Dimitrije Janković

Can You Combine Herbal Therapy with Physical Agents in the Treatment of Venous Leg Ulcers

Introduction: Venous leg ulcers are an important and common health problem. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of herbal therapies alone or in combination with physical therapy in the treatment of venous ulcers, as well as their antibacterial effects. Patients and Methods: Our study included 60 patients (3 groups, 20 patients each) with non-infected venous leg ulcers. The patients were treated with herbal therapy alone (group HTC), with a combination of electro-ionizing radiation and herbal therapy (group ERHT) or with a combination of polarized light and herbal therapy (group PLHT). Results: Surface area and score of venous leg ulcers were followed clinically at baseline and at the end of 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks of treatment. Comparing the results within the HTC, PLHT, and ERHT groups we found that the physical agents and herbal therapy significantly accelerated the healing of venous leg ulcers and reduced bacterial flora (p < 0.05). Comparing the results between the tested groups revealed no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate healing and antibacterial effects of combined physical and herbal therapies, but no superiority of the combined treatment for venous leg ulcers as compared to treatment by herbal therapy alone.

Application of sentinel lymph node biopsy in cutaneous basosquamous carcinoma.

Basosquamous carcinoma of the skin is a relatively rare cutaneous neoplasm that has significant metastatic potential and a metastatic rate greater than that of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. We describe the use of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in a 63-year-old man after identification of basosquamous carcinoma. Sentinel lymph node biopsy, which is a standard tool to detect regional lymphatic metastasis in cutaneous melanoma, has been rarely employed to detect lymphatic metastasis of basosquamous carcinoma. The approach was successful in detecting a regional lymphatic metastasis of two nodal basins with minor morbidity. Sentinel lymph node biopsy may be useful for certain high-risk lesions of basosquamous carcinoma.

Does incomplete excision of basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid mean tumor recurrence

INTRODUCTION Basal cell carcinoma is the most common tumor of the eyelid. In this region, reconstruction is complex and damage to healthy tissue should be minimal. OBJECTIVE To define the relationship between margin clearance at excision and the recurrence rate of basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid. METHODS This prospective study was conducted with 111 patients submitted to surgery for basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid between 2001 and 2003 and followed up for a period of five years. The patients were evaluated according to age, tumor site, recurrence rate and margin clearance at excision. RESULTS No significant association was found between incomplete tumor excision and recurrence except in patients under 56 years of age, female patients and in the case of tumors of the medial canthus. CONCLUSION A risk of recurrence in incompletely excised basal cell carcinomas of the eyelid was only confirmed in younger patients, females and for tumors of the medial canthus.

The effects of one-year simvastatin therapy on women’s bone mineral density

Only few studies have reported that bone fracture risk is decreased in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women treated with statin therapy. Because of a lack of longitudinal studies on the effect of statins on bones, the aim of our investigation was to estimate the simvastatin therapy effects on bone mineral density in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women. Our investigation was carried out on 53 postmenopausal women with hypercholesterolemia. The women included in the study were divided into two groups. Group 1 was comprised of women with two or more (n=32) atherosclerosis risk factors, whereas group 2 had women with less than two (n=21) of these risk factors. All the women included in the study were placed on a hypocholesterolemic diet and the women in group 1 were additionally treated with 20 mg of simvastatin daily. The parameters of lipid status, body mass index, and L2–L4 densitometry were determined at baseline and then after one year. The simvastatin-treated group showed significant improvement of lipid parameters and increased bone mineral density. Finally, changes in bone mineral density between the groups showed significant differences (p<0.05). Although our investigation was carried out on a small group, our results showed a positive effect of the simvastatin therapy on the bone mineral density of postmenopausal women.