News

Rice University researchers have developed a new method for making synthetic collagen, ScienceDaily reports.

A discovery by researchers at Yale University could lead to new treatments for baldness, Medical News Today reports.

State College, Pa. ? A new interview technique could help physicians more effectively counsel their patients in the use of sun-protection methods, Medscape Today reports.

Nottingham, England ? A British study suggests that companies touting the effectiveness of their acne treatment products can?t always back their claims with hard evidence.

London ? Breastfeeding may not help prevent babies from developing eczema after all, Medical News Today reports.

Put Your Best Facebook Forward : Ignoring this popular network could leave you socially stranded Cutting The Risk : Calcium, vitamin D combo protects some patients against melanoma Special Report : Pigmentary disorders

“I hate the stock market.&rdqou; That was the subject line in a lengthy email I received yesterday from an old friend. The body of the message was equally firm.

The single most common mistake we see in our physician-focused practice is in the doctors’ choice of specialists. The successful delivery of healthcare is based on the patients’ need for physicians to refer them within and between various specialties and subspecialties when unique challenges arise. When it comes to the successful navigation of their own financial health, however, physicians do not apply the same logic or expect the same level of sophistication from their advisers.

Advances in hair-transplantation techniques and instrumentation are allowing physicians to provide more comprehensive, natural-appearing results, sometimes in a single session.

A new topical therapy combining low-dose 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with salicylic acid is proving very effective in the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK), particularly in more difficult to treat advanced hyperkeratotic AK lesions, study results show.

Protein glycation is an important event in skin aging, self-tanning creams and the toasting of bread. While these activities may seem unrelated, all of them involve a chemical reaction known as protein glycation.

Although numerous hydroquinone-free compounds for skin lightening are available, their effectiveness depends on the severity of the condition, according to Marta Rendon, M.D., who practices in Boca Raton, Fla.

While the implementation of health information technology (HIT) systems in medical practices has the potential of improving healthcare efficiency and patient care, there are obstacles that medical practices must overcome, and those problems are especially acute for small practices such as those operated by many dermatologists.

The addition of afamelanotide, known by the trademark Scenesse (Clinuvel), may represent a major advance in the treatment of vitiligo, a condition for which there is no therapy in the United States that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

When the United States reached a virtual gridlock in July over raising the country's debt ceiling, most politicians agreed that the country needed to cut spending to bring the nation's budget back into line. With the medical component of the proposed spending cuts, On Call wondered how dermatologists viewed the political gymnastics occurring in Washington and how the impact on Medicare and Medicaid would affect their practices and medicine in the future.

Although large, randomized, controlled trials of topical treatments for alopecia areata (AA) are lacking, experts say many such treatments provide varying degrees of success. When it comes to AA, says Jerry Shapiro, M.D., "Some dermatologists still believe nothing works." He is adjunct professor, department of dermatology, New York University, New York.

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.

Supplementation with a combination of calcium and vitamin D may cut the chance of melanoma in half for a group of high-risk women, researchers at Stanford University say.

Electrolysis provides a safe, permanent alternative for patients who don't want or are not appropriate for laser treatments. Electrolysis, which uses current passed through a needle inserted down the hair follicle, is the only method approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permanent hair removal.

Though the most common indications for fillers include the treatment of wrinkles, acne scars and lip augmentation, these devices also can prove extremely useful for more esoteric cosmetic and medical issues.

With the mandatory integration of electronic medical records (EMR) into the physician's practice, it would seem that future RAC or carrier audits will be seamlessly easy to navigate and win. As more and more dermatologists start using this electronic documentation tool in their offices, however, I am being bombarded by questions and concerns from the new users - both physicians who are clients and those who are not.

Treatment of pigmented lesions has evolved over the past five to 10 years, according to Eliot Battle Jr., M.D., cosmetic dermatologist and chief executive officer, Cultura Dermatology & Laser Center, Washington, and clinical instructor, department of dermatology, Howard University Hospital.

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.

Diane Berson, M.D., lives for life's interactions. "I just enjoy interactions on a daily basis, whether that's with my patients, my family, my colleagues or my friends," she says.

Melasma can be both recurrent and persistent, so it is imperative that clinicians treat it sooner rather than later, according to a dermatologist specializing in treating the condition.

Mr. Eye, who was hearing impaired, was to be scheduled for Mohs micrographic surgery. Unfortunately, before his surgery he became ill and did not recover, nor did he return to Dr. Skin's office for six months. Unfortunately, Dr. Skin's staff had forgotten about Mr. Eye's hearing impairment. They took his lack of response as senility consistent with his age. Dr. Skin chose to use only palliative treatment while watching the carcinoma invade Mr. Eye's orbit over the next year.

Molecular diagnostic strategies are redefining the clinical management of a wide range of skin disorders, facilitating diagnosis, staging and prognostication, selection of appropriate therapy, monitoring of treatment response and identification of novel therapeutic targets.

When analyzing suspicious lesions, any diagnostic tool is only as good as the physician using it. Besides patients' suspicions, dermatologists can rely on objective diagnostic tools including dermoscopy and total body photography.

Although treating patients with vulvar disorders can be challenging, confidence and compassion go a long way toward helping these patients. Sometimes, dermatologists allow themselves to be intimidated by the idea that vulvar and mucosal problems differ vastly from the usual issues they treat.

Many physicians don't understand the key characteristics that differentiate currently available hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers, says Derek H. Jones, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology, University of California, Los Angeles.