appeared cured at a 6-month follow-up. The efficacy and safety of tazarotene must be confirmed on a larger number of patients.