Dermatology : international journal for clinical and investigative dermatology
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Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a lymphangioproliferative tumour. Therapy of KS depends on the characteristics of the disease, especially area and growth rate of lesions, and patient condition. Currently symptomatic resectable lesions are excised, whereas more advanced disease and unresectable lesions are treated with radiotherapy. If a large area or internal organs are affected or other treatments fail, chemotherapy is used. Recently some authors have reported their encouraging experience in the use of thalidomide in patients with AIDS-related KS. ⋯ Our results seem to confirm the utility of thalidomide in the treatment of non-AIDS-related KS.
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Dermatology (Basel) · Jan 2007
Multicenter StudySerum levels of the Th1 promoter IL-12 and the Th2 chemokine TARC are elevated in erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis and correlate with soluble Fas ligand expression. An immunoenzymatic study from the Italian Group of Immunopathology.
No data exist as to Th2 chemokines in erythema multiforme (EM) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). ⋯ Our results support a role of TARC in the pathophysiology of EM/SJS/TEN and confirm the coexistence of a Th2 response in addition to the predominant Th1 profile.
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Dermatology (Basel) · Jan 2007
Review Case ReportsInfliximab for the treatment of disseminated pyoderma gangrenosum associated with ulcerative colitis. Case report and literature review.
We report the case of a 19-year-old woman who developed an acute disseminated pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) during a severe flare of ulcerative colitis (UC). She was successfully treated with a 3-dose regimen of the anti-tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha antibody infliximab. The literature on the effectiveness of this biological agent was reviewed, including 8 other cases of UC-associated PG and 77 cases of Crohn's-disease-associated PG. This case report and the review of the literature demonstrate that infliximab can be successfully used to treat patients with PG associated with inflammatory bowel diseases.
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Dermatology (Basel) · Jan 2007
PsoReg--the Swedish registry for systemic psoriasis treatment. The registry's design and objectives.
With the introduction of new systemic drugs for the management of psoriasis, we felt an obligation in Sweden to establish a trusted tool to monitor their use. We formed PsoReg to create a solid, long-term database in order to analyze safety and effectiveness of different systemic psoriasis treatment regimens. PsoReg will provide information to help clinicians individualize therapy on a rational basis through evaluation of effectiveness and adverse effects in specific patient subgroups. ⋯ PsoReg will even create benchmark data for quality assurance of the medical service. A web-based design allows real-time pharmacovigilance and enables the registry to assist clinicians in their day-to-day management of psoriasis patients. In this way PsoReg can become an integrated part of tomorrow's dermatology.
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Dermatology (Basel) · Jan 2007
A retrospective analysis of thalidomide therapy in non-HIV-related Kaposi's sarcoma.
Thalidomide has antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory properties and has recently been used in the management of human malignancies. Several studies have suggested its interest for treating AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. ⋯ Our results show a true although modest interest of thalidomide in non-HIV-related Kaposi's sarcoma and prompt us to evaluate less toxic thalidomide analogues for this indication.