Top May dermatology reads focus on skin self-exams, vitiligo

Survey findings that less than half of women assisted their husbands with skin self-examinations was among the top read articles in May on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other widely-read articles included studies on melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation and cyclosporine as treatment options for vitiligo:

Survey finds less than half of women assist husbands with skin cancer self-exams

Less than half of surveyed married women helped their husbands with skin cancer detection, according to results released by the American Academy of Dermatology.

The survey by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) of 1,250 married women aged 40 to 64 years found that 44% reported helping their husband conduct skin self-examinations for signs of skin cancer at least once a year, according to a news release from AAD. Read more

Melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation offers long-term repigmentation for vitiligo, leukodermas

Patients with vitiligo and other leukodermas experienced long-term repigmentation up to 72 months after treatment with a melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation procedure, according to recently published study results in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Iltefat H. Hamzavi

Iltefat H. Hamzavi, MD, of the dermatology department at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of electronic records of 100 patients with vitiligo or other leukodermas who underwent melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation procedure (MKTP) between January 2009 and April 2014. Read more

Cyclosporine shows efficacy as post-transplant treatment for vitiligo

A postoperative drug regimen including cyclosporine after autologous noncultured melanocyte-keratinocyte cell transplant resulted in rapid and uniform repigmentation without any perilesional halo in patients with localized, stable vitiligo, according to study results published in Dermatologic Surgery.

Researchers studied 50 patients (mean age, 29.92 years; 32 females) who underwent autologous noncultured melanocyte-keratinocyte cell transplant for stable or resistant vitiligo at two dermatology centers in India. Read more

Efficacy, safety equal for propranolol, steroid in infantile hemangioma

There were no significant differences in efficacy and safety between propranolol and steroid in treating infantile hemangioma, according to study results recently published in JAMA Dermatology.

The researchers conducted a clinical noninferiority study of 34 infants (19 girls; mean age, 3.3 months) who were diagnosed with infantile hemangioma between June 2013 and October 2014 at Seoul National University Hospital. Read more

Xeljanz treatment of alopecia areata shows varied efficacy

Xeljanz was a successful treatment for patients with alopecia areata; however, the efficacy varied widely, according to study results recently published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers conducted a retrospective medical review between May 1 and June 1, 2016, using Cleveland Clinic medical records to identify 13 patients with alopecia areata who were being treated with Xeljanz (tofacitinib, Pfizer). Read more