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Histopathology showed no abnormality in the epidermis and increased, thickened, and disorganized collagen fiber bundles in the dermis (Figure 2A). In addition, reflective confocal microscopy is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of skin tumors and inflammatory diseases.5 Therefore, in this case, for the first time, adjuvant techniques such as dermatoscopy and reflective confocal microscopy were applied to IC, and the results were consistent with the histopathological presentation. Dear editor An 8-years-old boy presented with a single skin-colored plaque the size of a pea on the left lumbar rib cage 2 weeks after birth. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The 595 nm tunable pulsed dye laser has been used in China for more than 10 years. However, no studies about its effect and side-effect in treatment of superficial hemangioma have been documented. Objective: This study was designed to retrospectively summarize its usage in Chinese patients. Methods: Infant patients with superficial hemangioma, who had received 595 nm tunable pulsed dye laser treatment in our laser center in the last 10 years, were recruited. Detailed demographics, results of assessment about their degree of clearance and clinical examination for treatment complications were entered into SASS10.0 version database, and statistical analyses were conducted. Results: Six hundred and fifty-seven cases with superficial hemangioma were recruited. The overall effectiveness rate was 91.17%. Female patients respond better than male, the difference was statistically significant ( p < 0.001). Lesions at different part of the body respond differently to the treatment with lesions on extremities show the best result. The response rate does not increase with time of treatments. The most common side-effects were pigment changes and skin atrophy, which usually resolve spontaneously and disappear completely in a few months. Conclusions: Our experience confirmed the satisfactory clinical efficacy and safety of the 595 nm tunable pulse dye laser in the treatment of childhood superficial hemangioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of topical application of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) followed by pulsed dye laser (PDL) irradiation for the treatment of recalcitrant port-wine stain (PWS). Methods: Thirty-five patients (19 females and 16 males) with recalcitrant PWS were treated with topical application of 20% ALA and then irradiated with a 595-nm PDL (energy density of 6.5-9.0 J/cm2 and pulse duration of 6 or 10 ms) at 6-8 weeks intervals. Clinical improvement of lesions was evaluated by comparing photographs of lesions at baseline and 2 months after the last treatment. Results: Topical ALA spreading followed by irradiation with a 595-nm PDL improved PWS in 21 out of 35 patients who were previously recalcitrant to PDL treatment alone. Side effects were limited to transient erythema, vesicle formation, edema and mild purpura with no obvious subsequent scarring or undesirable pigment changes. Conclusion: The topical application of ALA followed by irradiation with a 595-nm PDL is an effective and safe treatment for PWS recalcitrant to PDL therapy alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyogenic granuloma (PG) is a common vascular tumor that can be treated using various means. However, some large lesions and those located on some difficult-to-treat body sites may represent a formidable selection to the clinician because of the residual pain after treatment, difficulties in surgical excision at one trial and covering with one dressing, and the risk of sequelae. We report a successful treatment of such a giant lesion that arises in the scar which was left because of port wine stain, using a Nd/YAG holmium pulsed dye laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the effect and safety of the holmium: YAG laser in the treatment of facial recalcitrant verruca vulgaris. Methods: 42 patients with recalcitrant facial verruca vulgaris (64 warts in all) were enrolled in the study. Warts were treated with holmium: YAG pulsed dye laser with a top energy of 1.2-1.5 J, pulse frequency 10-12 Hertz, average power 10 Watt. Adverse reaction, complication, recurrence and clinical assessment of the lesion were documented with follow-up 6 months. Results: Ages of patients ranged from 16 to 73 years. 62 warts in 42 patients were eliminated by only one treatment session. The average time for wound-healing is 10.3 days. No severe discomfort, bleeding, edema, ulceration and secondary infection developed. No obvious complications were found. Only 4 warts in 3 patients remained mild atrophy scar and 7 warts in 6 patients remained pigment change. These defects became slighter after 6-month follow-up and left no bad effect on aesthetic. Two of the patients encountered recurrence in the treated site follow-up 6 months. Conclusions: Holmium laser is an effective and safe therapy for recalcitrant verruca vulgaris. It is the choice of treatment for those lesions in cosmetically sensitive areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microneedle fractional radiofrequency (MFRF) has been used to improve photoaging and scars. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MFRF with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for facial atrophic acne scars and skin rejuvenation by blinded visual evaluation, self-report, and reflective confocal microscopy (RCM). Fifteen subjects were randomized to the MFRF with bFGF group and fifteen to the MFRF group. All subjects underwent three-session therapy and a follow-up period. Significant group differences were in ECCA, global improvement score, satisfaction, and downtime before and after treatment. Combination therapy could be more effective than monotherapy for acne scars and facial rejuvenation. In addition, RCM can be used to observe the changes in skin collagen before and after treatment in evaluating cosmetic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hemoporfin‐mediated photodynamic therapy (HMME‐PDT) is currently considered one of the most promising therapies for port‐wine stain (PWS). However, the efficacy of this is very variable and needs further studies. Methods: A total of 101 patients with PWS in the face, neck, or extremities who received at least 2 HMME‐PDT sessions were included in the study, and correlations of efficacy with age, gender, locations, treatment sessions, and PDL treatment history were analyzed. Results: The efficacy of HMME‐PDT in patients with different ages, locations, and different numbers of prior PDL treatment showed constantly significant differences after 1/2/last session (p <.05). The number of treatments was associated with efficacy, and patients who received more than two sessions had a better response than those who underwent two sessions only (p <.001). Ordinal logistic regression analysis confirmed the above‐mentioned associations. Nevertheless, patients of different sex, subtype, and lesion size showed no significant differences. Conclusions: Our studies demonstrated that HMME‐PDT is effective in the treatment of PWS. The more prior PDL treatments, older age, lips involvement, PWS on limbs were adverse factors for Hemoporfin‐PDT, while multiple HMME‐PDT sessions can improve effective and response rate. Besides, ambient temperature and lesions temperature should be concerned, local cooling provides some relief from pain but may influence effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the most malignant skin tumor for it is enormously easy to develop invasion and metastasis. Autophagy is a process by which cellular material is degraded by lysosomes or vacuoles and recycled. Autophagy-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been thought to correlate with SKCM. This study aims to explore the prognostic significance of autophagy-related lncRNAs and establish a prognostic model of autophagy-related lncRNA pairs in SKCM. Firstly, the RNA-seq data and related clinical information were downloaded from the TCGA database. 446 qualified samples were enrolled. 222 autophagy-related genes were obtained from the HADb database. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to identify autophagy-related lncRNAs (ARLs). After that, we obtained prognosis-related ARLs and autophagy-related lncRNA pairs (ARLPs). Using Lasso-Cox regression analysis, an autophagy-related lncRNA-pair prognostic signature was established. The accuracy of the signature were confirmed through a series of validations in terms of mutation profiles, immunity infiltration, and cellular pathways. And we used the random forest method to find USP30-AS1 as a key mediating factor in SKCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Secukinumab has been approved by the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis with the documented adverse effects. Here we reported in one case that a new symptom, Prurigo Nodularis (PN), developed during the programmed dosing of secukinumab. Case introduction: A 22-years-old male with a 6-month history of severe plaque psoriasis vulgaris was presented to the dermatology clinic two weeks after the fifth serial weekly doses of secukinumab, for the reason of the outbreaks of multiple erythematous papules and pruritus nodules on the trunk and extremities. Physical examination showed that psoriatic rash were under effective control with the previous targeted therapy of secukinumab for plaque psoriasis vulgaris, but new dermatologic condition was spotted with multiple edematous red firm papules on the trunk and extremities, in the form of soy or hemispherical nodules, red in color, firm to touch, with some ulcerated crusts visible at tops, but negative Auspitz sign. Pathological examination confirmed these papules as PN. Conclusion: This case report is shared to inform clinicians about an unannounced adverse effect of the secukinumab in the treatment of psoriasis, and it is recommended that patients be carefully informed of the possible risk of PN before starting treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common benign vascular tumor during infancy and childhood and is characterized by abnormal vascular development. It is the most common vascular tumor and its related mechanisms and treatments remain a problem. IH-related biomarkers have been identified using transcriptome analysis and can be used to predict clinical outcomes. This study aimed to identify the key target genes for IH treatment and explore their possible roles in the IH pathophysiology. Gene records were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Utilizing integrated weighted gene co-expression network examination, gene clusters were determined. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis was performed to gauge immune infiltration. Essential genes were identified via Random Forest and Least Absolute Selection and Shrinkage Operator analyses. Ultimately, a set of five pivotal genes associated with the ailment was identified (NETO2, IDO1, KDR, MEG3, and TMSB15A). A nomogram for predicting IH diagnosis was constructed based on hub genes. The calibration curve showed valid agreement between the prediction and conclusion that the key genes in the model were clinically significant. Neuropilin and Tolloid-like 2 (NETO2) are closely associated with tumor development. The role value of NETO2 expression levels increased in hemangioma-derived endothelial cells (HemECs). After silencing NETO2, the growth and migration of cancer cells were significantly restrained. This study revealed the critical role of NETO2 in IH development, suggesting that targeting NETO2 may be effective in improving the therapeutic outcome of IH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with strong genetic predisposition. Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) of SLE have identified more than 50 robust susceptibility loci. However, traditional individual SNP‐based GWAS have made it difficult to identify variants with small effects. Moreover, variants revealed by GWAS only explain a limited disease heritability, suggesting that many susceptibility genes remain uncovered. Methods: We first curated the published SLE GWAS data from 1047 SLE patients and 1205 healthy controls of Chinese ancestry and performed a gene‐based association study. Then quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) was conducted to verify novel genes identified above. Results: Gene‐based association study identified 10 SLE‐associated genes, nine of which were reported by previous GWAS, the other one, ILRUN, is a newly identified gene and was further validated by qRT‐PCR. Gene expression analysis of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets also showed that the expression of ILRUN in patients with SLE was lower than that in normal subjects. Conclusion: In this study, gene‐based association study and qRT‐PCR identified that ILRUN is a novel susceptibility gene of SLE. ILRUN may regulate inflammation and antiviral response through its effect on the transcription of type I interferons)I‐IFN, and participate in the pathogenesis of SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New functions of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1) have been investigated recently. This study explored if TRAP1 gene polymorphisms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are associated with disease susceptibility and the efficacy of glucocorticoids (GCs). A case control study was performed to explore the association between TRAP1 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to SLE, then the SLE patients included in the case control study were followed to investigate the relationship between TRAP1 gene polymorphisms and efficacy of GCs. We also compared the improvement in health related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients among different genotypes of TRAP1 gene. The Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) method was used to correct for multiple comparison. In case control study, the significant association between rs8055172 and the susceptibility to SLE was discovered in the dominant model (p = 3.54 × 10 −7 ), which is further supported by the different distributions of haplotype TT and TC of rs2072379 and rs8055172 (p = 4.26 × 10 −4 and p = 6.93 × 10 −9 ). In the dominant model, rs3751842 and rs1639150 may be associated with fever of SLE patients (p = 0.035 and p = 0.028), while rs2072379 and rs12597773 related to oral ulcers (p = 0.021) and hematologic disorder (p = 0.035) respectively. In the follow-up study, rs6500552 showed a significant relationship with the efficacy of GCs in SLE patients in the dominant model (p = 0.004). Besides, rs3794701 was associated with the improvement in role-emotional (RE) of SLE patients in dominant model (p = 0.029). The results supported that TRAP1 gene polymorphisms may be associated with susceptibility to SLE and efficacy of GCs in SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and adverse effects of a 595-nm pulsed dye laser therapy alone (PDL alone) with a 5-aminolevulinic (5-ALA) local application followed by a 595-nm PDL (5-ALA PDL) in the treatment of superficial hemangioma (SH). A prospectively randomized study in 181 patients with SH was carried out over a period of 24 months. One hundred and ninety-three patients were seen. One hundred and eighty-one patients with SH were enrolled, of which 165 completed final follow-up. One hundred and nineteen patients received PDL alone and 46 received 5-ALA PDL. The patients were assessed clinically and the patient's parents were given a satisfaction questionnaire. Baseline patient data (gender, lesion size, lesion site, treatment times, cure rate, and adverse reactions) were recorded and the results of the treatment of the two groups were analyzed and compared. Complete clearing of the lesion (recovery grade 4) was achieved in 44/119 (37.0%) of the PDL alone group and 31/46 (67.4%) of the 5-ALA PDL group (X 2 = 10.30, p < 0.001). Atrophic scars, hyper- and hypopigmentation occurred in both groups (X 2 = 3.32, p = 0.564). The patients' parents' satisfaction was greater in the 5-ALA PDL group. The clinical outcome of 5-ALA PDL was superior to that of PDL alone in the treatment of SH and only minor adverse events occurred in each group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have learned that nearly all conditions and diseases have a genetic component. With the benefit of technological advances, many single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been found to be associated with the risk of complex disorders by using genome wide association studies (GWASs). Disease-associated SNPs are sometimes shared by healthy controls and cannot clearly distinguish affected individuals from unaffected ones. The combined effects of multiple independent SNPs contribute to the disease process, but revealing the relationship between genotype and phenotype based on the combinations remains a great challenge. In this study, by considering the disease prevalence rate, we conducted an exhaustive process to identify whether a genotype combination pattern would have a decisive effect on complex disorders. Based on genotype data for 68 reported SNPs in 8,372 psoriasis patients and 8,510 healthy controls, we found that putative causal genotype combination patterns (CGCPs) were only present in psoriasis patients, not in healthy subjects. These results suggested that psoriasis might be contributed by combined genotypes, complementing the traditional modest susceptibility of a single variant in a single gene for a complex disease. This work is the first systematic study to analyze genotype combinations based on the reported susceptibility genes, considering each individual among the cases and controls from the Chinese population, and could potentially advance disease-gene mapping and precision medicine due to the causality relationship between the candidate CGCPs and complex diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about the combinatorial assessment of serum inflammation reactants in patients with acute urticaria accompanied by aystemic symptoms. Topics discussed include mast‑cell‑driven cutaneous disease accompanied by release of histamine; biomarkers in the diagnosis or prognosis of bacterial diseases; and stomach swelling are medical emergencies requiring prompt assessment and a period of symptomatic therapy.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article on the effect of photodynamic therapy and carbon dioxide laser.