Pediatric Dermatology

Dr. Ondo, clinical assistant professor of dermatology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, traveled 30 hours each way on a two-week journey to Hyderabad, near India's southeastern coast. He described the experience as interesting, memorable, and at times overwhelming.

In September 2009, Amgen decided to withdraw application for expanded use of its biologic tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocking agent etanercept (Enbrel) in pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

The certification of pediatric dermatology as a subspecialty is a relatively recent milestone in the field of dermatology.

Neonatal pigmentary conditions are common; however, some serious conditions should be evaluated and followed by a pediatric dermatologist throughout the child's life, an expert says.

Biologic therapy is proven to increase the quality of life in adult patients suffering from moderate-to-severe psoriasis. A recent study shows that etanercept (Enbrel, Immunex) can achieve similar positive results in children and adolescents, offering hope to this patient population.

Recent study results indicate that there is a relationship between the severity of psoriasis and CRP levels, as well as BMI in pediatric patients. These patients are also at a higher cardiovascular risk, begging the need for treatment strategies in terms of lipid-lowering therapies.

San Francisco - Children with skin diseases such as severe psoriasis, eczema and hemangiomas are benefiting from new treatments and new knowledge about existing treatments, experts say.

San Francisco - Most patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) will respond to conventional therapies, such as basic skincare and avoidance of prevocational factors; topical corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors; antibiotics for infection and oral antihistamines.

San Francisco - As researchers learn more about the origin of infantile hemangiomas, a particularly promising new treatment is emerging in the form of propranolol, an expert says.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder is lymphocyte proliferation in patients following post-transplant immunosuppression and is the most common neoplasm in pediatric organ transplant recipients. Due to the increased frequency of organ transplantation, dermatologists should be aware of the cutaneous presentation, as a timely diagnosis and treatment is crucial for a favorable prognosis.

Results of a recent study suggest that while upper airway infections, such as rhinosinusitis and adenotonsillitis, may exacerbate atopic dermatitis in children, surgical treatment for those infections may improve the severity of AD.

Kohala Coast, HI - In children with severe atopic dermatitis, dermatologists should feel empowered to match the aggressiveness of their treatment to the aggressiveness of the disease, said Elaine C. Siegfried, M.D., at the Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference.

Etanercept is effective in treating psoriasis in the pediatric population, a study has found. The research also found that patients in the study had increased levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker that may be elevated as a result of abdominal obesity.

Clinicians need to determine the underlying etiology when managing wounds that are the result of tropical infections. They can do this by culturing bacteria or taking a biopsy.

Important pediatric diagnoses for consulting dermatologists include Kawasaki disease, an expert says. It recently has been linked with a specific genetic polymorphism, which suggests that uncontrolled inflammation plays a role in its etiology.

Recent developments in pediatric atopic dermatitis include the discovery of filaggrin gene mutations and their possible role, a new appreciation of the epidermis' role in the immune system and renewed emphasis on patient education, an expert says.

Schools, sports programs, and day care centers provide ideal "breeding grounds" for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. Any suspicious lesion should be cultured early. Comprehensive education is needed to minimize risk of transmission and to quell hysteria.

San Francisco - New research suggests that rapid growth of infantile hemangiomas requires close observation in the first months of life, and that any treatment should be undertaken promptly, Reuters Health reports.

Recognizing pediatric hemangiomas that require close follow-up and aggressive treatment is critical to patient care, an expert says.

When children present with port wine stains, clinicians should consider serious conditions and underlying disease. Vascular anomalies can be classified into two major groups: vascular tumors, which infantile hemangiomas are the most frequent, and vascular malformations.

Have you ever met anybody who is plugged in and tuned out? How about the acne patient who is listening to an ipod when you enter the room and continues to listen despite your greeting? How about the acne patient and their parent who are both listening to their own separate ipods and continuing to listen despite your greeting? What should you do?

A phase 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled study shows remarkable efficacy of etanercept for treating pediatric psoriasis, bettering even those results observed in adults. The findings could help pave the way for Food and Drug Administration approval of the biologic, which could change the face of systemic treatment of psoriasis in children.

Psoriasis has a stronger genetic component when it presents in childhood than when it presents in adulthood. In children, scalp involvement is very common if they present with psoriasis. In addition, presentation in childhood is correlated with a greater tendency for more severe psoriasis over one's lifetime.

Some current therapies of psoriasis, though effective, are marred by their poor safety profile. A new experimental drug, similar in molecular structure to cyclosporine, has been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

Pediatric dermatologist Elaine Siegfried, M.D., says that, about 80 percent of the time, she has to treat patients with drugs that have no FDA-approved indication or have never been formally studied in children.

Pediatric dermatology leaders are making strides toward giving their specialty the clout they believe it deserves. Not only has pediatric dermatology become a board certified subspecialty, but it now offers accredited and standardized one-year fellowships.

Modifications in existing laser technology and a combination laser can help treat various types of port-wine stains more effectively than in the past, according to Jeffrey Dover, MD,FRCPC, a dermatologist with SkinCare Physicians, of Chestnut Hill, Mass.

New research indicates that etanercept, a systemic agent, holds promise of treating moderate-to-severe psoriasis in the pediatric population and is a safe option. Clinicians currently use various off-label therapies to treat psoriasis in children and teens, including methotrexate and retinoids. One of the positive outcomes of the study was that patients did not develop a tolerance to therapy. In addition, patients who had been on placebo in the initial phase of the research did improve when they were retreated in an open-label phase of the study with etanercept. Extended follow-up of patients will establish if the therapy is safe for patients to take over the long term.

Some existing treatments used in slightly newer ways and some new treatments on the horizon can help children suffering from acne.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a good deal of media attention focused on the rising number of cosmetic-surgery procedures performed on teenagers. In 2004, for example, ABC News reported that plastic surgery on teens was on a significant rise-particularly breast augmentation, which ABC reported was up 24 percent.