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Background: Although the occurrence of psoriasis and vitiligo is reported in a few studies, no proper relationship has been found between these two diseases., Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the frequency of the coincidence of these two diseases., Method: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 6,200 patients referred to dermatology clinics from September 2004 to June 2005., Results: Among these patients, 219 and 154 patients suffered from psoriasis (3.53%) and vitiligo (2.48%), respectively, and 12 patients (0.19%) had psoriasis and vitiligo simultaneously. The coincidence in the psoriasis group was 5.48% and in the vitiligo group was 7.79%, so the coincidence of both diseases was greater than the incidence of each alone. This association was significant (p = .004)., Conclusion: Coincidence of these two diseases was seen, but more studies should be done to find common genetic and immunologic factors., (© 2014 Canadian Dermatology Association.)

Objective(s): One of the different types of skin leishmaniasis is the Chronic Lupoid Leishmaniasis (CLL), which is caused by abnormal immune response. On the other hand, HTLV-I has been known to exist in some infectious diseases. Human T cell lymphotropic virus type1 (HTLV-I) and cutanous leishmaniasis exists endemically in Mashhad. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HTLV-I in CLL patients., Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study involved 51 CLL patients admitted to cutaneous leishmaniasis clinics of Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, Iran. The blood samples were examined for serology tests through ELISA method., Results: The results of the experiments for evaluating the existence of HTLV-I in 51 patients under study in this research were proved to be negative., Conclusion: According to this pilot study, the distribution of HTLV-I in CLL patients is not higher than normal population.

Background: Common warts caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) are considered to be the most common infectious skin disease. No individual treatment for common warts is effective as monotherapy in eradicating the lesions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a 35% and an 80% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) solution in the treatment of the common wart., Methods: In this single-blinded clinical trial, 62 eligible patients with common warts referred to the dermatology clinic of Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, each treated with a TCA solution (group A, TCA 80%; group B, TCA 35%) once per week until complete clearance of the lesions or for a maximum duration of six weeks. Seven patients were excluded from the final analysis (one patient in group A and six patients in group B) for various reasons, including irregular follow-up, using physical tools such as razor blades to remove the lesion, and failure to complete treatment; and 55 patients were included in the final analysis., Results: Improvement to treatment responses was classified as: no change (no changes in the number of warts), mild (clearing of less than 25% of warts), moderate (clearing of 25% to 75% of warts), and good (clearing of more than 75% of warts). At the end of follow-up, the clinical improvement of group A (n=30) was: 10 patients (33.3%) with a mild response, 6 patients (20%) with a moderate response, and 14 patients (46.7%) with a good response. In group B (n=25), 16 patients (64%) showed a mild response, 6 patients (24%) a moderate response, and 3 patients (12%) a good response. There was a statistically significant difference in improvement between the two treatment groups (P=.017). Improvement was greater with a higher concentration of TCA solution., Conclusion: This study showed that a different concentration of TCA solution was an effective form of treatment for common warts. Trichloroacetic acid 80% is more effective, but this solution must be used only with careful consideration by a physician.

Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are related to the genesis of various benign lesions and some malignant tumors, but no clear relationship has been identified so far between the subtypes of HPV and skin tag., Materials and Methods: The present case-control study was designed to detect the existence of low risk and high risk HPV types in lesions of 50 patients with skin tag (case group) and normal skin around the melanocytic nevus of 30 patients (control group), using PCR., Results: All of the samples were negative for HPV subtypes, except two samples in control group which were positive for high risk HPV. There was no significant relationship between the HPV subtypes and skin tag., Conclusion: There is no association between skin tag and low risk and high risk human papillomaviruses.

Background: The role of nutritional factors including trace elements has been reported in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases., Objective: Regarding the relatively high prevalence of pemphigus vulgaris in Iran, we investigated the serum levels of zinc and copper as two important trace elements, together with the oxidative stress status in patients with pemphigus vulgaris., Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 25 patients with newly diagnosed pemphigus vulgaris and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Serum concentrations of zinc, copper, ceruloplasmin as well as copper/zinc ratio were determined for each subject. Oxidative stress was also measured using a novel assay of peroxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB)., Results: Mean serum concentrations of zinc and copper as well as copper/zinc ratio were significantly lower in patients (mean age: 47.2±16.2 years; male/female: 14/11) compared with the controls (mean age: 47.3±12.8 years; male/female: 14/11; P<0.001). In contrast, PAB values were significantly elevated in patients compared with controls (P<0.01). No significant difference in serum ceruloplasmin concentrations was observed between the groups (P>0.05)., Conclusion: Our findings indicate that low serum zinc and copper and increased oxidative stress may be associated with pemphigus vulgaris., (© 2011 The International Society of Dermatology.)

The purpose of this study was to investigate comparison between oral zinc sulfate and meglumine antimoniate in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). So 100 patients with CL were included and randomly divided into two groups. The first group was treated with oral zinc sulfate (10 mg/kg/day during 45 days period), and the second group was treated with systemic meglumine antimoniate (20 mg/kg/day intramuscularly for 20 days). Acceptable cure after completing 45 days of followup occurred in 30.2% of lesions in first group, while this was 35.5% for the second group. There is not any significant difference between the two treatment groups (P = 0.42). Serious side effects resulting in treatment discounting occurred in only meglumine antimoniate group. Although cure rate of systemic meglumine antimoniate group was better the treatment with zinc sulfate is much easier, cheaper, more convenient in consumption, safer, and nearly close cure percentage to systemic meglumine antimoniate injections without serious side effect.

A seventeen-year-old male presented with a restriction in the oral cavity. The oral mucosa was white and he could not protrude his tongue. For 4 years he had habitually held a powdery material containing betel nut in the oral vestibule for several minutes a day. A biopsy of the labial mucosa was carried out and a diagnosis of oral submucous fibrosis was confirmed. This is a premalignant condition. Oral submucous fibrosis is very rare in young patients.

We compared intralesional glucantine and cryotherapy for treatment of children with cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran. We observed that cryotherapy is an effective treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis in children. No serious post-treatment side effects were observed in either group. At six months of follow-up, no recurrence of disease was observed in cured patients in either group. Because of its simplicity, lower cost, low rate of serious complications, and greater tolerability, cryotherapy should be recommended as an appropriate alternative treatment for leishmaniasis in children.

Introduction: The common wart is a common infectious disease caused by human papilloma virus. A variety of therapeutic modalities are available. Cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen) is one of the most common treatment forms. It freezes the tissue and destroys warts. Phenol is a caustic agent. Our purpose was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of cryotherapy and 80 percent phenol solution on common warts of hands., Methods: This single-blinded clinical trial study was performed on 60 patients with common warts referred to the dermatology clinic of Ghaem Hospital Mashhad, Iran, in 2002. Patients were randomly divided into two groups; 30 patients were treated with cryotherapy and 30 patients were treated with 80 percent phenol, on a once-weekly basis until complete clearance of the lesions or a maximum duration of six weeks., Results: Complete clearance of warts after six weeks was observed in 70 percent of patients who were treated with cryotherapy, and 82.6 percent of patients in the 80 percent phenol group; there was no statistically significant difference between the two methods (p-value is 0.014)., Conclusion: Our data indicates that 80 percent phenol and cryotherapy are effective and simple treatments for common warts of hands, and patients do not experience any pain during the treatment.

Background: Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is an aggressive malignancy which may occur in individuals infected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I). HTLV-I is endemic in Khorasan, with a frequency of 2.3% in the general population. As specific cutaneous manifestations of lymphoma may occur in a significant number of patients, we studied these manifestations in ATLL patients admitted to the Hematology and Dermatology Departments of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, during 1995-2004., Methods: In this descriptive study, demographic and clinical information was obtained from 23 patients suffering from ATLL with specific cutaneous lesions (atypical lymphocytes on histopathology of cutaneous lesions), and was analyzed statistically., Results: Of the 23 patients, 11 were male and 12 were female. The mean age was 48.17 +/- 14.1 years. The birth place in over 85% of cases was the north of Khorasan. The most common type of specific skin lesion was a maculopapular eruption (11 cases; 47.8%); papular lesions were seen in four cases (17.4%). Other lesions included plaques, ichthyosis-like lesions, erythroderma, tumors, papules, and nodular lesions. In most patients (56.5%), the skin lesions were generalized., Conclusion: The most common type of specific skin lesion in ATLL was maculopapular eruption, especially with a generalized distribution. Other types of specific skin lesion, in order of frequency, were papules, plaques, ichthyosis-like skin lesions, nodules, tumors, and erythroderma.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) treatment is painful, and cosmetic results are often unsatisfying. Azithromycin has been reported to be effective in treatment of CL caused by Leishmania viannia braziliensis. The efficacy of azithromycin was compared with Glucantime in treatment of Old World leishmaniasis. Of 49 patients, 22 received 500 mg/day azithromycin for 5 days/month. Treatment cycles were repeated monthly to a maximum of 4 months; 27 patients received 60 mg/kg intramuscular meglumine antimoniate for 20 days. Both groups were followed up for 16 weeks. In the azithromycin group, 2 patients withdrew because of GI symptoms. The response rates of 20 patients (29 lesions) were as follows: full improvement, 10.3%; partial improvement, 27.6%; and 62.1%, no response. In the glucantime group with 27 patients (58 lesions), these rates were 34.4%, 13.8%, and 51.7%, respectively (P = 0.036). Azithromycin was determined to be not as effective as Glucantime in treatment of Old World CL.