Port-wine stains (PWS) represent a group of vascular malformations that are usually accompanied by psychological distress for affected patients, often reflected in high treatment demand. Although the pulsed-dye laser (PDL) was established as standard therapy for PWS more than a decade ago, therapeutic outcome may be unsatisfactory. One of the main drawbacks to successful PDL therapy is PWS reva...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to improve port wine stain (PWS) therapeutic outcome in response to laser therapy. Our specific aim was to determine whether the combined use of pulsed dye laser (PDL) therapy and topical Imiquimod versus PDL alone can improve PWS therapeutic outcome. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS This pilot study involved a retrospective review of...

Port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks are a congenital and progressive vascular malformation of the dermis, involving capillaries, which occurs in approximately 0.7% of children. The objective of laser surgery for this and similar conditions is to cause selective thermal damage, thrombosis, and, eventually, permanent photocoagulation in the PWS vessels. To achieve this, the radiated laser light is s...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Neither the pathogenesis of port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks nor tissue effects of pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment of these lesions is fully understood. There are few published reports utilizing gene expression analysis in human PWS skin. We aim to compare gene expression in PWS before and after PDL, using DNA microarrays that represent most, if not all, human genes t...

Skin diseases constitute an essential health and aesthetic problem in the elderly. The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge of the elderly residents of public nursing homes and participants of the University of the Third Age in Bialystok, Poland surrounding the factors influencing skin ageing, the awareness of skin conditions in agening skin, and the impact of skin ageing on the volun...

Von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis, or neurofibromatosis type 1 (NFI), affects approximately 1 in 3500 individuals of all ethnic backgrounds. It is inherited as an autosomal dominant disease and is manifested clinically by abnormalities that predominantly affect tissues which derive from the neural crest (Riccardi, 1981,199l; Riccardi and Eichner, 1986). Affected individuals are often noted t...

Commentary As a group, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are associated with an increased risk of major congenital malformations (MCMs) (1). Older AEDs are the best studied. Valproate (VPA) is consistently associated with an increased risk of MCMs including an increased risk of spina bifida (2). Phenobarbital (PB) exposure increases the risk of MCMs, including oral clefts (3). Although not consistent ...

Both of these books deal with folk medicine but whereas American folk medicine is a collection of 1973 conference papers edited by Professor Hand, Magical medicine is a collection of his own selected essays covering essentially the last decade. The basic tenet of both is that the idea of "medicine" is differentially interpreted and defined according to social, historical, religious, and cultura...

Disfigurement is more common than is generally realised. It can be consequence of trauma, cancer, radiotherapy, facial paralysis, birthmarks, vascular malformations, neurofibromatosis, cleft lip/palate and other craniofacial conditions. Facial disfigurement can be physically, emotionally, and socially distressing, and some people whose faces have been disfigured can suffer a so-called “social d...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Cryogen spray cooling (CSC) is used to minimize the risk of epidermal damage during laser treatment of port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks. Unfortunately, CSC may not provide the necessary protection for patients with high concentrations of epidermal melanin. The objectives of this study are to: (1) provide a definition of cooling efficiency (eta) based on the amount of h...