Yong Beom Choe

Change of biophysical properties of the skin caused by ultraviolet radiation-induced photodamage in Koreans

Background/purpose: Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation affects the function and complexion of the skin by inducing changes in physical properties through formation of erythema, proliferation of epithelial cells, DNA damage, activation or inactivation of various enzymes and proteins, and free radical formation. In this study, the authors intended to observe the overall course of changes in barrier function and reflectance of the skin induced by photodamage, and healing reaction in the course of time, and alteration of the skin complexion.

Assessment of the usefulness of skin phototype and skin color as the parameter of cutaneous narrow band UVB sensitivity in psoriasis patients

Background: Many reports have been released to assess skin types, skin colors and cutaneous sensitivity to broad band UVB or UVA.

The difference between the constitutive and facultative skin color does not reflect skin phototype in Asian skin

Background/purpose: The assessment of the sensitivity of human skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is important in the area of phototherapy, photodermatoses, photo‐aging, photo‐carcinogenesis, and photo‐protection. Some reports have shown that quantitatively measured skin color is a good indicator for predicting UV sensitivity to human skin in Caucasians. In this study, our aim was to define the correlation between skin color and the skin phototype assessed by the Fitzpatrick method in Asian brown skin.

Comparison of Treatment Goals for Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis between Korean Dermatologists and the European Consensus Report

Background The development of therapies for psoriasis has led to the need for a new strategy to the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. New consensus guidelines for psoriasis treatment have been developed in some countries, some of which have introduced treatment goals to determine the timing of therapeutic regimens for psoriasis. Objective To investigate the opinions held by Korean dermatologists who specialize in psoriasis about treatment goals, and to compare these with the European consensus. Methods Korean dermatologists who specialize in psoriasis were asked 11 questions about defining the treatment goals for psoriasis. The questionnaire included questions about the factors used to classify the severity of psoriasis, defining the induction and maintenance phases of psoriasis treatment, defining treatment responses during the induction phase, and defining treatment responses during the maintenance phase. Results The Korean consensus showed responses that were almost similar to the European consensus, even without using the Delphi technique, which uses repeated rounds of questions to reach a consensus. Only one response that related to psoriasis severity in the context of the quality of patients lives differed from the European consensus. Conclusion The concept of using treatment goals in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis can be applied to Korean psoriasis patients. Since a tool for assessing the quality of patients lives is not commonly used in Korea, the development of a simple, rapidly completed, and region-specific health-related quality of life assessment tool would enable treatment goals to be used in routine clinical practice.

A preliminary study of new single polymorphisms in the T helper type 17 pathway for psoriasis in the Korean population.

Psoriasis is a polygenic and multi‐factorial disease showing ethnic differences in terms of its severity and frequency. Therapies targeting interleukin (IL)−17A, IL‐17 receptor (IL‐17R) and Janus kinases (JAKs) are in clinical development for the treatment of psoriasis, and their success suggests the essential role of these molecules in psoriasis. To investigate the genetic susceptibility in T helper type 17 (Th17) cell signal transduction pathways for promoting psoriasis, we performed candidate gene and linkage disequilibrium analysis. In 208 patients and 266 normal controls, we analysed 31 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 12 genes (CAMP, IL17A, IL17F, IL17RA, IL22, JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, STAT3, TLR7, TLR9 and TYK2; abbreviations: CAMP, human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide; STAT‐3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; TLR, Toll‐like receptor; TYK2, tyrosine kinase 2). Patients with psoriasis showed a strong association for IL17F rs763780 [odds ratio (OR)u2009=u20093·27, Pu2009=u20090·04], which results in a histidine‐to‐arginine substitution, and JAK2 rs2274471 (ORu2009=u20092·66, Pu2009=u20090·02). In addition, JAK2 rs7849191 showed a protective pattern, met the significance threshold (ORu2009=u20090·77, Pu2009=u20090·05) and showed a tendency for an inverse association with the frequency of early‐onset psoriasis under age 40 years (Pu2009=u20090·07). In haplotype analysis, JAK1 rs310241A/rs2780889T showed a protective effect (ORu2009=u20090·73, Pu2009=u20090·03) in psoriasis. In conclusion, we report two new psoriasis‐susceptibility loci, in IL17F and JAK2, as well as a newly identified late‐onset associated protective JAK2 locus and a protective JAK1 haplotype in the Korean population.

An 8‐week face‐split study to evaluate the efficacy of cosmeceuticals using non‐invasive bioengineering devices

Even with the increasing demand for functional cosmeceuticals in the recent years, objective standard criteria for assessing their efficacy are currently incomplete at best. In this 8‐week face‐split study, in which we topically applied high‐priced cosmeceuticals on one side and more affordable cosmeceuticals on the other side of the face, we compared the efficacy of these two products using non‐invasive bioengineering technology.

The Clinical Profile of Patients with Psoriasis in Korea: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study (EPI-PSODE)

Background Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, chronic inflammatory disease affecting multiple aspects of patients lives. Its epidemiology varies regionally; however, nationwide epidemiologic data on psoriasis depicting profile of Korean patients has not been available to date. Objective To understand nationwide epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features of adult patients with psoriasis visited university hospitals in Korea. Methods This multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional study recruited 1,278 adult patients with psoriasis across 25 centers in Korea in 2013. Various clinical data including PASI, BSA, DLQI, SF-36 and PASE were collected. Results A total of 1,260 patients completed the study (male:female=1.47:1). The mean age was 47.0 years with a distribution mostly in the 50s (24.9%). Early onset (<40 years) of psoriasis accounted for 53.9% of patients. The mean disease duration was 109.2 months; mean body mass index was 23.9 kg/m2; and 12.7% of patients had a family history of psoriasis. Plaque and guttate types of psoriasis accounted for 85.8% and 8.4%, respectively. Patients with PASI ≥10 accounted for 24.9%; patients with body surface area ≥10 were 45.9%. Patients with DLQI ≥6 accounted for 78.8%. Between PASI <10 and PASI ≥10 groups, significant difference was noted in age at diagnosis, disease duration, blood pressure, waist circumference of female, and treatment experiences with phototherapy, systemic agents, and biologics. Conclusion This was the first nationwide epidemiologic study of patients with psoriasis in Korea and provides an overview of the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical profiles of this patient population.

Ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging using hyaluronic acid fillers: Differences between monophasic and biphasic fillers

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an anionic, non‐sulfated glycosaminoglycan distributed throughout the human skin and injectable HA fillers are the most commonly used in aesthetic field. This study aimed to determine if differences in physical characteristics of HA products (monophasic or biphasic fillers) affect the patterns of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The relationship between clinical characteristics including presence of exposed lesions and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with psoriasis: analysis from the nationwide epidemiologic study for psoriasis in Korea (EPI‐PSODE study)

Psychological aspect and quality of life should be considered in treating patients with psoriasis.

Optimal maintenance treatment with calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate gel in Korean patients with psoriasis vulgaris: a multicentre randomized, controlled clinical trial

There is a lack of response data for topical treatments for psoriasis vulgaris in Asian patients.