Pediatric Dermatology

Topical corticosteroids are still the mainstay of therapy for pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD), but dermatologists have an array of other options at their disposal to use for steroid sparing or in challenging situations.

Promising breakthroughs in treating children of color include the discovery that nutritional deficiencies may have implications in vitiligo, said Nanette Silverberg, M.D., at the 2012 American Academy of Dermatology Summer Academy Meeting.

We medical professionals are confronted with our own assortment of believe-it-or-nots and oddities on a daily basis. Unfortunately, they are often more upsetting or frustrating than astounding. I started keeping a list a few years ago, initially as a coping mechanism. But gradually, the list evolved into a collection.

Most adults in the U.S. support laws allowing teenagers access to medical care for sexually transmitted infections without parental consent, but they want parents to decide whether their child should get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, a recent nationwide survey suggests.

Several countries and U.S. states, New York among the most recent, have implemented indoor tanning bans or restrictions for minors during the past decade, according to a new study.

A 40-year study of Minnesota children suggests that girls are three times more likely to have infantile hemangiomas than boys.

Exposure to antibacterial chemicals and preservatives may make children more susceptible to a variety of food and environmental allergies, a new study suggests.

Head lice may be growing resistant to the insecticide permethrin, French researchers say.

A new study suggests patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) who experienced a recent, severe stressful life event and who experienced childhood emotional abuse are more likely to have poorer immune responses to the disease.

Differentiating benign nail pigmentations such as melanonychia from either nail or nail matrix melanoma is especially difficult in children because pediatric lesions present differently than they do in adults, according to Antonella Tosti, M.D., professor of the department of dermatology and cutaneous surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Dermatology Times welcomes Albert C. Yan, M.D., as the newest member to its Editorial Advisory Council. Dr. Yan is the chief of pediatric dermatology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he is also an associate professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The combined use of propranolol and pulsed dye laser (PDL) resulted in more rapid and complete clearance of infantile hemangiomas than propranolol monotherapy, according to data presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

The use of propranolol and pulsed dye laser (PDL) led to more rapid clearing of infantile hemangiomas than propranolol alone, according to a retrospective chart review presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

A just-published Swedish study states that a majority of children have one or more allergy-related conditions, including eczema, asthma and rhinitis.

Dermatologists’ evolving understanding of inflammatory skin diseases in children is changing the way these diseases are managed, according to Lawrence F. Eichenfield, M.D.

Biologic drugs have proven to be of benefit for diseases where there is no indicated treatment, such as for immunobullous diseases. "Pemphigus vulgaris with rituximab (Rituxan, Genentech) has been a major advance, although this is not a formally approved indication for the drug," says Alan Menter, M.D., chief, dermatology, and chairman, residency program, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas.

The unique needs of infants with severe atopic dermatitis require special attention. As such, says Mary Wu Chang, M.D., associate clinical professor of dermatology and pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, "This is not something you can handle in a 15-minute visit."

The Cancer Council of New South Wales says baseball caps should be banned from schools because they place children at an unacceptable risk of developing skin cancers later in life, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Teenage girls who are obese or overweight are significantly more likely to develop acne than their normal-weight peers, a new Norwegian survey suggests.

Young Australians may have the highest incidence of melanoma in the world - and may be the hardest to persuade to take steps to protect themselves from the sun’s damaging rays, the West Australian reports.

Minors in California will no longer be permitted to use tanning beds, under a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Oct. 9, Reuters reports.

Although patterned pigmentation in children can include a variety of clinical findings involving neurologic, musculoskeletal and cardiac abnormalities, most localized pigmentary disorders are not associated with systemic manifestations, according to pediatric dermatologist James Treat, M.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

Recent publications in pediatric literature are driving practice changes relative to conditions ranging from Kawasaki disease to child abuse to hemangiomas. Perhaps the most important recent pediatric publication many dermatologists may have missed addresses evaluating abuse versus accidental trauma in infants and young children, says Robert Sidbury, M.D., M.P.H., chief of pediatric dermatology and associate professor of pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital.

The number of children hospitalized for skin and soft-tissue infections, mainly due to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has more than doubled over the past decade, Medical News Today reports.

Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of food sensitization in children with certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), HealthDay News reports.

Results of a new study affirm that the beta-blocker propranolol shrinks potentially disfiguring infantile hemangiomas in young children, MedPage Today reports.

Results of a study in adolescents showing a correlation between the severity of sun damage in ultraviolet (UV) photographs and phenotypic risk factors for malignant melanoma provides further support for using UV photography in sun-protection interventions, according to Ryan G. Gamble, M.D., who spoke at the 2011 annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

A Danish study suggests that signs of atopy may be present long before symptoms begin, even in month-old babies, Medical News Today reports.

Lotus Tissue Repair, a start-up company created to develop a treatment for the rare genetic disease dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), has secured $26 million in financing, Xconomy.com reports.

Dermatologists welcome a recently updated policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that adds new information about sunscreen ingredients, vitamin D and the dangers of tanning for teens.