Z. Apalla

Accuracy of dermoscopic criteria for the diagnosis of psoriasis, dermatitis, lichen planus and pityriasis rosea

Background  Dermoscopy is useful in evaluating skin tumours, but its applicability extends also to the field of inflammatory skin disorders. Plaque psoriasis (PP), dermatitis, lichen planus (LP) and pityriasis rosea (PR) are common inflammatory skin diseases, but little is currently known about their dermoscopic features.

Photodynamic therapy for distal and lateral subungual toenail onychomycosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum: Preliminary results of a single-centre open trial.

. A combination of topical and systemic thera-pies seems to be the ideal approach in the treatment (1). However, as many patients have conditions that contra-indicate the administration of systemic anti-fungals, and as topical treatments alone are able to control cases of only mild to moderate severity, it is necessary to develop new safe and effective strategies for the treatment of onychomycosis. The use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) has ex-tended in many fields, including that of antimicrobial chemotherapy (1).

Skin cancer: preventive photodynamic therapy in patients with face and scalp cancerization. A randomized placebo-controlled study.

Background  Patients with a previous medical history of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) often develop multiple or recurrent malignant lesions around the site of the primary tumour. This finding led to the field cancerization theory, which suggests that the entire epithelial surface of the regional skin has an increased risk for the development of malignant lesions. Management of field change is challenging, taking into account the high impact of NMSCs on public health and healthcare costs.

Intraindividual, right–left comparison of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy vs. 5% imiquimod cream for actinic keratoses on the upper extremities

Backround  Actinic keratoses (AKs) are considered as in situ squamous cell carcinoma. Early and effective treatment is important.

Clinical and laboratory study of rosacea in northern Greece

Background  Numerous factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rosacea, which remains obscure.

Dermoscopy of early stage mycosis fungoides

Background  Early stage mycosis fungoides (MF) is difficult to be clinically differentiated from chronic dermatitis (CD) in a high proportion of patients. Dermoscopy is a rapid, cheep, non‐invasive and widely used method for the evaluation of skin tumours and, recently, of inflammatory skin diseases, as well.

Dermoscopic patterns of common facial inflammatory skin diseases

Several common inflammatory dermatoses, such as rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis (SD), discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and granulomatous skin diseases manifest as erythematous macules or plaques on the facial skin. Although clinical examination represents the cornerstone of diagnosis, the broad variety of clinical features and uncommon presentations of these diseases may cause at times diagnostic and therapeutic uncertainty. Dermoscopy, in addition to its well‐documented value in evaluation of skin tumours, is continuously gaining appreciation also in the field of general dermatology.

Dermoscopy of discoid lupus erythematosus

Summary Background  Dermoscopy is useful in evaluating skin tumours, but its applicability also extends into the field of inflammatory skin disorders. Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) represents the most common subtype of cutaneous lupus erythematosus. While dermoscopy and videodermoscopy have been shown to aid the differentiation of scalp DLE from other causes of scarring alopecia, limited data exist concerning dermoscopic criteria of DLE in other locations, such as the face, trunk and extremities.

Actinic cheilitis treated with one cycle of 5‐aminolaevulinic acid‐based photodynamic therapy: report of 10 cases

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The impact of different fluence rates on pain and clinical outcome in patients with actinic keratoses treated with photodynamic therapy.

Background/purpose: Literature data suggest that lower fluence rates are preferable in terms of clinical response and tolerability for treating patients with actinic keratoses (AKs). We aimed to clarify the impact of different fluence rates on pain during photodynamic therapy (PDT) for AKs, as well as on treatment outcome.