Alopecia study, Pfizer-Allergan news top dermatology reads for week

News that Pfizer and Allergan plc terminated the proposed merger agreement between the two companies was among the most-read articles of the past week on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other widely read articles included findings that platelet-rich plasma showed a positive effect in treating androgenetic alopecia:

Galderma, Mentor announce collaboration on facial rejuvenation, breast augmentation

Galderma and Mentor Worldwide LLC announced in a press release a nationwide collaboration to partner with surgeons for advancing patient experiences across the companies’ facial rejuvenation and breast augmentation brand offerings.

The companies’ collaboration will focus on health care professionals who have shared patients looking for aesthetic injectable treatments and breast enhancement. Read more

Platelet-rich plasma shows positive effect on androgenetic alopecia

Patients who received a half-head treatment of platelet-rich plasma to treat androgenetic alopecia showed a clinical benefit at 6-month follow-up, according to recent research.

“This clinical research provides support that the application of [platelet-rich plasma] may have a therapeutic effect on [androgenetic alopecia] and can be used as a safe complementary treatment option,” Rubina Alves, MD, from the department of dermatology at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain and colleagues wrote in their study. Read more

Pfizer, Allergan terminate proposed merger

Pfizer and Allergan plc announced that the merger agreement between the two companies has been terminated by mutual agreement.

Pfizer said in a press release that the decision was based on actions announced by the U.S. Department of Treasury on April 4, “which the companies concluded qualified as an ‘Adverse Tax Law Change’ under the merger agreement.” Read more

Hyaluronic acid filler injections demonstrate long-term clinical improvement

Hyaluronic acid filler injections performed on women aged 40 to 50 years demonstrated clinical improvement and development of significantly more collagen fibers at 3 months and 9 months after the procedure, according to recent research.

“In this study, the clinical and histological study of [hyaluronic acid] filler injections on photo-aged faces revealed clinical improvement and skin remodeling after the procedure, with a long follow-up period,” Fabiana Braga França Wanick, MD, MSc, from the department of medical sciences at Fluminense Federal University in Niterói, Brazil, and colleagues wrote. Read more

Otezla effective in patients with palmoplantar psoriasis

Patients in this study with moderate-to-severe palmoplantar psoriasis showed clinical improvement at 16 weeks after treatment with Otezla compared with placebo, according to recent data.

“[Otezla (apremilast, Celgene)] was well tolerated and demonstrated efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe palmoplantar psoriasis,” Robert Bissonnette, MD, from Innovaderm Research Inc. in Montreal, and colleagues wrote. Read more