News

San Francisco - Recent literature contains a number of reports with relevant information for enhancing the management of patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), Jeffrey P. Callen, M.D., said.

Q. What is the difference between a dry and oily hair shampoo?

New Orleans - The pain associated with cryotherapy for removal of abnormal skin growths like warts and actinic keratoses long has been a problem. The efficacy of topical anesthetics to attenuate this pain has been disappointing, but some careful experimenting by James G. Lahti, M.D., M.P.H., suggests that they can be helpful after all, if used in the correct manner.

San Francisco - When reconstruction of a surgical defect requires a split-thickness skin graft, some dermatologists will refer the patient to a plastic surgeon. However, that procedure is quite simple and is something that can be completed very quickly with a minimum of equipment, Paul J.M. Salmon, M.D., said.

New Orleans - Dermatologic surgeons seeking a simple solution to difficult problems would do well to consider a method recently presented by John A. Zitelli, M.D. Developed approximately 20 years ago and performed on more than a dozen patients since then, his method provides a much more reliable solution than does the traditional approach to repairing notches that may be left after procedures such as skin grafts and local flaps heal, Dr. Zitelli said.

National Report - Something as simple as aspirin in large amounts may alleviate a rare, complex, inherited form of cancer called familial cylindromatosis in which giant mushroom-shaped tumors arise from hair follicles and sweat glands, according to Dutch researchers.

Chicago - An orally active small molecule inhibitor of Raf kinase, the first of its class to enter clinical trials, is well tolerated when combined with standard chemotherapy agents, and may have activity against metastatic melanoma, Keith T. Flaherty, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

New York - The safety and efficacy of the new biologic agents for psoriasis suggest a new treatment strategy that departs from the current stepwise approach, according to Craig L. Leonardi, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri.

Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon), died of colon cancer on Aug. 16, 2003 at the age of 83. From 1959 until his retirement in 1987, Fitzpatrick served as professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and as Chief of the Dermatology Service at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Chicago - Psoriasis in the HIV-infected patient can present a treatment challenge, but there are a number of safe and effective options to consider, Mark Lebwohl, M.D., said at Academy '03.

The FDA will review both Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.'s Restylane and Inamed Corp's Hylaform on November 21.

Restylane, a new facial filler, may soon be FDA approved. In a study of 2,241 Brazilian patients conducted by Drs. Stephen Bosniak and Marian Cantisano-Zilkha between 1996 and 2001, patients who were treated with Restylane were found to have virtually no allergic reactions.

Astralis has begun Phase I clinical trial for Psoraxine for the treatment of moderate plaque psoriasis.

Galderma Laboratories has received FDA approval for Clobex (clobetasol propionate 0.05 percent) in a lotion formulation. The class I steroid prescription lotion is designed to control and treat steroid-responsive dermatoses, including moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

The FDA approved Amgen and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals drug, Enbrel (etanercept), to inhibit the progression of structural damage in patients with active psoriatic arthritis and reduce its signs and symptoms.

A new drug, Onercept or r-hTBP-1, seems promising in the treatment of psoriasis.

Astralis Ltd., partnered with SkyPharma PLC, has initiated a phase I clinical trial in the United States for Psoraxine, a new injectable treatment for moderate psoriasis.

The FDA has approved a supplemental new drug application for Valtrex (valacyclovir HCI) manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

The Lupus Research Institute, a national nonprofit organization, will seek new grants, with particular attention paid to development of early biomarkers to assess disease activity in lupus and possible response to therapy.

Jack Arbiser, assistant professor of dermatology at Emory University headed a study of magnolia seed cones in research funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Organogenesis announced the completion of its court-approved reorganization plan, allowing the company to emerge from Chapter 11 protection and to continue manufacturing and supplying Apligraf, its bilayered skin substitute approved to heal venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given expanded wrinkle clearance to Candela Corp. for its Smoothbeam diode laser, which can be used for non-invasive treatment of facial wrinkles.

HIV patients who have the virus 8 (HHV-8) in their blood are at risk for developing Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), according to a Reuters report.

An affiliate company of DFB Pharmaceuticals Inc, Healthpoint, Ltd., has signed an exclusive agreement with IsoTis, S.A. to develop and license its patented, biologic, wound-healing technology called Allox.

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Biologics manufacturers cite complex research and development process,along with FDA scrutiny, as reason for costly - but worthy - drugs

San Francisco - More than two decades after collagen launched a revolution in filling facial wrinkles, the FDA is expected to approve the soft filler hyaluronic acid (Restylane, Q-Med) within the next few months. The approval will be partly based on a phase III study that showed it provides longer-lasting correction of nasolabial folds than collagen.

Q. What is alpha lipoic acid?

San Francisco - Cytokine therapies that enhance the T-helper 1 (TH1) response may be the key to effective treatment of mycosis fungoides, according to David P. Fivenson, M.D. The treatments, still in the investigative stage, have potential advantages over existing treatments because their selectivity of action also reduces the risk of nonselectivity-related toxicity, he said, noting that mycosis fungoides is now typically termed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

San Francisco - While lasers and other surgical innovations have emphasized the surgical component of dermatology, the new biologic agents used to treat psoriasis have quietly rejuvenated the medical side of the field, according to Francisco Kerdel, M.D.