Dermatology and Cosmetics
Year:2012 | Volume:2 | Issue:4|Papers Count:10

Background and Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological and sociological factors influencing cosmetics usage by female students.Methods: The statistical population comprised 250 female students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Isfahan University were selected using a simple random sampling method and were asked to respond to the research questionnaires. NEO Personality Inventory was used to assess personality characteristics. Sociological factors that were assessed were comprised of body management, media consumption, religiousness, socio-economic status and social acceptance.Results: There was a significant association between body management, media consumption, religiousness, socio-economic status and social acceptance with cosmetics use. Regression analysis showed that predictive variables were able to predict 41% of attitude toward cosmetics use and body management was the best predictor of it.Conclusion: Sociological, but not psychological, factors influence cosmetics use by female university students.

Background and Aim: Vitiligo is a chronic skin disease which is characterized by depigmented patches due to loss of melanocytes. On contrary of low physical impairment, vitiligo causes a lot of cosmetic problems which can lead to psychological problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life and depression in Iranian patients with vitiligo, who were referred to Razi Hospital in 2009 and 2010.Methods: From January 2009 until January 2010 one hundred vitiligo patients were randomly selected from outpatient clinic of Razi Hospital and asked to answer to the following valid and reliable instruments Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), SF-36 and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI(.Results: The mean age ± standard deviation of the participants was 28.9±11.5 years and mean scores of BDI, SF-36 and DLQI of all patients were 15.9±11.8, 63.8±19.4 and 8.4±6.9 respectively. There was a significant relationship between DLQI scores and the duration of the disease (r=0.3, P<0.001) while there was no significant relationship between DLQI scores and age (r=0.1, P=0.2).Conclusion: Evaluation of quality of life and depression in patients with vitiligo and consequences of the disease on patients' lives should be considered.

Background and Aim: Consumption of the epidermis (COE) is defined as thinning of the epidermis with attenuation of the basal and suprabasal layers and loss of rete ridges in areas of direct contact with malignant melanocytes. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of COE as an additional diagnostic criterion for malignant melanoma and to evaluate its relationship to clinicopathological findings.Methodes: The age, gender, localization of the lesion and the histopathological parameters such as tumor type, Breslow thickness, ulceration, and Clark’s level were recoeded in 90 malignant melanoma cases.Results: In contrast to other studies, we found that COE was more common in tumors with an acral localization and in the acral lentiginous melanoma.Conclusion: Although COE can be used as a pathological criterion in the diagnosis of malignant melanoma, but no correlation no of COE with ulceration and other prognostic factors were found.

Background and Aim: Adverse drug reactions are inevitable outcomes of drug therapy, which may cause mortality and morbidity for those whom are treated in this way. Cutanous adverse drug reactions are abserved in 2% to 3% of inpatients but only 2% of them are considered serious and may cause death. The aim of this study was to determine the cause and clinical forms of adverse drug reactions referred to department of dermatology.Methods: This cross-sectional study that was done on patients with diagnosis of cutanous adverse drug reactions in 2007 and 2009. All patients suspected with diagnosis of adverse drug reactions were examined by an experienced dermatologist for determination of different kinds of clinical manifestations.Results: During the study period, 308 patients were recruited. Cutanous adverse drug reactions were found to be more frequent in females (63%) than in males (37%). Betalactam antibiotics were found to be the most frequent cause of adverse cutaneous drug reactions (42.7%), followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (16.5%). Acute urticaria was the most frequent observed drug reaction (59.2%) followed by fixed drug eruption (18.5%) and maculopapular rashes (14.9%).Conclusion: In this study adverse cutaneous drug reactions was mainly induced by betalactam antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The most common forms of cutaneous adverse drug reactions were found to be: acute urticaria, fixed drug eruption and maculopapular rashes.

Background and Aim: Androgenic alopecia is one of the most common dermatological disorders. Hormonal and genetic factors determine the incidence of alopecia. Androgenic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss. It is progressive and symmetric in both sexes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of androgenic alopecia in 14- to 18-year-old female high school students in Shiraz.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3190 14- to 18-year-old female high school students in Shiraz. A questionnaire was designed to collect personal information and record clinical features of androgenic alopecia. Moderate and severe hair losses were defined as alopcia. For evaluation of alopecia associated with polycystic ovary syndrome, total and free testosterone blood levels were measured and abdominal ultrasound was performed. The collected data were described and analyzed through performing chi-square, Fisher's exact and and t tests using SPSS.Results: 135 (4.2%) of participants had moderate to severe alopecia according to Ludwig's classification. No statistically significant correlation was observed in the mean of eather total or free testosterone levels between patients with androgenic alopecia, and those without (P>0.05). There was no statistical significant association between alpocia and polycystic ovary existence (P=0.2(.Conclusion: This study did not show a statistically significant relationship between patients with alopecia and androgenic hormones and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Skin injury caused by burns, surgery and other traumas may result in unpleasant psychological experiences and be reflected in behaviors. Extracellular matrix (ECM) is the largest component of natural skin which is gel-like and is produced by skin cells. ECM synthesis is a key factor for filling up skin wounds such as burns, leishmaniasis, chicken pox, acne, etc. ECM is composed of a variety of polysaccharides, water, and collagen proteins. Considering its weight, natural skin strength and its expandability are like steel, while it has high elasticity and compaction capacities. These characteristics are due to dual effects of main ECM molecules, which are secreted by fibroblasts and epidermal cells: 1) structural fiber proteins like: elastin, fibronectin and laminin which give strength and flexibility to ECM, and 2) proteoglycans such as dermatan sulfate and hyaluronic acid which are consisted of few glycosaminoglycan chains that branch out from a linear protein core. Proteoglycans are large and hydrated molecules which are resistant to external forces and protect underneath cells. In general, understanding the skin structure and wound healing phases can help us to design useful experiments and to conduct proper researches in this area.

Dermatology is a branch of medicine which is related to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the diseases and disorders that affect the skin and its appendages including hair, nail, sweat glands and mucosal surfaces of mouth and external genitalia. There are about 3000 clinical entities in the field of dermatology, which are very diverse in terms of their etiologies. Although some of these diseases are really prevalent and some others of them have high incidence rates and acknowledging that because of their visibility in many cases they are associated with stress, anxiety and impairment of patients' quality of lives, their resultant burden of disease at individual, familial and social levels are usually ignored. Herein, we provide some examples of the adverse public health and health economics effects of different dermatological diseases and disorders in different countries and populations. We also provide some reasons for this negligence and suggest some strategies to tackle this problem.