Pediatric Dermatology

Washington -- When it comes to photoprotection, people expect too much from sunscreens.

Salt Lake City - Genetic testing for hereditary melanoma is currently being marketed to physicians.

Barcelona, Spain - Identifying the cause of itch is the key to treating it. New research is helping better characterize pruritus, leading to more effective therapies for this frustrating condition, according to physicians reporting at the 2003 meeting of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV).

Barcelona, Spain - New research demonstrates the pathophysiology of itch may be more complex than once believed. Recently discovered pruritic pathways, such as those involving proteases or neuropeptides, are opening doors to new therapeutic targets for this uncomfortable, hard-to-control phenomenon.

Baltimore - PUVA and phototherapy are safe and effective for the treatment of more than two dozen conditions, but of the dermatologists who provide these treatments, as many as half use them solely for psoriasis, according to Warwick L. Morison M.D., professor of dermatology, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore.

Washington, D.C. - Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus may spring to mind first when atopic dermatitis is diagnosed, but it turns out that these topical immunomodulators are also effective for a host of previously difficult-to-treat diseases. Granuloma faciale, Hailey Hailey disease, hand and foot eczema and chromic actinic dermatitis are among the lengthy list of conditions these work well for, according to Mark Lebwohl, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Dermatology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

Detroit - Topical treatment allows medication delivery directly to the skin with reduced systemic exposure compared to orally administered agents, but local drug application is not without risk to internal organ systems, according to Peter J. Aronson, M.D.

Montreal - Diagnosing unusual sexually transmitted infections can be a unique challenge, particularly for physicians lacking expertise in this area.

Danville, Pa. - Hand dermatitis can be difficult to diagnose and treat, according to Christen M. Mowad, M.D., assistant professor, department of dermatology, Geisinger Medical Center, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.

Washington - When patients come in complaining of weeks, months, and even years of chronic eczema, the physician should immediately suspect overuse of and subsequent addiction to topical corticosteroids.

San Diego - With careful use, smallpox vaccination programs can be implemented on a large scale, and dermatologists will play a big role in its execution by assisting local health departments and preparing their professional colleagues, according to information presented by Colonel John D. Grabenstein, R.Ph., Ph.D., at the recent Infectious Diseases Society of America's annual meeting, held here.

Washington, D.C. - Responding to concerns over increased malignancies seen in animal studies, a pediatric subcommittee of the FDA's Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee said topical immunosuppressant labeling should include a warning against use in children under the age of two.

Iowa City - Patients who undergo oncologic procedures often have different expectations than those who are undergoing a cosmetic procedure.

New Orleans -A research collaboration between members of the International Transplant-Skin Cancer Collaborative (ITSCC) and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is yielding some important new information about skin cancer in organ transplant recipients and demonstrates the value of the UNOS database as a rich and reliable public resource for investigating issues relating to those patients, said Clark C. Otley, M.D.

Barcelona - Promising advances have been in the development of prophylactic vaccines targeting human papillomavirus (HPV), the major cause of cervical cancer and a possible contributing factor in non-melanoma skin cancers, according to Reinhard Kirnbauer, M.D., Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Vienna Medical School in Austria.

Barcelona, Spain - A systematic approach is best when investigating patients who report itch but have no rash, according to Joanna Wallengren, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the department of dermatology, University Hospital in Lund, Sweden. Dr. Wallengren described her approach to this at the 12th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology here.

Las Vegas -- Dermatologists must avoid the shotgun approach to antibiotics and pay more attention to potential drug interactions, said James Q. Del Rosso, D.O., F.A.O.C.D. This way, they can avoid contributing to two alarming trends in pharmacologic therapy: antibiotic resistance and potentially significant dangerous drug reactions.

Las Vegas - New pharmaceuticals including calcineurin inhibitors represent viable alternatives to traditional treatments for eczematous dermatoses, according to Joseph F. Fowler, Jr., M.D. He is a clinical professor of dermatology in Kentucky's University of Louisville School of Medicine, and estimated he has treated several thousand dermatitis patients.

Quantel Medical is conducting a worldwide clinical study on the Aramis Er:Glass 1.54 micron laser to treat inflammatory acne.

Genital ulcer disease symptoms increase during and after acquiring HIV, say researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Rakia in Uganda.

Abbott Laboratories, which manufactures Collagenase Santyl Ointment, will take over U.S. marketing of the product through its Ross Products Division beginning Jan. 1.

About 9 percent of the U.S. population is affected by atopic dermatitis, and that percentage is growing according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).

Las Vegas - According to Guy Webster, M.D., the best topical treatment for rosacea is metronidazole. Oral rosacea therapies he has found to be effective are tetra-, doxy- and minocycline, Cipro (ciprofloxacin hydrochloride), Bactrim (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole), and isotretinoin.

Las Vegas - Much of what is new in dermatologic therapy represents off-label use of marketed drugs, but clinicians should not let that fact necessarily deter them from prescribing what may be very safe and effective therapy, said Stephen Stone, M.D., at the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference.

Dr. M has practiced dermatology for 25 years. During that time he has hired and fired secretaries, nurses, and licensed medical assistants.