Suzan Shalaby

Phototherapy and Combination Therapies for Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a disease characterized by disappearance of melanocytes from the skin. It can negatively influence the physical appearance of affected individuals, and may profoundly affect a persons psychosocial function and quality of life. Therefore, vitiligo should not be considered as merely a condition that affects a patients appearance, but needs to be actively treated in patients who seek medical help. Phototherapy has been used as the main treatment modality for patients with vitiligo. Different forms of phototherapy for vitiligo include broadband UVB, narrowband UVB, excimer light and excimer laser, and psoralen plus UVA.

Assessment of cubosomal alpha lipoic acid gel efficacy for the aging face: a single‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, right‐left comparative clinical study

A poloxamer solution acting as a vehicle for the lipid base particulate system (cubosome dispersions) containing alpha lipoic acid (ALA) has achieved encouraging results in skin aging.

Phototherapy: The vitiligo management pillar

Phototherapy has been the mainstay of vitiligo therapy for several decades. A variety of wavelengths and modalities are available, but narrowband ultraviolet B remains the safest and most commonly used treatment. Acting on multiple steps in vitiligo pathogenesis, narrowband ultraviolet B is one of the few therapies that can effectively induce stabilization and stimulate repigmentation. Achievement of optimal results involves using a combination of appropriate treatment protocols, careful patient selection, and patient education to set expectations. Individual patient characteristics, including disease activity, vitiligo phenotype, lesion location, and skin phototype, should all be considered, along with combination therapies.

Causes of acquired erythroderma in adults presenting to a tertiary care centre in Cairo, Egypt

BackgroundErythroderma is a morphologic presentation of a variety of cutaneous and systemic diseases. ObjectiveTo study the causes of acquired erythroderma in adults presenting to a tertiary care centre in Cairo, Egypt, during the period between April and December 2011. Patients and methodsThirty erythrodermic patients were subjected to thorough clinical and pathological evaluation. Immunophenotyping was performed for selected cases. A constellation of findings was used to define the underlying cause. ResultsCauses of erythroderma in this series included 15 (50%) cases of erythroderma due to a pre-existing dermatosis, seven (23.3%) cases of drug-induced erythroderma, one (3.3%) case of papuloerythroderma of Ofuji, and seven (23.3%) cases of erythrodermic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma [one (3.3%) case] of Sézary syndrome and six (20%) cases of erythrodermic mycosis fungoides (MF). ConclusionA pre-existing dermatosis was the most common cause of erythroderma. Meticulous clinical and pathological evaluation remains the cornerstone in identifying the underlying cause of erythroderma in countries with limited resources for auxiliary investigations.