News

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) require physicians not only to have effective clinical strategies, but also to recognize the legal and interpersonal consequences that can be associated with these conditions.

Novel Aesthetic options expected to make a splash in the United States in 2011 include new hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers, a new topical treatment for redness and a recently approved device for nonsurgical facelifting. Several dermatologists reported on these and other Aesthetic products either recently approved or under review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at the 2010 Cosmetic Surgery Forum in Las Vegas in December.

Dermatologist Neal Schultz, M.D., is doing his part to set the record straight. Frustrated by what he says is an Internet fraught with misinformation, Dr. Schultz and his 29-year-old son, Stuart, started DermTV.com, an online skincare video show dedicated to unbiased truth, he says.

As patients' faces change with age, so, too, should their options for treating lines and wrinkles. A variety of injectable fillers are on the market, but which ones to use on a given patient depends on the person's age, according to a cosmetic dermatologist.

The "brain drain" of academic dermatologists leaving teaching positions may be slowing, but individual institutions still report long wait times for patient appointments, and many physicians worry about who will teach future generations.

Discovered in the early 1800s, "Hydroquinone has primarily been used as a photographic developer through history," says Jeannette Graf, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

An investigational oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor (CP-690,550; Pfizer) has met its safety and efficacy endpoints in a phase 2 trial for chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, says the trial's lead investigator.

Dermatologists can achieve the best cosmetic surgery results - and even exceed patients' expectations - by identifying candidates who will benefit most from procedures Aesthetically and because they have reasonable expectations, says Ranella Hirsch, M.D., a dermatologist in Cambridge, Mass.

The first U.S. clinical practice guidelines for treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clarify use of antibiotics and devote substantial attention to invasive bacteremia, endocarditis, bone and joint infections, and pneumonia.

Cosmeceutical researchers are discovering new mechanisms to attack excess pigmentation, according to several physicians who spoke at the 2010 Cosmetic Surgery Forum in Las Vegas in December.

Once used as the go-to tools for filling facial lines and crevasses, fillers are now, for some facelift candidates, replacing the scalpel. Just call it the "nonsurgical facelift," says Deborah S. Sarnoff, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York.

Even dermatologists who have left academia value the camaraderie, challenges and flexibility to be found there.

The use of fractional ablation and photodynamic therapy (PDT) effectively treats precancerous lesions and is well-tolerated by many patients, according to an associate professor and chief of division of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

Although no large-scale studies support the utility of melanoma screening, an expert advises dermatologists to target high-risk patients to maximize the efficiency of screening efforts.

Recently, Dr. EMR spent a significant amount of money to add a comprehensive electronic health records system to his office. He has been told such a system will lessen his medical legal liability. Some of his physician friends suggest EHR systems will increase, rather than decrease, liability. Who is right?

Combining botanical products with prescription medications may provide patients with the best chance to slow down and reverse signs of aging skin. Not all botanical products are created equal, however. Formulation of the products can be as important as the ingredients themselves, according to a Miami cosmetic dermatologist.

Nanotechnology is putting a new spin on the age-old notion of gold as a skin-aging treatment, as researchers with the University of Missouri pursue a new emollient and dermal filler product that boasts gold as a key ingredient.

The importance of the role that diet, lifestyle and stress management plays in maintaining our general health and skin health has increasingly become a part of our conversation. As dermatologists, we can often read the internal health of the body, which is mirrored by the largest organ of the body - namely, the skin. In searching for a simple approach to inside/outside beauty, the concept of pH balance comes to mind.

Dermatologists who earn online continuing medical education (CME) credits playing Terra Derma, an interactive video game about malignant melanoma, may have to remind themselves that they’re not playing Super Mario Brothers.

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says it will continue to recommend that the public obtain vitamin D either from dietary supplements or foods naturally rich in or fortified with the vitamin.

Genentech, maker of an investigational oral drug targeting a mutated BRAF kinase protein, says the drug boosted overall survival in patients with metastatic melanoma, though the extent to which this occurred was not disclosed, MedPage Today reports.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel has voted unanimously to recommend approval of a new contrast agent for MRI scans, despite concerns that the agent might increase the risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients, MedPage Today reports.

A government study estimates that 129 million Americans under age 65 have medical problems that would put them at risk of being rejected by health insurance companies or having to pay more for coverage, Reuters reports.

Eighty-one percent of U.S. hospitals and 41 percent of office-based physicians say they intend to register for federal incentive payments for adoption and “meaningful use” of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology, InformationWeek.com reports.

New guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of food allergy, released in December, will be examined by four panelists during a two-hour forum Feb. 5 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in New Orleans, the academy announced.

According to a researcher here, ultraviolet dryers used in fingernail manicuring can increase the risk of skin cancer, CBC News reports.

Researchers are studying whether an anti-malaria drug can block a cellular process that acts as a survival method for malignant cells in melanoma.

Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A; onabotulinumtoxinA, Botox, Allergan) reduces responses to an inflammation-related pain stimulus when injected into the spinal canal in mice, according to a new study reported by Newswise.com.

The vast majority of parents who tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases the risk of melanoma support genetic testing of their children and grandchildren, Newswise.com reports.

PharmaDerm, based here, has announced that its Veregen Ointment (sinecatechins, 15 percent), a topical medication for the treatment of external genital and perianal warts, has been added as a new therapeutic option in the 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, PRNewswire reports.