INTRODUCTION Melasma is a common chronic, acquired pigmentation disorder with a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. AIM To investigate the etiopathogenetic factors, thyroid functions and thyroid autoimmunity in patients with melasma. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty-five women with melasma and 45 age-matched healthy women were included in the study group. A detailed history was...

BACKGROUND Melasma is an acquired increased pigmentation of the skin characterized by symmetrical and confluent grey-brown patches usually on the areas of the face exposed to the sun. Silymarin strongly prevents photocarcinogenesis, and significantly prevented melanin production. The objectives of this study were the assessment of safety and efficacy of topical Silymain (SM) cream in a double-b...

Background Melasma is a difficult-to-treat hyperpigmentary disorder. Ablative fractional laser (AFL)-assisted delivery of topically applied drugs to varied targets in the skin has been an area of ongoing study and research. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fractional erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser as an assisted drug deliver...

BACKGROUND Melasma is a common acquired disorder characterized by symmetric, hyperpigmented patches with an irregular outline, occurring most commonly on the face. It is most prevalent among young to middle-aged women. Although iron overload affects skin pigmentation, effect of iron deficiency on skin is not clear. So, we evaluated serum iron level, ferritin and total iron binding capacity (TIB...

BACKGROUND : Melasma is common and can cause major psychological impact. To date, the mainstay of treatment, including various hypopigmenting agents and chemical peels, is ineffective and can cause adverse effects. Laser is a new approach and is yet to be explored for its efficacy and safety. OBJECTIVE : To compare combined Ultrapulse CO2 laser and Q-switched alexandrite laser (QSAL) with QSA...

There have been very few well-conducted trials in melasma and this makes the process of comparing treatment outcome between trials difficult. The Pigmentary Disorders Academy has examined the issues relating to clinical trials on melasma, and has proposed recommendations on how they should be conducted. This covers all aspects including correct diagnosis of the condition, evaluation of efficacy...

Melasma Confocal Microscopy in Diagnosis and Management of Melasma: Review of Literature Dimitris Sgouros1*, Giovanni Pellacani2, Alexandros Katoulis1, Dimitris Rigopoulos1 and Caterina Longo3 12nd Department of Dermatology, “ATTIKON” University Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece 2Department of Dermatology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy 3Dermatology and Skin Cancer Unit,...

INTRODUCTION Few studies have focused on therapeutic as well as side effects of tranexamic acid (TXA) as a topical drug compared to other topical drugs in treating melasma. The present study aimed to assess and compare the beneficial therapeutic effects and also side effects of local TXA in comparison with hydroquinone in treating women with melasma. METHODS This randomized double-blinded cli...

Melasma is an acquired dark-brown to ashen-gray hypermelanosis with mottled patterns and is found in the exposed areas (forehead, malar eminences, upper lip, chin, neck, etc.). Although melasma is believed to be associated with pregnancy, including several other factors such as genetic, racial, endocrine, and nutritional, exposure to sunlight appears to be one of the primary causes of its exace...

INTRODUCTION Melasma is one of the commonly reported pigmentory disorders in the Indian population. Numerous therapeutic modalities are available. However, very few have produced complete satisfactory response. 4-n-Butylresorcinol 0.3% cream has recently been introduced in India as a new hypopigmenting agent. It is a resorcinol derivative and acts by inhibiting both tyrosinase and tyrosinase-re...