BACKGROUND: Management of atopic dermatitis (AD) involves the regular use of emollients together with topical steroids or calcineurin inhibitors for acute flares. However, the long-term use of oral medications in young children may have certain limitations. Wet wrap dressing (WWD) is an interesting alternative therapy for the short-term control of severe or refractory flares, thus avoiding the use of systemic treatments. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the efficacy between WWD and topical steroid agents and to control and estimate the utility of WWD in pediatric AD. METHODS: A total of 40 patients with mild-to-severe AD (eczema area and severity index of ≥3) aged <13 years were included in this study. Twenty patients were treated with WWD using two layers of cotton bandages or garments (Tubifast™), and the remaining were applied with topical steroid agents without cotton bandages. Improvement in severity of atopic dermatitis was evaluated using the eczema area and severity index (EASI). Improvement in skin barrier dysfunction was evaluated by measuring the transepidermal water loss (TEWL). We compared the two groups after 1 week of treatment using analysis of covariance and t-test. Furthermore, we surveyed the study groups using a questionnaire to estimate the utility of WWD and its adverse effects as well as to evaluate subjective outcomes of WWD. RESULTS: There were significant reductions in the mean EASI (−6.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −7.5 to −5.1, p=0.013) and TEWL (−26.7, 95% CI: −31.2 to −22.3, p=0.002) after 1 week of WWD treatment compared with the mean EASI (−4.0, 95% CI: −5.2 to −2.9) and TEWL (−15.4, 95% CI: −19.8 to −10.9) of the control group. Results of patient self-assessment and scores in the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pruritus were improved in both groups, but the differences were not statistically significant. Usefulness of WWD as an alternative therapy for the conventional therapy was satisfactory. CONCLUSION: This study is meaningful in that it estimates both the subjective and objective efficacy of WWD. In view of these findings, WWD showed superior therapeutic effects than conventional steroid application in the treatment of AD in children, with good compliance of patients and parent-caregivers.
Bandages ; Calcineurin Inhibitors ; Child ; Clothing ; Compliance ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Eczema ; Emollients ; Humans ; Pruritus ; Self-Assessment ; Skin ; Steroids ; Therapeutic Uses ; Water

Telogen effluvium is categorized in nonscarring alopecia, which shows scalp hair thinning and shedding diffusely resulting from inducing factors such as physiological stressful events and several acute or chronic diseases. It usually appears in female patients following parturition, as well as after febrile disease, major surgery, emotional stress, abrupt diet, chronic illness, or the taking of certain medication pills. Two patients who both recalled an operational history of hair transplantation visited our department with their frontal and both temporal hair loss. Physical examination of the both patients showed localized but diffuse hair loss, especially in the frontal and temporal scalp. Histopathological examination of biopsy specimen taken from their temporal scalp revealed normal follicular density and increased numbers of telogen hair follicles without any inflammatory cell infiltration around follicles. These clinical and histopathological findings were consistent with telogen effluvium. Both of them were reassured and placed on close follow-up without any treatment. From these cases, we demonstrate that localized telogen effluvium could be a cause of hair loss after hair transplantation.
Alopecia ; Biopsy ; Chronic Disease ; Diet ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hair Follicle ; Hair* ; Humans ; Parturition ; Physical Examination ; Scalp ; Stress, Physiological ; Stress, Psychological

Cutaneous endometriosis is defined by the presence of endometrial glands and/or stroma in skin and represents less than 1% of all ectopic endometrium. Cutaneous endometriosis is classified as primary and secondary. Primary cutaneous endometriosis appears without a prior surgical history and secondary cutaneous endometriosis mostly occurs at surgical scar tissue after abdominal operations. The most widely accepted pathogenesis of secondary endometriosis is the iatrogenic implantation of endometrial cells after surgery, such as laparoscopic procedures. However, the pathogenesis of primary endometriosis is still unknown. Umbilical endometriosis is composed only 0.4% to 4.0% of all endometriosis, however, umbilicus is the most common site of primary cutaneous endometriosis. A 38-year-old women presented with solitary 2.5×2.0-cm-sized purple to brown colored painful nodule on the umbilicus since 2 years ago. The patient had no history of surgical procedures. The skin lesion became swollen with spontaneous bleeding during menstruation. The skin lesion was diagnosed as a keloid at private hospital and has been treated with lesional injection of steroid for several times but there was no improvement. Imaging studies showed an enhancing umbilical mass without connection to internal organs. Biopsy specimen showed the several dilated glandular structures in dermis. They were surrounded by endometrial-type stroma and perivascular infiltration of lymphocytes. The patient was diagnosed as primary cutaneous endometriosis and skin lesion was removed by complete wide excision without recurrence. We report an interesting and rare case of primary umbilical endometriosis mistaken for a keloid and review the literatures.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Cicatrix ; Dermis ; Endometriosis* ; Endometrium ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitals, Private ; Humans ; Keloid ; Lymphocytes ; Menstruation ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Umbilicus*

Cystic lymphangioma is a true, benign, congenital multicystic tumor arising from sequestrations of embryonic lymphatic tissue. Most often it occurs at birth or during the early years of life, is found most commonly in the neck, and its distribution coincides with that of the primitive lymph sacs. A 23-year-woman presented with a soft palpable mass on her chest wall. Physical and ultrasound examination revealed a well-circumscribed, mobile, nontender, soft subcutaneous mass on the right posterior chest wall beneath the latissimus dorsi muscle. A skin biopsy of the mass showed endothelium-lined lymphatic vessels and a loose, lace-like fibrous tissue stroma. The specimen was stained with D2-40 showing positive staining of lymphatics. These histopathological findings confirmed the diagnosis of a cystic lymphangioma. We report a rare case of a cystic lymphangioma on the chest wall in a 23-year-old woman.
Adult* ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphangioma, Cystic* ; Lymphatic Vessels ; Lymphoid Tissue ; Neck ; Parturition ; Skin ; Superficial Back Muscles ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax* ; Ultrasonography ; Young Adult

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Seborrheic keratosis is a common benign epidermal tumor histologically composed of basaloid and squamous cells. It mainly occurs on the face, scalp, and trunk, and presents clinically as a well-circumscribed, brownish to black papule, nodule, or plaque. Trichoblastoma is a relatively rare benign, slow-growing tumor showing differentiation toward the primitive hair follicle. It clinically manifests as a solitary, skin to erythematous colored, well-circumscribed dermal nodule located predominantly on the head and neck with a predilection for the scalp. Histologically, a well-demarcated mass of follicular germinative cells that show various degrees of differentiation, arranged in lobules, sheets, and nests, is located in the dermis or subcutaneous fat layer. We report the case of a 28-year-old female patient with a solitary, 2.0x4.0-cm black plaque with a 0.7-cm skin-colored nodule on the scalp. Histologically, the entire black plaque had prominent hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, and papillomatosis with horn cysts. The central nodule showed well-circumscribed, various-sized dermal tumor lobules without a connection to the overlying epidermis. The lobular aggregation was composed of numerous basaloid epithelial nests and multiple primitive papillary structures with distinct peripheral palisading of nuclei. According to these findings, the scalp lesion was diagnosed as a composite tumor associating trichoblastoma and seborrheic keratosis.
Adult ; Animals ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Female ; Hair Follicle ; Head ; Horns ; Humans ; Keratosis, Seborrheic* ; Neck ; Papilloma ; Scalp ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat

Seborrheic keratosis is a common benign epidermal tumor histologically composed of basaloid and squamous cells. It mainly occurs on the face, scalp, and trunk, and presents clinically as a well-circumscribed, brownish to black papule, nodule, or plaque. Trichoblastoma is a relatively rare benign, slow-growing tumor showing differentiation toward the primitive hair follicle. It clinically manifests as a solitary, skin to erythematous colored, well-circumscribed dermal nodule located predominantly on the head and neck with a predilection for the scalp. Histologically, a well-demarcated mass of follicular germinative cells that show various degrees of differentiation, arranged in lobules, sheets, and nests, is located in the dermis or subcutaneous fat layer. We report the case of a 28-year-old female patient with a solitary, 2.0x4.0-cm black plaque with a 0.7-cm skin-colored nodule on the scalp. Histologically, the entire black plaque had prominent hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, and papillomatosis with horn cysts. The central nodule showed well-circumscribed, various-sized dermal tumor lobules without a connection to the overlying epidermis. The lobular aggregation was composed of numerous basaloid epithelial nests and multiple primitive papillary structures with distinct peripheral palisading of nuclei. According to these findings, the scalp lesion was diagnosed as a composite tumor associating trichoblastoma and seborrheic keratosis.
Adult ; Animals ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Female ; Hair Follicle ; Head ; Horns ; Humans ; Keratosis, Seborrheic* ; Neck ; Papilloma ; Scalp ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat

The mu opioid receptor (MOR) has been regarded as the main site of interaction with analgesics in major clinical use, particularly morphine. The repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor (REST) functions as a transcriptional repressor of neuronal genes in non-neuronal cells. However, it is expressed in certain mature neurons, suggesting that it may have complex and novel roles. In addition, the interactions between MOR and REST and their functions remain unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of morphine on the expression of REST mRNA and protein in human neuroblastoma NMB cells to investigate the roles of REST induced by MOR activation in neuronal cells. To determine the effects of morphine on REST expression, we performed RT-PCR, real-time quantitative RT-PCR, western blot analysis and radioligand binding assays in NMB cells. By RT-PCR and real-time quantitative RT-PCR, the expression of REST was found to be unchanged by either the MOR agonist morphine or the MOR specific antagonist CTOP. By western blot, morphine was shown to significantly inhibit the expression of REST, but this suppression was completely blocked by treatment with CTOP. In the radioligand binding assay, the overexpression of REST led to an increased opioid ligand binding activity of endogenous MOR in the NMB cells. These results together suggest that morphine inhibits the expression of REST in human neuroblastoma cells through a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism mediated through MOR.
Analgesics ; Blotting, Western ; Humans ; Morphine ; Neuroblastoma ; Neurons ; Receptors, Opioid, mu ; RNA, Messenger ; Somatostatin ; Transcription Factors

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of fentanyl-TTS in the management of radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was open labelled prospective phase IV multi-center study. the study population included patients with more 4 numeric rating scale(NRS) score pain although managed with other analgesics or more than 6 NRS score pain without analgesics. Patients divided into two groups; patients with radiotherapy induced pain (Group A) and patients with cancer pain treated with radiotherapy (Group B). All patients received 25 ug/hr of fentanyl transdermal patch. Primary end point was pain relief; second end points were change in patient quality of life, a degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician, side effects. RESULTS: Between March 2005 and June 2005, 312 patients from 26 participating institutes were registered, but 249 patients completed this study. Total number of patients in each group was 185 in Group A, 64 in Group B. Mean age was 60 years and male to female ratio was 76:24. Severe pain NRS score at 2 weeks after the application of fentanyl was decreased from 7.03 to 4.01, p=0.003. There was a significant improvement in insomnia, social functioning, and quality of life. A degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician was very high. The most common reasons of patients' satisfactions was good pain control. Ninety six patients reported side effect. Nausea was the most common side effect. There was no serious side effect. CONCLUSION: Fentanyl-TTS was effective in both relieving pain with good tolerability and improving the quality of life for patients with radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. The satisfaction of the patients and doctors was good. There was no major side effect.
Academies and Institutes ; Acute Pain ; Analgesics ; Female ; Fentanyl* ; Humans ; Male ; Nausea ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Transdermal Patch*