BACKGROUND Nonablative lasers are widely used for treatment of wrinkles, atrophic scars and acne. These lasers stimulate dermal remodelling and collagen production, but the early molecular stimulus for this is unknown. The mechanism of nonablative lasers in inflammatory acne is variously suggested to be damage either to sebaceous glands or to Propionibacterium acnes. Their effects on cytokine p...

BACKGROUND Striae distensae are atrophic dermal scars with overlying epidermal atrophy causing significant cosmetic concern. Although a variety of laser and light sources have been used for the treatment of striae distensae, to date no definite 'gold standard' treatment modality has been determined. OBJECTIVE To assess and compare the efficacy and safety of nonablative fractional photothermol...

BACKGROUND The factitious disorders, more commonly known in daily practice as pathomimia, are expressed in dermatology units by skin lesions induced voluntarily by the patient, in order to draw attention of the medical staff and/or the family members. The disorder is often challenging to diagnose and even more difficult to document in front of the patient or relatives. It represents a challenge...

BACKGROUND The relationship between radial scars and breast cancer is unclear, as the results of different studies are inconsistent. We aim to solve the controversy and assess the breast cancer risk of radial scars. METHODS Case-control or cohort studies about radial scars and breast cancer risk published in PubMed, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from 2000 to 2013 were searched. Hete...

brown pigmentation was reduced from 73.77 ± 12.69% to 69.15 ± 13.56% (p = 0.042) in the BF group, with a decrease in total dark spots from 20.47 ± 16.57 to 13.76 ± 12.04 (p = 0.010). No significant changes in total redness or brown pigmentation occurred in either of the control groups (p = 0.75 and 0.89). At 90 days, VAS scores were significantly improved for radiance, brown spots and dryness i...

OBJECTIVE Vaginal atrophy in menopause shows increased parabasal cells on cytology. This may be accompanied by abundant neutrophils. A shift in maturation index in the absence of significant inflammation is more accurately termed "atrophic pattern." This study aims to determine whether a diagnosis of "atrophic vaginitis" or atrophic pattern on Papanicolaou test is a reliable indicator of what i...