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It is increasingly accepted that sunscreens should protect against ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced immunosuppression, with an index of protection that can be compared with the sun protection factor (SPF). Five groups of immunoprotection researchers met to discuss the status of immune protection factor (IPF) evaluation in human skin in vivo. Current methods rely on a suncreen's inhibition of UVR-induced local suppression of the contact hypersensitivity (CHS) response or the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response, using either the induction or the elicitation arms of these responses. The induction arm of the CHS response has the advantage of being sensitive to a single sub-erythemal exposure of solar-simulating radiation (SSR) that allows a direct comparison with the SPF. This approach, which necessitates sensitization, requires a large number of volunteers and is too labor intensive and time consuming to become a routine method. The elicitation arm of the CHS or DTH responses exploits prior sensitization to contact or recall antigens and has the advantage of being possible to apply on small groups of volunteers. Some current protocols, however, require repeat SSR exposures, which invalidates a direct comparison with SPF that is based on a single exposure. There is a need for a new simpler method of IPF that will have to be validated against existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the authors of the article "Propionibacterium acnes Strain Populations in the Human Skin Microbiome Associated with Acne" in a previous issue is presented.

"The Journal of Investigative Dermatology" had another successful year in 1990, as exemplified by growing submission and publication of a large and varied journal of high-quality papers. A new category, the "High impact" paper, has been introduced in order to identify particular important papers early in the review process and hasten those papers to publication. the time for submission to decision on these papers is under one month, if authors complete revisions rapidly, these papers can be published in four months from submission.

Focuses on the contribution of Luca Stulli in dermatology. Educational background of Stulli; Publication of the study of Stulli on the skin eruption on the Dalmatian islands of Meleda; Rewriting of the original publication of 'Antologia' journal.

This article presents a final report of the editor of the "Journal of Investigative Dermatology," which highlights the arguments about various papers published in the journal related to dermatology in the year 1991. The number of pages published as original reports in 1991 was significantly increased. This was not due to an increase in acceptance rate but was due to several factors. The Profile of publications in 1991 shows an increase in high impact manuscripts, in rapid communications, and in "Letters to the Editor". This is a healthy trend to diversify the various ways of transmitting information, exciting papers using cutting-edge techniques, preliminary reports demonstrating new findings and dialogue in letters on controversies.

The article focuses on the 8th International Symposium on Bioengineering and the Skin which held at Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy on June 13th-16th, 1990. Dermatologists, pharmacologists, plastic surgeon, cosmetic chemists and other scientists in the field will gather to discuss technologies and methods for the non-invasive evaluation of skin physiology, pathology, therapy, and skin product assessment. Invited speakers will present updates on current bioengineering issues.

This article focuses on the "Eighth International Symposium on Bioengineering and the Skin," that would is be held at Stresa, Italy on June 13-16, 1990. Invited speakers will present updates on current bioengineering issues. Dermatologists, pharmacologists, plastic surgeons, cosmetic chemists, and other scientists in the field will gather to discuss technologies and methods for the non-invasive evaluation of skin physiology, pathology, therapy, and skin product assessment.

To translate scientific discovery into improved health, we must study health care itself; i.e., how people access health care, costs or other barriers to the provision of good care, and what happens to patients as a result of this care. Health services research (HSR) is the interdisciplinary field that studies health care and its effects. This paper reviews different types of HSR and highlights some dermatologic examples that have resulted in improved health-care systems or have helped us understand access to existing systems. The paper also addresses some of the political and systematic challenges for health services research overall, and for individual investigators and program leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The JID is a major resource for publishing dermatologic research. Here we document bibliometric systems that permit detailed analysis of JID's relative scientific quality. We provide an overview of metrics employed by ISI Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge and Elsevier's open-access Scopus to measure JID's comparative performance. We list JID's 50 most cited articles between 1986 and 2010 and summarize the six most cited papers published during this period. We conclude by showing how selected cited papers have influenced research in the JID subcategories of immunology/infection and photobiology during this period. JID has thrived as the strength of its editorial leadership and the quality of dermatologic science have grown apace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to investigative dermatology. The paper "World Wide Variation of Risk Factors in Infants with Atopic Dermatitis" focuses on atopic dermatitis that is a chronically relapsing, inflammatory skin disease with an early onset during infancy and a high impact on quality of life and socio-economic burden. In some children there is also a progression from food allergy and atopic dermatitis to asthma. Another paper "Microarray Analysis of Atopic Skin Lesions" focuses on pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis that has been attributed primarily to immunoglobulin E elevation.

In 1958, professor Albert Kligman published three remarkable papers on the subjects of poison ivy dermatitis and its prevention that established a benchmark for this modest, if annoying aspect of the clinical practice of dermatology. This review and tribute will attempt to place his contributions in perspective with advances that have occurred in the past quarter century. The paper is divided into scientific sections that subserve the observations made by Kligman. Kligman refers to the most common allergenic plants that cross-react with poison-ivy, responsible for swizzel-stick dermatitis.

This article presents the research papers presented in the Thirteenth Annual ADF Meeting, which was held in November 1985 at Vienna, Austria. The paper on "Tac Antigen Expression by Malignant Lymphocytes Infiltrating the Skin-Pathogenetic Considerations," by V. Groh, U. Kö ller and G. Stingi focuses on T cell proliferation. Some other topics covered are cutaneous lesions in histiocytosis X, HTLV-1 positive primary cutaneous B-cell Lymphoma, and human epidermal, Langerhans cells in culture.

This paper describes a sensitive and specific immunoblotting procedure to detect Ro(SS-A) and La(SS-B) autoantibodies in the serum of patients with lupus erythematosus. In order to perform this procedure, we have partially purified the Ro(SS-A) and La(SS-B) antigens from human spleen extracts by DEAE-cellulose and Sephacryl S-300 chromatography. The Ro(SS-A) and La(SS-B) antigens were immobilized on nitrocellulose paper after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and tested against a panel of sera at different dilutions: normal bureau sera (n = 14), Ro(SS-A) antisera (n = 6), La(SS-B) (n = 7), Ro(SS-A)/La(SS-B) (n = 8), Sm-nRNP-La(SS-B) (n = 2). We found that Ro(SS-A) antisera react with a protein of an approximate Mr of 58K, whereas the La(SS-B) antisera reacted with two bands of Mr 42 and 40K, respectively. Antisera with both autoantibodies [Ro(SS-A) and La(SS-B)] reacted with both antigens, whereas the control NHS, anti-nRNP, and anti-Sm did not stain the Ro(SS-A) and La(SS-B) protein bands. In addition, some of the positive sera continued reacting with the respective antigens at extremely high dilutions. This procedure can be easily adapted to test many serum samples and produce data which include Mr of the antigen and titer of autoantibodies in the patient's serum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ψ-3 is a monoclonal antibody that recognizes a 135,000 molecular weight structural component of maturing keratinocytes in psoriasis (the Ψ-3 antigen) but fails to bind to any constituent of keratinocytes in normal epidermis. This paper describes the occurrence of the Ψ-3 antigen in a variety of dermatopathologic conditions using immunoperoxidase (biotin-avidin-peroxidase) and immunofluorescence methods which show excellent concordance. In 35 of 36 specimens of psoriasis vulgaris, Ψ-3 antibody consistently immunolabels the cytoplasm of keratinocytes above the basal layer. At the edges of psoriatic plaques, Ψ-3 antibody staining extends for a variable distance into lesion-free epidermis. A similar pattern has been found in a certain number of other conditions described in the paper, including squamous cell carcinoma and condyloma acuminatum, but not Darier's disease basal cell carcinoma, nor lamellar ichthyosis. In all but one condition, the outermost or basal layer of cells is never stained. The only disease in which the lowermost cell layer is stained is a lichen planus-like lesion. The occurrence of Ψ-3 antigen cannot be correlated with any histologic feature of psoriasis such as acanthosis, loss of the granular layer, or hyperproliferation. The antigen appears to be a unique keratinocyte constituent which is expressed in certain pathologic conditions and which is not detected by any other histologic or immunophenotyping method. It is a potentially valuable addition to the panel of antibodies available for characterizing epithelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents abstracts of research papers presented at the 14th annual meeting of European Society for Dermatologic Research, held from May 20-23, 1984 in the Netherlands. The topics of some of the papers are, immunoelectron microscopic analysis of human keratinocyte differentiation-related antigens defined by monoclonal antibodies, the intermediate filament proteins of merkel cells, new immunocytochemical observations in cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma, effects of azelaic acid on melanoma cells, characteristics of two monoclonal antibodies labelling the keratinocyte membrane.

Tyrosinase activity (Monophenol, dihydroxyphenylalanine: oxygen oxidoreductase EC 1.14.18.1) in vitiligo and normal epidermal homogenates of skin from human beings was measured by estimating β 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa) by a highly sensitive fluorometric method described in this paper. The tyrosinase activity in the vitiligo skin was about 4 to 37% of corresponding normal skin. The activity of tyrosinase in normal human skin from different individuals and from different regions of the body was in the range of 4 to 140 picomoles of β 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine formed per min/mg protein of epidermal homogenate. The enzyme from vitiligo and normal skin was severely inhibited by substance(s) of low molecular weight. The enzyme exhibits a lag of about 4 hr in the absence of added β 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and 1 hr in presence of 5 μM dopa. Tyrosinase from the normal and vitiligo skin was inhibited by excess concentration of tyrosine. The homogenates from vitiligo skin could synthesize melanin from C14(U)-L-Tyrosine. The rate of tyrosine incorporation into melanin by the epidermal homogenates is increased by 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa) disproportionate to its effect on tyrosinase activity. Based on the data presented in this paper it is concluded that melanocytes are present in the vitiligo skin. A tentative hypothesis is put forward to explain the lack of melanin synthesis by the vitiligo skin under in vivo conditions, although melanocytes are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents abstracts for various research papers to be presented in the European Society for Dermatological Research's symposium on September 26-28, 1997. These research papers pertain to subjects like the eortic classification for primary cutaneous lymphomas, different prognosis between cutaneous and systemic lymphoproliferative disorders, parapsoriasis and early cutaneous T cell lymphoma, immunoglobulin gene rearrangement of pseudo B-cell lymphomas and prognostic significance of polymerase chain reaction detectable dominant T lymphocyte clones.

This article presents abstracts for various research papers presented in the 24th Annual Meeting of the Society for Cutaneuos Ultrastructure Research held in Warsaw, Poland on April 24-26, 1997. These research papers pertain to the molecular dissection of hemidesmosomes, the role of linkin as a new family of extracellular matrix molecules, epidermis and follicles in cathepsin L knock-out mice and widespread changes of epidermal differentiation in keratin 10 knock-out mice.

This article presents abstracts for various research papers to be presented in the 27th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research. These research papers pertain to subjects like proinflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins' inducing maturation of potent immunostiumlatory dendritic cells, mediators that mobilize langerhans cells, antigens for the activation of T lymphocytes by skin dendritic cells and vaccination of melanoma patients with peptide-pulsed dendritic cells.

The article presents abstracts of the research papers that will be discussed in the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research to be held from September 28 to October 1, 1996 in Amsterdam. In the paper "A Polygenic Mouse Model for Psoriasiform Skin Disease, researchers will discuss the genetic basis of various inflammatory skin disorders. In the paper "Mitochondrial Activity and Cadherin receptors As Keratinocyte Stem Cell Markers," researchers will focus on the mitochondrial activity of cultured keratinocytes as well as other adhesion molecules, in order to develop new keratinocyte stem cell markers.

This article presents abstracts of various paper that were discussed in the 22nd Annual meeting of the Society for Cutaneous Ultrastructure Research, that was held at Heidelberg, Germany from June 23-24, 1995. Various topics that were included in the meetings were protein translocation across the membrane of the endoplasmic recticulum, sperm tail disturbances as a major cause of male subfertility and transient bullous dermolysis of the newborn. During the meeting, some researchers H.J. Schulze, K. Barlag, G. Mahrie from the University of Koin and Dusseldorf, Germany presented a paper on the differentiation of the specific cells in langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Featured here are a list of abstracts of several research papers presented at the international symposium titled "Mast Cells in the Cytokine Network," in Berlin, Germany during October 21-22, 1994. Stem cell factor is a recently identified fibroblast-derived mast cell growth factor, according to the abstract of the paper "Effects of Fibroblast and Keratinocyte Culture Supernatants and of Stem Cell Factor on Mast Cell Characteristics of Cultured Human Monocytic and Immature Mast Cells," presented by J. Grabbe et al., of Free University Berlin. Neuropeptides like Substance P have been suggested as important factors of inflammation. This implicates interactions between neuropeptides and mast cells as one of the mechanisms of neurogenic inflammation.

Pressure sores are a serious medical problem that is most commonly found in nursing homes and hospitals. Most sores can be prevented. To prevent pressure sores in nursing homes through intervention, it is first necessary to identify factors associated with sore formation. Factors associated with the formation of pressure sores relate to skin susceptibility combined with the presence of moisture, constant pressure, and shear force or friction on the skin. This paper is the first to study the correlates of pressure sores for a nationally representative sample of nursing home residents. The paper estimates the relative contribution of resident health characteristics to the probability of having had a pressure sore during a nursing home stay for a cross-sectional sample of residents. Data are from 699 facilities and 2803 residents in nursing homes included in the 1987 Institutional Population Component of the National Medical Expenditure Survey. The principal caregiver in the facility was asked if "during the current stay" the resident had a "bed sore (decubitus ulcer)." Findings indicate that having diagnoses of Parkinson's disease, diabetes, or paraplegia, being underweight, older, male, unable to walk, needing help feeding or unable to feed, having frequent fecal and urinary incontinence accidents, and being admitted from a hospital increase the likelihood of having had a pressure sore during the stay. Cognitively impaired residents who could feed themselves independently or with help were less likely to have had a sore, but cognitively impaired residents who were unable to feed themselves at all were at more risk than cognitively intact residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents various abstracts of papers presented at the tenth Symposium on Advances in Skin Pharmacology held from October 1-3, 1992. One of the papers was called "Epidermolysis bullosa simplex," which explained that epidermolysis bullosa simplex is characterized by basal keratinocyte fragility and consequent formation of blisters that, unlike deeper blisters heal without scarring. Nearly always it is inherited. Another paper was entitled "Regulation of Collagen and Elastin Gene Expression."

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) and its endemic form, Fogo Selvagem (FS), are characterized by subcorneal vesicles and pathogenic IgG autoantibodies directed against keratinocyte surface antigens. A major pool of FS antigen(s) remains bound to the insoluble epidermal envelope fraction. In this paper we demonstrate that this antigen(s) can be released From the envelope fraction by sonication. By immune precipitation four components can be detected, having molecular weights (MW) of 260, 80, 62, and 45 kD. The 260-kD component is lost by boiling or extraction with glycine HG! at pH 2.8. The major components appear to be the 80- and 62-kD poly-peptides. They chromatograph as a unit by gel filtration in 0.1% SDS, in the MW range of 115-120 kD. The FS antigen(s) appears to be cationic, forming insoluble complexes at low pH with SDS, and is labile to ammonium sulfate and freezing and thawing. It is unaffected by positive pressure concentration, 50% acetone precipitation, and reduction/alkylation. The FS antigen(s) is precipitated by all FS and nonendemic PE sera except those in complete clinical and serologic remission. The FS antigen(s) is also precipitated by 50% of pemphigus vulgaris but none of the bullous pemphigoid sera tested. All FS antigenic components are immunoprecipitated by IgG4 autoantibodies, but the IgG1 subclass from the same patients appear to immunoprecipitate only the 62-kD polypeptide. The ES antigen(s) is able to adsorb human autoantibodies against human desmoglein 1 (DG1), but not rabbit antisera against bovine DG1 or 2. This paper shows that physical stress, i.e., sonication, may be able to solubilize sufficient ES antigen(s) from the epidermal envelope fractions for further chemical characterization. The relationship of these PS antigen(s) to other reported FS antigens is presently unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the 50th anniversary of "The Journal of Investigative Dermatology," as of April 15, 1989. Recently, an interesting distribution of responsibility took place on the Editorial board of the Journal when section associate editors were appointed. When considering the sections one may feel that clinical research is what is nor photobiology, cell biology, immunology, pharmacology, carcinogenesis, biochemistry, biologic structure and function, extra cellular matrix, or melanocyte biology. Criteria for selecting an original paper, thus excluding review papers were fivefold. One common criterion was that the message either still remains valid today or raised a controversy when it was written that suggested further studies. Other criteria were as follows: first report on a new treatment, particular studies done on humans, first description of a technique on humans that allowed measurements of a function of the skin, new clinical concepts or "new" diseases, or studies on the pathogenesis of skin diseases.

The article informs about the details of the Thirty-first Annual Meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, Inc, to be held On June 20 and 21, 1970, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel, Chicago, Illinois. Many papers will be presented at this meeting. The paper titled "Ultrastructural Autoradiographic Study of Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Maturation In Vivo," informs that tritiated thymidine when injected into lesions of molluscum contagiosum incorporates into DNA of germinative cell nuclei, as well as into cytoplasmic inclusions of infected spinous and granular cells. The paper titled "Antigens of Human Wart Tissue," informs about experimental animal tumors caused by papova viruses contain cellular antigens which relate to tumor rejection.

Information about several papers discussed at the Post-International Investigate Dermatology (IID) International Meeting on Autoimmune Bullous Diseases held in Tokyo, Japan is presented. Among the papers discussed during the meeting were the desmosome dynamics in health and disease, the mysterious target antigens in autoimmune bullous diseases, and the mouse model for pemphigus and pemphigoid. An overview on how the sessions was conducted is also presented.

The article presents abstracts of various papers related to dermatology that were discussed in the "2005 Annual Meeting of the Medical Dermatology Society." The paper "Etanercept for Cicatricial Pemphigoid" focuses on cicatricial pemphigoid that represents a group of autoimmune blistering diseases that can cause scarring of the mucosal surfaces. Steroids, cyclophosphamide, and azathioprine are traditionally used to treat severe disease. Another research paper "Children With Eczema Herpeticum During Treatment With Topical Tacrolimus Ointment and Pimecrolimus Cream" focuses on eczema herpeticum, which is a potentially serious complication of atopic dermatitis and other forms of eczema.

The article presents a case study of patients suspected with genetically unsolved Kindler syndrome (KS) caused by mutations in the gene encoding kindlin-1 FERMT1, based on clinical and/or skin morphological findings. These include a 2-year-old boy who had fragile skin at birth and developed incipient cigarette paper appearance of the skin over hands and feet, a 4-year-old male who had trauma-induced skin blistering since birth, and a 58-year old man who developed typical KS features.

In a previous paper we showed that the microvessels in a psoriatic plaque as studied by electron microscopy returned to normal before the labeling index of the basal cells did during successful therapy with PUVA or the Goeckerman treatment. In this paper we studied the same parameters in 4 additional psoriatic patients: 2 received oral methotrexate and 2 were treated with a topical steroid under plastic wrap occlusion. The labeling index of the basal cells returned to normal in 3 and near normal in 1. The histologic features of the psoriatic epidermis became normal except for mild to moderate acanthosis, but the capillary loops in the dermal papillae retained their venous capillary ultrastructure and showed no signs of reversion to a normal arterial capillary configuration. The lack of response of the dermal capillaries to the topical steroid and oral methotrexate during the initial clinical improvement raises the possibility that the clinical relapses in psoriasis which may promptly follow discontinuation of topical steroid therapy and oral methotrexate may be related to an inability of these drugs to restore the microvasculature to normal in such situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The entire "Journal of Investigative Dermatology," arrived at the author's office at Northwestern Medical School on a hot day in June of 1977. It came in the form of a large number of cardboard boxes containing all of its 68 unbound volumes, a filing cabinet filled with manuscripts, a thick folder of reviewer names and a pica ruler for measuring printed lines. The author's tenure as editor of the Journal had begun, and his quiet, comfortable, academic life in a small department had ended for the next five years. The contents of the Journal reflected the changing nature of research in dermatology: papers in the area of immunology increased to more than 25% of all papers published, while papers dealing with psoriasis. photobiology. and pigmentation remained at a stable 23%, and acne research declined to less than 4%. Ultrastructrural studies increased as the Journal was one of a handful of journals recognized for the excellence of its reproductions.

The article presents the announcement of a joint meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology and the European Society for Dermatological Research from May 17 through May 19, 1972. The purpose of this meeting will be to serve as a forum for the presentation of original dermatological research papers. Twelve minutes will be allotted per paper. All presentations must be in English. Simultaneous translation will not be provided. The program will be selected by a joint program committee of the two sponsoring Societies. The article also announces that the Third World Congress of the International Society of Tropical Dermatology will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 13-18, 1974.

Core outcome sets (COSs) are consensus-derived minimum sets of outcomes to be assessed in a specific situation. COSs are being increasingly developed to limit outcome-reporting bias, allow comparisons across trials, and strengthen clinical decision making. Despite the increasing interest in outcomes research, methods to develop COSs have not yet been standardized. The aim of this paper is to present the Harmonizing Outcomes Measures for Eczema (HOME) roadmap for the development and implementation of COSs, which was developed on the basis of our experience in the standardization of outcome measurements for atopic eczema. Following the establishment of a panel representing all relevant stakeholders and a research team experienced in outcomes research, the scope and setting of the core set should be defined. The next steps are the definition of a core set of outcome domains such as symptoms or quality of life, followed by the identification or development and validation of appropriate outcome measurement instruments to measure these core domains. Finally, the consented COS needs to be disseminated, implemented, and reviewed. We believe that the HOME roadmap is a useful methodological framework to develop COSs in dermatology, with the ultimate goal of better decision making and promoting patient-centered health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the 3rd International Conference on Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE) held in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 6-8, 2014 is presented. Topics include role of antimicrobial peptides in CLE, treatment options for CLE, and higher risk of smokers for CLE. The conference featured several speakers including Dr. Regine Gläser, Dr. Sue Jessop, and Dr. Simon Meggitt.

The activation of mitochondrial potassium channels induces cytoprotection in various cell types. Hence, the identification of ion channels present in the inner mitochondrial membrane of keratinocytes is important in distinguishing possible protective mechanisms in these cells. In this paper, inner membrane mitochondrial ion channels of the human keratinocyte HaCaT cell line were investigated using a patch-clamp technique. We observed potassium-selective channel activity with a conductance of 83 pS at positive voltages. The I-V curve indicates that the observed channel has rectifying properties. Moreover, the channel activity was inhibited by acidic pH and 1 mM lidocaine. Using reverse transcriptase-PCR, we found an mRNA transcript for the TASK-3 (tandem pore domain acid-sensitive K channels) channel. We observed co-localization of the TASK-3 protein and a mitochondrial marker in the mitochondria of HaCaT cells. Additionally, we showed that TASK-3 knockdown HaCaT cells markedly decreased viability after UVB radiation exposure compared with control cells. In summary, the single-channel activity and properties of a mitochondrial potassium channel in a keratinocyte HaCaT cell line have been described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis treatment responses are affected by patient characteristics. However, the literature does not contain reviews of factors that affect the response to biologic therapies. We therefore performed a comprehensive literature search to identify papers describing demographic, lifestyle, and clinical factors associated with response to biologic drug therapy in psoriatic patients. We found that age, gender, ethnicity, alcohol consumption, smoking, geographic location, age at diagnosis, duration and severity of psoriasis, and baseline C-reactive protein levels did not consistently affect response to biologic psoriasis therapy. However, increased body mass index (BMI) appears to adversely affect responses. It might therefore be valuable to include BMI as a stratification variable in future studies of psoriasis therapies and to consider a patient's weight or BMI when selecting a systemic psoriasis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a symposium held April 3, 2012 hosted by the Centre for Skin Sciences at the University of Bradford in Bradford, England on skin epigenetics with an aim to bring together two research communities including skin and chromatin biologists is presented. Topics include control of gene expression, homeostasis, and stem cell activity. The symposium featured several several university professors including Sarah Millar, Wolf Reik, and Shawn Coley.

Despite recent advancements in therapy, melanoma remains a highly lethal skin cancer. A better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic changes responsible for melanoma formation and progression could result in the development of more effective treatments. Advanced melanomas are known to exhibit widespread promoter region CpG island methylation leading to the inactivation of key tumor suppressor genes. Meta-analyses of relevant microarray data sets revealed the hematopoietic stem cell regulator gene latexin (LXN) to be commonly downregulated in approximately 50% of melanomas. The CpG island in the promoter region of LXN was almost universally hypermethylated in melanoma cell lines and tumors, and treatment of the cell lines with the demethylating drug 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine resulted in increased LXN expression. In this paper, we demonstrate that the exogenous expression of LXN in melanoma cell lines results in a significant inhibition of tumor cell proliferation. In addition, we show that the increased expression of LXN in these lines correlates with reduction in the expression levels of stem cell transcription factors OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, KLF4, and MYCN, indicating that LXN may exert its tumor-suppressive function by altering the stem cell-like properties of melanoma cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide incidence and prevalence of psoriasis is poorly understood. To better understand this, we performed a systematic review of published population-based studies on the incidence and prevalence of psoriasis. Three electronic databases were searched from their inception dates to July 2011. A total of 385 papers were critically appraised; 53 studies reported on the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis in the general population. The prevalence in children ranged from 0% (Taiwan) to 2.1% (Italy), and in adults it varied from 0.91% (United States) to 8.5% (Norway). In children, the incidence estimate reported (United States) was 40.8/100,000 person-years. In adults, it varied from 78.9/100,000 person-years (United States) to 230/100,000 person-years (Italy). The data indicated that the occurrence of psoriasis varied according to age and geographic region, being more frequent in countries more distant from the equator. Prevalence estimates also varied in relation to demographic characteristics in that studies confined to adults reported higher estimates of psoriasis compared with those involving all age groups. Studies on the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis have contributed to a better understanding of the burden of the disease. However, further research is required to fill existing gaps in understanding the epidemiology of psoriasis and trends in incidence over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of papers related to auto-immunity and inflammation including "Decreased expression of acetylcholine esterase in cholinergic urticaria," by Y. Sawada and colleagues, "A natural biotechnological active ingredient dedicated to skin troubles management," by C. Baudouin and colleagues, and "Inhibition of the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis alleviates chronic and acute skin inflammation," by S. Zgraggen and colleagues.

The article presents abstracts of papers related to photobiology including "Development of cell-based in vitro models for infrared radiation A (IRA) and thermal exposure," by J. Menegola and colleagues, "Differential gene expression by simulated solar UV can control epidermal keratinocyte homeostasis," by J. Gao, A. Shih, and M. Simon, and "Toll-like receptor 2 signaling protects against ultraviolet-induced inflammation in vivo," by D. H. Lee and colleagues.

The article presents abstracts of several papers related to pigmentation and melanoma including "Familial melanoma-associated mutations in p16 uncouple its tumor suppressor functions," by N. Jenkins, J. Jung, and D. Grossman, "Plexin C1, a neural guidance receptor, suppresses melanoma progression," by Y. Chen and colleagues, and "Melanosome biogenesis protein complexes interact with the endosomal WASH complex," by P. V. Ryder and colleagues.

The article presents abstracts of papers related to epidermal function and structure including "PDK1 regulates keratinocyte differentiation," T. Dainichi, S. Ghosh, and M. S. Hayden, "Detoxifying and skin redensification effects of avocado," S. Bredif and colleagues, and "Analysis of profilaggrin N-terminal fragment function in keratinocyte terminal differentiation," by T. Makino and colleagues.

The article presents abstracts of papers related to matrix, cell adhesion, and vascular biology including "Magnesium reduces carotid intima-media thickness in a mouse model of pseudoxanthoma elasticum: A novel treatment biomarker," by E. A. Kupetsky-Rincon, J. Uitto, and Q. Li, "Obligatory roles of filamin A in calcium-induced cell-cell adhesion and differentiation in epidermal keratinocytes," by C. Tu and colleagues, and "Role of CX3C chemokine receptor 1 in tissue injury induced by immune complex deposition," by S. Morimura and colleagues.

Chronic venous disease, a disorder involving venous return from the legs, is a growing epidemic in the developed world. Numerous studies have been conducted in the past two decades in an attempt to elucidate its underlying pathophysiology. Many theories have been proposed to address the profound inflammatory dysregulation, with the majority focusing on fibrin trap, inflammatory trap, cytokines, growth factors, and matrix metalloproteinases. Although many of these theories have obtained great momentum, much of the data are contradictory. Moreover, many treatments built on these theories have claimed overwhelming success despite insufficient evidence. At the same time, there are few reviews that critically analyze and evaluate these data. Therefore, in this paper, we will provide summaries of the background data and evolution of these theories and examine their supporting evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a meeting sponsored by the Foundation for Ichthyosis and Related Skin Types Inc. (FIRST) on ichthyosis held in June 2010 in the U.S. is presented. Topics include the different methods to utilize scarce resources to advance research in ichthyosis, the identification of genes associated with human disease, and the causes for the normal-appearing skin for ichthyosis. The meeting featured several researchers including Leonard Milstone.The Foundation for Ichthyosis and Related Skin Types, Inc.™ ("FIRST") is a non-profit charitable organization.

The article presents abstracts of papers presented at the annual congress of Congrès Annuel de Recherche Dermatologique (CARD) which include the polymorphism of NOD2 gene in hyperactivity, the role played by fractalkin in atopic dermatitis (AD), and the use of A 20-item questionnaire (PPDA) in diagnosing atopic dermatitis.

We have previously described the role of red hair (melanocortin-1 receptor, MC1R) and blue eye (oculocutaneous albinism type II, OCA2) gene polymorphisms in modulating the risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in a highly sun-exposed population of European descent. A number of recent studies, including genome-wide association studies, have identified numerous polymorphisms controlling human hair, eye, and skin color. In this paper, we test a selected set of polymorphisms in pigmentation loci (ASIP (Agouti signalling protein, nonagouti homolog (mouse) gene), TYR (tyrosinase), TYRP1 (tyrosinase-related protein 1), MC1R, OCA2, IRF4 (interferon regulatory factor 4), SLC24A4 (solute carrier family 24, member 4), and SLC45A2 (solute carrier family 45, member 2)) for association with CMM risk in a large Australian population-based case–control study. Variants in IRF4 and SLC24A4, despite being strongly associated with pigmentation in our sample, did not modify CMM risk, but the other six did. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs28777, rs35391, and rs16891982) in the MATP gene (SLC45A2) exhibited the strongest crude association with risk, but this was attenuated to approximately the same effect size as that of a MC1R red hair color allele by controlling for ancestry of cases and controls. We also detected significant epistatic interactions between SLC45A2 and OCA2 alleles, and MC1R and ASIP alleles. Overall, these measured variants account for 12% of the familial risk of CMM in our population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]