News

Leeches may now officially be used for medicinal purposes, following recent approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial marketing.

St. Paul, Minn. - Aldara (imiquimod) Cream 5 percent, a topical immune response modifier, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC).

National report - The tactics of bioterrorism span the ages, from the catapulting of plague-ravaged bodies over the parapets of a besieged medieval city to mailing of the stealthy, mysterious anthrax-tainted letters that sowed panic across the United States in 2001.

One of the best and most exciting ways to attract attention to your practice is becoming a resource for your local media such as newspaper, television and radio stations.

Q My broker has recommended that I purchase exchange-traded funds, and in particular, an "SPDR." Are these investments as good as they seem?

Orlando - Assessing newer injectable fillers is easier if certain criteria are used to evaluate and compare them. According to Murad Alam, M.D., these criteria can be either objective, based on research and anecdotal evidence, or can be patient-directed and somewhat subjective.

Charleston, S.C.- Hair disorders in children are discernible by several factors, including the amount of hair on the head (hypotrichosis or hypertrichosis), structure (with fragility or without) and color (hypopigmented or hyperpigmented), according to Carola Duran-McKinster, M.D., department of dermatology at the National Institute of Pediatrics in Mexico.

The coverage by Dermatology Times of efforts to control the undisciplined use of indoor tanning facilities is excellent.My hat is off to the dermatologists in the various states who have been fighting the good battle

Even small modifications to verbiage, sentence structure streamline process

Los Angeles - Los Angeles has been the epicenter of a particularly virulent strain of MRSA that struck more than a thousand people across a broad range of ages and settings.

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two phase 3 clinical trials of Col-101, a once-daily, modified-released formulation of doxycycline, 40 mg, for treatment of rosacea.

Grow, preserve wealth while reducing risk, improving performance

Regardless of any potential changes that impact saving for a college education, the key to success is the ability to start saving as early as possible and commit the necessary funds to meet your savings goal.

National report - An anti-acne gel containing both clindamycin and tretinoin is safe, well-tolerated, and more effective than either agent alone, according to results of phase 3 trials including more than 2,200 patients.

I'm sure that if a hundred dermatologists were asked to compile a list of the 10 most important innovations in dermatologic drugs and devices that have occurred over the past 15 years, the lists would be remarkably similar.

Antigenics Inc. has announced its experimental cancer vaccine Oncophage improved post-surgery results for patients with metastatic melanoma, with one of 18 patients remaining disease-free for almost 15 months.

Point Therapeutics Inc. has initiated a phase 2 clinical trial of the company's lead therapeutic compound, talabostat (PT-100), for treatment of advanced metastatic melanoma.

A new kind of drug, a Raf kinase inhibitor, is well-tolerated and may prove effective in treating patients with metastatic melanoma, according to researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Transmitted by monkeys,mosquitoes, infections make their way from Africa; dengue, West Nile spread in United States

Washington - The VISIA Complexion Analysis System brings objectivity to a subjective world, says Eliot Battle, M.D.

Indianapolis -A study has found that type 2 diabetes patients who take insulin have a decreased incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer.

New Orleans - Oblimersen sodium (Genasense), the antisense agent under investigation for advanced malignant melanoma, improved progression-free survival but not overall survival, in a recent phase III trial, Michael J. Millward, M.D. reported here at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

No downtime and no injury to skin surface, physician says

Dallas - With updated laser safety standards on the way, it's not enough to simply don the goggles and hang the manufacturer-supplied safety sign, Penny J. Smalley, R.N., said here at the annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

But side effects cause concern; more study needed

Orlando - Dermatologists, like other medical doctors, are turning more and more to office personnel to help with treatment-oriented tasks. The trick is to know what can be delegated - and what guidelines to follow to ensure that the delegation is both safe and appropriate.

An agent with good coverage against staphylococci and streptococci will eradicate the vast majority of typical cellulitis cases.

Maxim Pharmaceuticals has announced that advanced metastatic melanoma patients treated with a combination of Ceplene and Interleukin-2 (IL-2) showed improved survival rates in a phase 3 trial, according to a Business Wire report.

A breakthrough vaccine against herpes simplex protected women but not men.

Knowing which therapy to use when is the key to achieving best outcomes