Rehab Mohamed Sobhi

A comparative study on efficacy of UVA1 vs. narrow‐band UVB phototherapy in the treatment of vitiligo

Narrow‐band ultraviolet B (NB‐UVB) is considered the most effective and safe initial treatment for moderate‐to‐severe vitiligo but phototoxicity and possible carcinogenicity are the reported side effects. Ultraviolet A1 (UVA1) phototherapy has overlapping biological effects to NB‐UVB and is relatively free of side effects associated with other phototherapy regimens.

Ablative CO2 fractional resurfacing in treatment of thermal burn scars: an open-label controlled clinical and histopathological study.

Burn scars can cause permanent disfiguring problems with limited treatments available.

A single-blinded comparative study between the use of glycolic acid 70% peel and the use of topical nanosome vitamin C iontophoresis in the treatment of melasma.

Background  Melasma is a common pigmentary disorder. Despite the availability of a wide range of skin‐lightening treatments, melasma of skin remains a therapeutic challenge.

Using trichloroacetic acid in the treatment of acanthosis nigricans: a pilot study.

Background: Despite several therapeutic modalities, acanthosis nigricans (AN) remains a difficult dermatosis to treat. Objective:This study aims to test the safety and efficacy of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) as a chemical peel in the treatment of AN in a random sample of Egyptian female patients. Method: Six females with AN lesions were included in this pilot study. All patients received chemical peeling sessions using TCA over the affected skin lesions. Sessions were carried out to all patients once per week. Treatment was continued for 1 month. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by determining the average rate of response of the lesions to the treatment on a weekly basis. Results: All patients showed improvement as regard hyperpigmentation, thickening, and the overall appearance. The physician assessment was excellent in three lesions, moderate in five, and was mild in two. No side effects had been reported. Conclusion: The study may present TCA as a safe, easy, and an effective method for the treatment of AN.

Branchio-oculo-facial syndrome with bilateral linear scars of the neck.

A case of branchio–oculo–facial syndrome with bilateral linear scars affecting both sides of the neck is described. The disease occured in a male patient aged 20 years and presented with facial asymmetry, pre and postauricular pits, lip pits, microphthalmia, broad malformed nose, colobomas and dystrophic right kidney. In addition, there were bilateral linear hypertrophic scars on both sides of the neck. We believe that the latter lesions may represent the end stage of dermal thymus; a rare condition which has been reported so far in only four cases, two of which had branchio–oculo–facial syndrome.

Eccrine syringosquamous metaplasia

A 7 year‐old male child presented with erythematous erosive plaques affecting the upper and lower eyelids of the left eye and extending to the cheek. Crustations over the right nostril were also evident. His general health status was normal. His medical history revealed that he was suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia for which he was receiving cyclic pulse therapy of cytarabine, doxorubicin and prednisone.

An immunohistochemical study of laminin in basal cell carcinoma

Background: Laminins are components of the extracellular matrix that mediate cell adhesion, growth, migration, proliferation and differentiation. Basement membrane (BM) laminins, in particular, may play a role in enhancing carcinoma cell motility.

Effect of Procedural-Related Variables on Melanocyte-Keratinocyte Suspension Transplantation in Nonsegmental Stable Vitiligo: A Clinical and Immunocytochemical Study.

BACKGROUND Melanocyte–keratinocyte suspension (M–K susp) is gaining popularity for vitiligo treatment. Few studies have addressed procedure-related variables. OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of different M–K susp procedure-related variables on the clinical outcome in stable vitiligo. METHODS This prospective multicenter comparative study included 40 cases with nonsegmental stable vitiligo. Donor site was either a skin graft in noncultured epidermal cell suspension (NCECS) or hair follicle units in outer root sheath hair follicle suspension (ORSHFS). Recipient site was prepared by either cryoblebbing or CO2 laser resurfacing. Cell counts and viability were recorded in the cell suspensions. Tissue melanocytes and keratinocytes were examined by melan-A and cytokeratin, respectively. Assessment of repigmentation was performed 18 months after the procedure. RESULTS Thirty-seven subjects completed the study. Cell count was significantly lower in the ORSHFS compared with NCECS with no significant difference in the repigmentation outcome. On comparing techniques of recipient site preparation, homogenicity was better in the CO2 group. Elbows and knees responded better to CO2 resurfacing, whereas distal fingers responded better to combination of cryoblebbing with NCECS. CONCLUSION Using different techniques in M–K susp produces comparable results. However, the distal fingers showed better results using combination of donor NCECS and recipient cryoblebs.

Can basal cell carcinoma lateral border be determined by fluorescence diagnosis?: Verification by Mohs micrographic surgery.

BACKGROUND The preferential accumulation of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in neoplastic cells supports its potential use in the photodetection of epithelial tumours through porphyrin fluorescence. OBJECTIVE To assess the validity of fluorescence diagnosis (FD) as an efficient pre-surgical in vivo imaging tool for defining the lateral boundaries of various types of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs). METHODS The BCC tumour area was determined for 27 patients using FD digitalized imaging system, where the accumulation of PpIX in tumour tissue in relation to normal tissue was measured. Subsequently, BCCs were excised according to the complete area defined by FD using Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). RESULTS Of the 27 BCCs, the FD margin of the lesion coincided with the histopathological picture in 12 BCCs (44.44%). The mean value of accumulation factor (AF) was 2.7. Although 17 pigmented BCCs showed attenuated or absent fluorescence in the center, fluorescence at their periphery was used as a guide for excision, and statistically, the pigmentation of the BCCs showed no effect on the results of the FD efficacy (p=1.0). CONCLUSION Fluorescence diagnosis of BCC may be beneficial as a guide to the safety margin needed before MMS. The safety margin is decided according to the FD tumour diameter in relation to the clinical tumour diameter.