Stiff skin syndrome is a very rare non-inflammatory reactive skin disease, characterized by skin sclerosis and limited joint mobility. The paper reports one case of child with stiff skin syndrome and treated with combined therapy of acupuncture and cupping. Acupuncture was used at the lateral line 1 of vertex (MS8) on the right side, Jiaji (EX-B2) of L₂ to L₄, Huantiao (GB30), ashi point, Juliao (GB29), Fengshi (GB31), Weizhong (BL40), and etc. on the left side. After deqi, the electrodes of KWD-808Ⅰimpulse electronic therapeutic device were attached to Jiaji (EX-B2) of L₄ and Huantiao (GB30), Fengshi (GB31) and Yanglingquan (GB34) on the left side respectively, at disperse-dense wave, a frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz, and a current of 2 mA. The needles were retained for 20 min. Acupuncture was operated once every 2 days, 3 interventions a week. When acupuncture was completed in each intervention, moving cupping was followed till the skin turned to be red, along the distribution of the governor vessel, foot-shaoyang gallbladder meridian and foot-taiyang bladder meridian on the left side, of the lumbar region and leg. Moving cupping was delivered once every 2 days, 3 times a week. Once a week, after moving cupping, the cups were retained on the areas with skin stiffness for 8 min to 10 min. One course of the combined therapy of acupuncture and cupping was composed of 6 treatments. After 2 courses of treatment, the skin stiffness on the left buttock region and the lateral side of the lower limb was ameliorated, the swelling on the left lower limb relieved and the walking improved; and the patient could walk continuously for 2 000 m. The combined therapy of acupuncture and cupping provides a new idea for the clinical treatment of stiff skin syndrome.
Child ; Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Contracture/therapy* ; Cupping Therapy ; Skin Diseases, Genetic/therapy*

The paper reports one case of primary cutaneous amyloidosis (PCA) treated by tapping with plum-blossom needle combined with sulfur ointment and local irradiation. PCA in this case was manifested as generalized erythema, papules, plaques, lichenification, and severe pruritus. In treatment, tapping with plum-blossom needle was delivered at typical lesions to induce local congestion, redness, and minimal bleeding. After cleaned with sterile gauze for 10 s, 25% sulfur ointment was evenly applied, followed by local irradiation with a TDP lamp for 15 min. This session was repeated twice a week. In 1 month of treatment, the lesions turned flat and the skin was soft as the normal, with pigmentation and mild pruritus left. In 3 months of follow-up, no papules recurred, and mild pruritus presented occasionally.
Humans ; Ointments/administration & dosage* ; Sulfur/administration & dosage* ; Skin Diseases, Genetic/radiotherapy* ; Middle Aged ; Amyloidosis, Familial/radiotherapy* ; Male ; Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation* ; Female ; Combined Modality Therapy

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been used to treat various skin diseases. However, siRNA is limited in application due to its electronegativity, strong polarity, easy degradation by nuclease and difficulty in breaking through the skin barrier. Therefore, safe and efficient siRNA delivery vector is the premise of effective treatment of skin diseases by siRNA. In recent years, with the deepening of research on siRNA, great progress has been made in the development of delivery systems based on lipids, polymers, peptides and nanoparticles, some new transdermal delivery vectors of siRNA have emerged, such as liposomes, dendrimers, cell penetrating peptides, and spherical nucleic acid nanoparticles. This review will focus on the recent advance in siRNA transdermal delivery vectors.
Administration, Cutaneous ; Genetic Vectors ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; RNA, Small Interfering ; administration & dosage ; Skin Diseases ; therapy

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that is caused by a shift in the Th1/Th2 balance toward Th1-dominant immunity. It has been established as an effective treatment to counteract psoriasis by subcutaneous injection of recombinant interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-4 gene therapy by topical transdermal penetration has shown its antipsoriatic effect in mice. Retinoic acid (RA) and dimethylsulfoxide can increase the efficiency of gene transfection in the topical transdermal delivery system. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether RA could improve anti-psoriasis efficiency using IL-4 expression plasmid pORF-mIL-4 (pIL-4) via transdermal delivery system in K14-vascular endothelial growth (K14-VEGF) factor transgenic mice. METHODS: After pretreatment with RA, plasmid pIL-4 in 10% dimethylsulfoxide was applied to the ear skin by topical transdermal penetration. Hematoxylin- eosin staining and immunohistochemistry were performed with ear samples to evaluate anti-psoriasis efficiency in mice. RESULTS: The psoriasis pathological features were relieved and psoriasis-associated factors were significantly reduced. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal that topical application of pIL-4 in dimethylsulfoxide by transdermal delivery with RA pretreatment can improve psoriasis significantly.
Animals ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; Ear ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Genetic Therapy ; Immunohistochemistry ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Interleukin-4* ; Interleukins ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Plasmids ; Psoriasis* ; Skin ; Transfection ; Tretinoin*

The incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) rises markedly with age, and only a few cases have been reported in younger adults. Thrombophilia has been reported as one of the predisposing factors for PE in younger adults. Here we report an extraordinary case of PE complicated with dysplasminogenemia, a rare genetic disorder resulting in hypercoagulability, in a young male. An 18-yr-old male visited an emergency room in the United States complaining chest discomfort. He was diagnosed as PE with deep vein thrombosis without apparent risk factors. Anticoagulation therapy with warfarin had been initiated and discontinued after 6 months of treatment. After returning to Korea he was tested for thrombophilia which revealed decreased activity of plasminogen and subsequent analysis of PLG gene showed heterozygous Ala620Thr mutation. He was diagnosed with PE complicated with dysplasminogenemia. Life-long anticoagulation therapy was initiated. He is currently under follow-up without clinical events for 2 yr.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Anticoagulants/therapeutic use ; Conjunctivitis/complications/*diagnosis ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Male ; Plasminogen/*deficiency/genetics ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Pulmonary Embolism/*diagnosis/drug therapy/etiology ; Risk Factors ; Skin Diseases, Genetic/complications/*diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Venous Thrombosis/etiology ; Warfarin/therapeutic use

Stem cells are defined by their capacity of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, which make them uniquely situated to treat a broad spectrum of human diseases. Based on a series of remarkable studies in several fields of regenerative medicine, their application is not too far from the clinical practice. Full-thickness burns and severe traumas can injure skin and its appendages, which protect animals from water loss, temperature change, radiation, trauma and infection. In adults, the normal outcome of repair of massive full-thickness burns is fibrosis and scarring without any appendages, such as hair follicles, sweat and sebaceous glands. Perfect skin regeneration has been considered impossible due to the limited regenerative capacity of epidermal keratinocytes, which are generally thought to be the key source of the epidermis and skin appendages. Currently, researches on stem cells, such as epidermal stem cells, dermal stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, and embryonic stem cells, bring promise to functional repair of skin after severe burn injury, namely, complete regeneration of skin and its appendages. In this study, we present an overview of the most recent advances in skin repair and regeneration by using stem cells.
Embryonic Stem Cells ; transplantation ; Epidermis ; cytology ; Genetic Therapy ; Hair Follicle ; cytology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Regeneration ; Skin Diseases ; therapy ; Skin Physiological Phenomena ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Tissue Engineering

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is one of congenital immunodeficient disease and a rare X-linked or autosomal recessive disease characterized by recurrent life- threatening infections and granuloma formation. We observed clinical features, laboratory findings and genetic subgroups of 33 children who were diagnosed with chronic granulomatous disease in the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Children's Hospital. There were 23 males and 10 females. Activated NBT test of all patients revealed 0% positive cell and mothers of 15 patients had 25%- 75% normal neutrophils in the activated NBT test. According to the result of activated NBT test and family history, the ratio of X-linked and autosomal recessive inheritance was 2:3. There was a significant difference for the age at onset of the first infection in the different genetic subgroups. The X-linked group had the mean onset at 1.98 months of age and autosomal recessive group had a mean onset as late as 3.82 months (p<0.05). The most common type of the first infection was lymphadenopathies (41%) and other infections were skin pustules, fever, perianal abscess, pneumonia and chronic diarrhea. However, the age at diagnosis was not significant in the different genetic subgroups. Lymphadenitis (27%) was the most common infection, and pneumonia, gastrointestinal tract infection, skin infection were also common. The most common infectious agent was Candida sp. (5%) and other microorganisms involved were BCG, coagulase-negative staphylococcus, S. aureus, K/ebsiella pneumoniae, Aspergi/lus sp., and Enterococcus faecium. Chronic condition associated with CGD were hepatomegaly (59%), splenomegaly, and anemia of chronic disease, underweight, and lymphadenopathy. The leukocyte count of patients at diagnosis was within normal limit except in three patients and leukopenia was not observed in any of the patients. The humoral and cellular immunity and complement system were normal, but the level of Ig E in four patients was elevated. Early diagnosis of CGD can be made by suspicion if there are lymphadenitis after BCG vaccination and recurrent pyogenic infections under the first year of age. Though progression in the treatment of CGD, like gene therapy, is concerned, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis by carrier detection and molecular genetic analysis is thought to be necessary.
Abscess ; Anemia ; Candida ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Complement System Proteins ; Diagnosis ; Diarrhea ; Early Diagnosis ; Enterococcus faecium ; Female ; Fever ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Genetic Counseling ; Genetic Therapy ; Granuloma ; Granulomatous Disease, Chronic* ; Hepatomegaly ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Korea* ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukopenia ; Lymphadenitis ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Male ; Molecular Biology ; Mothers ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Neutrophils ; Pediatrics ; Pneumonia ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Seoul ; Skin ; Splenomegaly ; Staphylococcus ; Thinness ; Vaccination ; Wills