ng-Jun Seo

Effectiveness of conventional, low-dose and intermittent oral isotretinoin in the treatment of acne: a randomized, controlled comparative study

Background  The efficacy of conventional isotretinoin treatment (0·5–1·0 mg kg−1 daily for 16–32 weeks, reaching a cumulative dose of 120 mg kg−1) for acne has been well established. To date, there are many reports regarding the efficacy of low‐dose and intermittent isotretinoin treatment in patients with acne. Data comparing these three therapeutic regimens simultaneously, however, are unavailable.

Time course of expression of mRNA of inducible nitric oxide synthase and generation of nitric oxide by ultraviolet B in keratinocyte cell lines.

Summary Background Nitric oxide (NO), the ubiquitous free radical, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases, including sunburn and ultraviolet (UV) radiation‐induced pigmentation, and it also seems to play an important part in host defence against bacterial infection.

A randomized, observer-blinded, comparison of combined 1064-nm Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminium-garnet laser plus 30% glycolic acid peel vs. laser monotherapy to treat melasma.

Background.  Melasma is a common pigmentary disorder that poses therapeutic challenges. Mixed‐type melasma usually does not respond to conventional monotherapy.

Efficacy and safety of topical glycopyrrolate in patients with facial hyperhidrosis: a randomized, multicentre, double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, split‐face study

Although facial hyperhidrosis has been frequently associated with a diminished quality of life, various conservative modalities for its management are still far from satisfactory.

Ingestion of Rhus chicken causing systemic contact dermatitis in a Korean patient

Rhus chicken is a common traditional remedy used to cure gastrointestinal diseases and as a health food in Korea. Unfortunately, systemic contact dermatitis (SCD) due to the ingestion of Rhus occasionally occurs. In this study, the clinical and laboratory findings were reviewed and analysed for 30 Korean patients with SCD developing after ingestion of Rhus chicken. Summer was found to be the commonest period for hospital visits because of this condition. The mean period of incubation for SCD, was 4 ± 1.5 days. The commonest skin features were generalized maculopapular eruptions. Of the 30 patients, 10 had a known history of allergy to Rhus chicken. Many of the patients developed neutrophilia and leucocytosis. All the patients responded well to standard treatments. The commonest reason for their ingestion of Rhus chicken was indigestion. We conclude that SCD often occurs in Koreans after ingestion of Rhus chicken. Patients should be educated about the harmful effects of Rhus chicken and advised not to ingest it.

The effect of amniotic membrane extract on the expression of iNOS mRNA and generation of NO in HaCaT cell by ultraviolet B irradiation.

Background/Purpose:  Amniotic membrane (AM) is the innermost fetal membrane, which contains several proteinase inhibitors and expresses several growth factors. Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases including sunburn and ultraviolet induced erythema. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is up regulated by UVB irradiation and inhibited by TGF‐bβ and EGF‐bβ. We evaluated the effect of AM extract on the expression of iNOS mRNA by UV irradiation in HaCaT cell (immortalized human keratinocyte cell line).

Ocular albinism with sensorineural deafness

Ocular albinism (OA) is an inherited disorder characterized by partial or complete absence of pigment in the eyes. Ocular albinism is inherited in two patterns, X‐linked and autosomal pattern. X‐linked OA includes type I OA (Nettership‐Falls type), type II OA (Forsius‐Eriksson type), and OA with late‐onset sensorineural deafness. The other includes type III OA (autosomal recessive OA) and OA with sensorineural deafness. 1 Among the subtypes of ocular albinism, OA with sensorineural deafness has characteristic clinical features: blue eyes, multiple lentigines, and congenital sensorineural deafness. 2 This type of ocular albinism is an inherited autosomal dominant trait 2 and is considered to be very rare. We report a 28‐year‐old female who was diagnosed with OA with sensorineural deafness.

Development of isolation and cultivation method for outer root sheath cells from human hair follicle and construction of bioartificial skin

Obtaining a sufficient amount of healthy keratinocytes from a small tissue is difficult. However, ORS cells can be a good source of epithelium since they are easily obtainable and patients do not have to suffer from scar formation at donor sites. Accordingly, the current study modified the conventional primary culture technique to overcome the low propagation and easy aging of epithelial cells during culturing. In a conventional primary culture, the average yield of human ORS cells is 2.1×103 cells/follicle based on direct incubation in a trypsin (0.1%)/EDTA (0.02%) solution for 15 min at 37°C, however, our modified method was able to obtain about 6.9×103 cells/follicle using a two-step enzyme digestion method involving dispase (1.2 U/mL) and a trypsin (0.1%)/EDTA (0.02%) solution. Thus, the yield of primary cultured ORS cells could be increasd three times higher. Furthermore, a total of 2.0×107 cells was obtained in a serum-free medium, while a modified E-medium with mitomycin C-treated feeder cells produced a total of 6.3×107 cells over 17 days when starting with 7.5×104 cells. Finally, we confirmed the effectiveness of our ORS cell isolation method by presenting their ability for reconstructing the bioartificial skin epitheliumin vitro

Unusual presentation of onychomycosis caused by Exophiala (Wangiella) dermatitidis

The phaeohyphomycoses are a heterogeneous group of rare mycotic infections caused by dematiaceous fungi that are widely distributed in the environment. Phaeohyphomycosis is usually an opportunistic infection in immunosuppressed patients or can be associated with chronic diseases and diabetes. Rarely, immunocompetent patients may be affected. We report an unusual presentation of onychomycosis caused by Exophiala (formerly Wangiella) dermatitidis in a healthy man, a circumstance that has rarely been mentioned in the literature previously. A 42-year-old man presented with an 1-year history of linear longitudinal ridging with yellowish pigmentation on the nail of the right great toe (Fig. 1). The other nails were normal, as was the skin of the soles and interdigital webs. The patient was in good health with normal laboratory findings, and had no history of trauma or nail abnormalities before the present lesion. Scrapings were collected from the nail plate and hyperkeratotic areas. Direct microscopic examination of the samples in 40% potassium hydroxide mounts showed hyphae, conidiophores and yeast cells. The hyphae were sparse, septate and olivaceous. The ellipsoidal conidia measured 3–4 · 2–3 lm. The scrapings were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar at 25 C. Repeated cultures taken from the nail plates all yielded similar findings, growing grey-black, velvety colonies (Fig. 2a). Slide cultures were stained with lactophenol cotton blue, and showed elliptic or conic-shaped conidia on the upper areas or lateral walls of the hyphae (Fig. 2b). A nail biopsy was taken, and the tissue cultured for fungi. On histological examination, hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis and acanthosis were seen, which stained positive for periodic-acid–Schiff. Irregularly branching septate hyphae and budding yeast-like cells were visible, although there was no inflammatory cell infiltration (Fig. 2c). Based on the morphological tests, we diagnosed the patient with onychomycosis due to E. dermatitidis. He was given pulse therapy with oral itraconazole (400 mg daily for 1 week followed by no medication for 3 weeks) for 6 months. The symptoms gradually improved, and fungal elements were not detected at the end of the treatment. The dematiaceous (brown-pigmented) fungi are a large and heterogenous group of moulds that cause a wide range of diseases including phaeohyphomycosis,

Copy-number variation of the filaggrin gene in Korean patients with atopic dermatitis: what really matters, 'number' or 'variation'?

DEAR EDITOR, Since the articles reporting a methodological breakthrough on the full sequencing of the gene encoding profilaggrin (FLG), associations between loss-of-function mutations of FLG and atopic dermatitis (AD) have been reported across ethnicities. However, both the low prevalence of FLG mutations in patients with AD in some nations (< 4% in Italy) and the high prevalence of FLG mutations in healthy control in other nations (~ 10% in Ireland) suggest that factors other than FLG mutation may be at work. Brown et al. introduced an interesting new factor contributing to the risk of AD: copynumber variation aa(CNV). FLG is polymorphic, with allelic variants of 10–12 nearly identical repeats in exon 3. They