Women's Health

Although azathioprine requires caution and ongoing patient monitoring, some say their side effects are less severe than many patients - and some dermatologists - think. Even some medically oriented dermatologists express the concern that "these pills will wreck your liver," which overstates the actual clinical risk, says Neil Shear, M.D.

Physicians immersed in the world of continuing medical education (CME) say big changes are happening. And doctors of all specialties, including dermatology, will be affected by the emerging CME focus: individual outcomes improvement.

A plastic surgeon is conducting a clinical trial testing the use of botulinum toxin A on severe cases of vaginismus, msnbc.com reports.

Melanocytic nevi always have the potential to change in size, shape and color regardless of when they first appear in the skin, or the age of the patient. A recent study shows that though some nevi demonstrate dynamic change throughout a pregnancy, there does not appear to be an increased risk of malignant transformation of these nevi, nor is there an association between changing nevi and melanoma.

Dermatologists should be able to diagnose and treat disorders of the oral and vaginal mucous membranes with the same authority they bring to skin problems, experts say.

For many pregnant women, their bellies aren't the only things popping out during their nine months of gestation. Skin eruptions can plague expectant women any time during pregnancy. While some dermatoses can be simply uncomfortable, others can pose a risk to the unborn fetus.

Postpartum striae rubra is common, and in Asian skin, these lesions can progress to become hyperpigmented striae distensae. Results from a consecutive case series show the utility of nonablative fractional photothermolysis for treating this problem.

Treating dermatologic issues associated with pregnancy often requires individualized treatments combining various agents, an expert says.

Strategies for treating adult female acne include taking detailed patient histories, checking for endocrine abnormalities when indicated and, in many cases, prescribing oral contraceptives also approved for acne, according to an expert.

Vulvovaginal symptoms are often best diagnosed by a dermatologist, an expert says.