Dermatology and Cosmetics
Year:2014 | Volume:4 | Issue:4|Papers Count:8

Despite the large number of patients presenting with hirsutism and high prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome, for which hirsutism is an important sign, no national guidelines are currently available to Iranian primary-care and family physicians for its diagnosis and management. We have integrated highest levels of evidence and expert consensus to provide a national guideline to standardize and unify the Iranian primary-care and family physician’s approach to hirsutism.

Background and Aim: Shampoos are surfactant systems to clean hair and body. Two kinds of surfactants are generally used in shampoo formulations: anionic and amphoteric. These agents, especially anionic ones may cause skin irritation and dryness after bathing. So, using a simple and fast method to determine the types and concentrations of surfactants can help to choose a product with high efficacy and low side effects. This study was aimed to determine surfactant concentrations using potentiometric titration method.Methods: Ten hair and body shampoos were selected from Iran’s market to determine concentration of anionic and amphoteric surfactants using potentiometric titration method with prepared standard solution.Results: All formulations contain both surfactants, but one formulation did not have the amphoteric one.Conclusion: When we want to choose a shampoo for irritated and dry skin, formulations with more amphoteric surfactant should be chosen because they are much milder on the skin in comparison with anionic surfactants. Potentiometric method which was described in this study is one of the easiest ways to find out which shampoo is suitable for each patient.

Background and Aim: Psoriasis is a chronic disease that causes deformity and disability in patients. There is little information about the impact of psychological interventions upon this disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of group cognitive behavioral therapy upon physical factors such as severity and level of disease and extent of itching, and mental health of psoriasis patients.Methods: This research was conducted as a semi-experimental study using pre-test and post-test with a control group and the follow-up period. Twenty Psoriasis patients were allocated into experimental and control groups. The group cognitive behavioral therapy was administered to 10 psoriasis patients allocated into the experimental group for 12 sessions. The members of both groups filled in the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) for the assessment of severity of psoriasis, general health questionnaire (GHQ), and the Quality of life in patients with pruritus (ItchyQoL) questionnaires.Results: The results indicated that the group cognitive behavioral therapy did not have any impact upon the improvement of physical symptoms (severity and level of disease and extent of itching), but it was effective on improving the patients’ psychological status. Cognitive behavioral therapy has improved the patients’ general health. There is a significant difference between the two groups in terms of multiple covariance analysis for different aspects of general health, including anxiety and insomnia (effect size 0.45 and P=0.004), depression (effect size: 0.25 and P=0.044), physical symptoms (effect size 0.28 and P=0.033), and social functioning (effect size 0.41 and P=0.003).Conclusion: Although, based on the results, the group cognitive behavioral therapy does not directly affect reduction of physical symptoms of psoriasis; the effectiveness of this method on patients’ psychological symptoms is considerable as a mediator in the onset, exacerbation, and relapse of the disease.

Background and Aim: Hirsutism is one of the most common reasons for which women visit dermatology and beauty clinics. Lasers have got considerable popularity during last two decades because they can reduce unwanted hairs. This study was conducted to evaluate the satisfaction of patients with hirsutism traeted with diode laser, IPL or combination of both.Methods: In this retrospective study, hirsute patients referred to Yazd Laser Center from October 2011 until October 2012 were studied. Patient satisfaction from the amount of hair loss one month after starting treatment, one month after the end of treatment and 6 months after treatment were asked using telephone.Results: Patient satisfaction one month after the end of the treatment with diode laser was higher than the other two methods (P=0.034). Patient satisfactions at one month after initiation of the treatment and six months after the end of the treatment were not the statistically significant. The number of laser sessions was similar in the three groups.Conclusion: Results of the current study revealed that there was no significant difference in the patient satisfaction with diode laser, IPL and combination of both methods in the treatment of hirsutism 6 months after the end of the treatment.

Background and Aim: Eczema is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that reduces quality of life of the patient. The present clinical trial with control group aimed to determine therapeutic effects of natural honey plus cold cream compared to cold cream alone on hand eczema.Methods: Through a blind clinical trial, 72 patients with hand eczema were categorized in two equal groups. The first group used a mixture of honey plus cold cream and the other group applied cold cream alone. Patients used either Treatment 2 times a day for 21 days on their lesions. The effects including relief of symptoms such as dryness, redness, itching and scaling were evaluated by a dermatologist as well as the patients themselves. The results were analyzed using SPSS software and P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: According to the physician’s evaluation, 26 (36.1 %) patients in group combined honey and coldcream, were cured and 9 (59.12%) patients do not recover while in cold cream alone group, 6 (3.8%) patients were recovered and 30 (7.41%) patients did not. This difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). According to the patients evaluation in group combined honey and coldcream, 26 (36.1%) felt better and 9 cases (59.12%) did not, while the corresponding rates in group cold cream alone were 6 (2.8%) and 30 patients (7.1%) respectively. This finding was statistically significant (P<0.001).Conclusions: With respect to the therapeutic effects of honey on hand eczema, it is recommended to use honey with other therapies to treat eczema.

The use of sunscreens should also be recommended in order to work against all kind of ultarviolet (UV)-induced skin damage such as photoallergies, skin wrinkles, sunburn or even skin cancer. Sunscreens contain chemical filters (organic; absorb regularly UVB radiation) and physical filters (e.g., TiO2 and ZnO). The second group has been said to reflect and scatter UVB and UVA radiation. TiO2 is also extensively used in sunscreen formulations as active broadband sunscreens that blocks both UVB (290–320 nm) and UVA (320–400 nm). Although titanium dioxide is listed as a safe pigment, with no known adverse effects when it is used in cosmetics, but we should concern about ultrafine or nanoparticle form of titanium dioxide. If titanium dioxide particles used to act as a sunscreen are small enough, they can penetrate the cells, leading to photocatalysis within the cell, and cause DNA damage after exposure to sunlight.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in Iran and in the world and its prevalence may become equivalent to the prevalence of all other cancers combined in the future. The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway has an important role in tumor igenesis of BCC. Mutations in PTCH and Smo molecules of this pathway account for 85% to 95% of sporadic BCCs and also most cases of inherited cases. Currently, several treatment methods exist for this cancer. Mohs surgery and removing the whole tumor with free margins are the most efficient way for metastatic and highly invasive BCCs. According to the latest findings, small inhibitor molecules of the Hh pathway are becoming highlighted in drug production. Vismodegib an inhibitor of Smo, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 as a drug for metastatic and highly invasive BCCs. Therefore, strategic targeting of signaling molecules has demonstrated success and holds great potential in medicine.