Background/Aims: Spinal cord injury (SCI) frequently impairs defecation, severely affecting the quality of life. This study examines compensatory neural remodeling after SCI, focusing on basal colonic contractility, neural responses to electrical field stimulation, and alterations in excitatory cholinergic and inhibitory nitrergic pathways. Methods: Female Sprague–Dawley rats underwent either sham surgery or T10 spinal cord transection and were categorized into 3 groups: sham, 1-week post-SCI (acute), and 4-week post-SCI (chronic). Colonic contractility was assessed in an organ bath using electrical field stimulation in the presence of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. Neural protein expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Results: SCI produced region- and time-dependent impairments in colonic contractility, with distinct alterations in the proximal circular and longitudinal muscles across acute and chronic phases. Neural excitability shifted dynamically, showing enhanced excitatory activity in the proximal longitudinal muscle at 1-week and the distal circular muscle at 4-week post-SCI. Protein analysis revealed increased neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the proximal colon, decreasedsoluble guanylyl cyclase in the distal colon, upregulated muscarinic M3 receptor in the proximal colon, and reduced vaso-active intestinal peptide receptor 1 in both proximal and distal regions. Conclusion SCI induces spatiotemporal remodeling of excitatory and inhibitory neural pathways, contributing to colonic dysmotility and revealing potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Background: More than half of acne patients have truncal acne on their chest, back, and shoulders. However, since most studies on acne have focused on the face, data on clinical characteristics and proper management for truncal acne are insufficient. Objective: To establish a Korean Acne Rosacea Society (KARS) consensus for experts’ perception and treatment patterns of truncal acne. Methods: We conducted two rounds of the Dephi technique to gather expert opinion and reach a consensus on truncal acne. The first round comprised 48 questionnaires focusing on various aspects such as epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and more, while second rounds consisted of 26 questionnaires. Results: A total of 36 dermatologists (36/38 KARS members, 94.7%) completed this survey. In the first-round survey, consensus was reached on 20 out of the 48 questions (41.7%). In the secondround questionnaire, consensus was achieved on 9 of the 26 questions (34.6%). The most unresponsive lesion to truncal acne treatment was scars (atrophic/hypertrophic). The most commonly used treatments for each non-inflammatory and inflammatory truncal acne lesions were selected to use topical retinoids (78.1% of the responders) and oral antibiotics (93.8% of the responders). Conclusion Our study has yielded valuable insights into the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life of patients with truncal acne. We anticipate that this study will inspire further comprehensive research for individuals with truncal acne.

Pilomatricoma is a benign skin tumor that arises from hair follicle stem cells. It typically presents in the facial region and rarely involves the palms and soles. A 15-year-old boy presented with a solitary tender nodule on the left sole. He had a history of plantar warts on the same site and had received multiple treatments including cryotherapy and intralesional bleomycin injection for nine months. Excisional biopsy was performed, and the specimen showed a well-demarcated mass in the deep dermis with basaloid cells undergoing abrupt keratinization. Ghost cells were seen with calcification. Based on these findings, he was diagnosed with pilomatricoma on the sole. We report a case of pilomatricoma, which developed on a site without hair follicles.

Foreign body granuloma can be caused by endogenous compounds as well as various injectable materials. In oriental medicine, pharmacopuncture combining herbal medicine administration and injection is one of the commonly used procedures. Hwangryunhaedoktang (HHT, a.k.a., Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang in China), an oriental medicinal herb known to produce anti-inflammatory effects, has been recently made in pharmacopuncture products and commonly used for various disorders. An 88-year-old female presented with multiple tender nodules on the left parietal scalp and forehead. The diagnosis of foreign body granuloma caused by HHT pharmacopuncture was revealed by more detailed previous treatment history of postherpetic neuralgia and histopathologic examination. Herein, we report a foreign body granuloma as a delayed adverse reaction caused by non-standard administration of herbal extracts, considered biologically inert.

Oral-facial-digital syndrome type 1 (OFD1), first described by Papillon-Léage in 1954, is transmitted as an X-linked dominant condition and is characterized by a combination of malformations in the face, oral cavity, and digits. Malformations of the brain and polycystic kidney disease are also commonly associated with OFD1. An 11-month-old female presented with multiple tiny whitish papules on her face that had been present since birth. The histopathologic examination was consistent with milium. She also had congenital anomalies, including incomplete cleft palate, bifid tongue, short frenulum, anomalous deformities of both toes, and clino-brachy-syndactyly. Based on the characteristic dysmorphic features of her face, mouth, and hands, a clinical diagnosis of OFD1 was made. Herein, we report a rare case of OFD1 featuring congenital milia, which has not been previously reported in the Korean literature.

Sorafenib is an inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases and the rat sarcoma/mitogen-activated protein kinase (RAS/MAPK) pathway that is approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and renal cell carcinoma. Sorafenib is known to have various cutaneous adverse effects, including hand-foot reaction, facial and scalp eruption, xerosis, and alopecia1.A 56-year-old man presented with non-painful, nonpruritic psoriasiform lesions that has been present for approximately 1 month (Fig. 1A∼E). Six months prior to presentation, he had been prescribed sorafenib at a daily dosage of 600∼800 mg after diagnosis of HCC with distant metastasis to the lung. A punch biopsy showed psoriasiform dermatitis (Fig. 1F, G). The skin lesions improved gradually after discontinuing sorafenib. However, at 1 month after discontinuation of sorafenib, considering the dose-dependent adverse effect of the medication, the patient resumed sorafenib at 400 mg daily after an oncology consultation. The lesions recurred beginning at 1 week after restarting sorafenib. A clinical diagnosis of sorafenib-associated psoriasiform drug eruption was made. The sorafenib treatment was maintained at 400 mg daily in conjunction with concurrent phototherapy and topical and intralesional corticosteroids for thick erythematous plaques, and intermittent systemic corticosteroid treatment when the cutaneous eruptions flared up.After approximately 2 years of sorafenib treatment, the patient presented with new crusting lesions without any other systemic adverse reactions. Multiple papules and plaques with central hyperkeratotic and crusted papules were present (Fig. 2A∼D). Punch biopsy showed a ‘perforating phenomenon’ (PP) (Fig. 2E∼G). The brownish hyperkeratotic crusts occurred consistently in prolonged psoriasiform plaques and resolved over time (Fig. 2A∼D). The psoriasiform eruptions and delayed-onset PP persisted with continuing sorafenib use (Fig. 2H). Along with a dose-decrease of sorafenib at 400mg daily, he was treated with systemic and topical corticosteroids, intralesional triamcinolone injection and narrowband ultraviolet B therapy. However, the patient showed recurrent cutaneous lesions aggravation upon tapering the dosage of corticosteroid.The psoriasiform lesions improved and then worsened with sorafenib dose change, and the PP featured hyperkeratotic crusts within multiple, long-lasting psoriasiform plaques. This phenomenon might have occurred to eliminate connective tissue or inflammatory material2 and differs from the appearance of transepidermal elimination in previously reported sorafenib-associated acquired perforating dermatosis cases3,4. Transepidermal elimination is a similar process to wound healing2, and considering that our patient had no history of diabetes, renal insufficiency, and trauma, our case might have exhibited the perforating and resolving phenomenon in response to the abnormal psoriasiform drug eruption.The RAS/MAPK cascade that is inhibited by sorafenib could be activated paradoxically; due to its role in antiangiogenesis, this activation results in epidermal disruption. The reduction and suppression of the hepatocyte growth factor-enhanced expression of matrix metalloproteinase induced by sorefenib could influence homeostasis of dermal elastic fibres, resulting in their disruption5. A few cases of psoriasiform drug eruption and PP after administration of sorafenib and other various tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been reported.The PP could represent a manifestation of the resolution of inflammation whereby the psoriasiform hyperplasia and the proliferated dermal tissue might be eliminated via a trans-epidermal route.

Background: Isotretinoin is a gold standard treatment for moderate to severe acne vulgaris but is associated with cheilitis. Though moisturizing agents or petrolatum have been suggested, uncomfortable isotretinoin-induced cheilitis can disrupt treatment of acne patients. Topical tacrolimus has been used in atopic dermatitis with good safety and efficacy; however, there is no study of application of topical tacrolimus in cheilitis induced by isotretinoin. Objective: In this study, we aimed to describe the efficacy of topical tacrolimus 0.1% ointment on cheilitis associated with isotretinoin therapy using isotretinoin cheilitis grading scale (ICGS), investigator global assessment (IGA), and patient global assessment (PGA). We also observed the side effects of topical tacrolimus ointment. Methods: Fifty acne vulgaris patients with isotretinoin-induced cheilitis were randomly allocated to either topical tacrolimus or petrolatum treatment using permuted-block randomization. Patients were followed-up at 4 and 8 weeks, at which cheilitis lesions were photographed and evaluated with ICGS, IGA, and PGA. Results: Compared to petrolatum group, tacrolimus group had greater responses to treatment as measured by mean values of ICGS, IGA, PGA at follow-up visits. Also, the ICGS decrease was larger in the tacrolimus group compared with the petrolatum group even according to isotretinoin dose. Conclusion Topical tacrolimus ointment had superior efficacy in treating cheilitis induced by isotretinoin compared to petrolatum. Erythema, fissures, scales, and commissures all showed better response to tacrolimus ointment. Topical tacrolimus ointment can be administered as an effective strategy in treatment of cheilitis as a complication of isotretinoin therapy and can improve compliance of acne patients.

Congenital melanocytic nevus is a hamartoma derived from the neural crest that is present at birth. Regression following surgical excision with an apparent halo phenomenon through suture lines has never been reported. A nine-year-old boy presented with a solitary symmetric, oval-shaped, blackish pigmented patch on his right forearm.He reported increasing size of the lesion with no other subjective symptoms. Histological examination of the first excisional biopsy revealed congenital melanocytic nevus, and serial excisions were planned. Interestingly, at the second visit at 18 months after the first biopsy, the size of the congenital melanocytic nevus was reduced with a peripheral whitish halo. Linear regression through suture lines and a peripheral halo was observed after the second and third serial excisions. The mechanism of the halo phenomenon remains elusive but is suggested theorized to be caused by destruction of melanocytes by immune responses of autoantibodies or cytotoxic T cells.

Background: Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates wound healing in various skin conditions, and EGFcontaining formulations can promote wound regeneration and help reduce complications after laser treatment. Objective: To evaluate the effect of EGF-containing ointment on wound regeneration after ablative laser treatment and laser-induced postinflammatory erythema (PIE) and hyperpigmentation (PIH). Methods: Twenty-five patients who required treatment with ablative laser on both sides of the face were enrolled and underwent one session of laser treatment. Postoperatively, all patients were instructed to apply the EGFcontaining ointment on the randomly assigned-hemifacial side, while gentamicin cream was applied on the opposite side. Investigators’ global assessment (IGA), evaluating general wound condition, erythema, pigmentation, and scab shedding, and patient’s global assessment (PGA), evaluating patient satisfaction with clinical improvement, were both measured at 1 week and 4 weeks after treatment. Objective assessments, including melanin index (MI), erythema index (EI), skin hydration, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL), were measured before treatment and at 1 week and 4 weeks after treatment. Results: The EGF-containing ointment showed better outcomes with IGA (1 week; p=0.02, 4 weeks; p=0.002) and PGA (1 week; p=0.04, 4 weeks; p=0.01) scores compared to gentamicin cream. Compared to gentamicin cream, treatment with EGF-containing ointment resulted in significantly lower EI (p=0.044) and MI (p=0.023), but skin hydration and TEWL between the two groups exhibited nonsignificant differences. Conclusion EGF-containing ointment could be an effective adjuvant option for wound regeneration after ablative laser treatment and minimizing laser-induced PIE and PIH in Asian patients.