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When faced with a potentially serious nail abnormality, some providers who take a wait-and-see approach may delay diagnosis and treatment because they aren't comfortable performing nail surgery, according to Nathaniel J. Jellinek, M.D., clinical assistant professor, department of dermatology, Brown Medical School, Providence, R.I., and adjunct clinical assistant professor, division of dermatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Mass.

On Call wondered whether dermatologists are seeing many complications from tattoos, or whether tattoo parlors are taking safety precautions to protect their clients. On Call also asked dermatologists whether they encounter "tattoo regret," and how they advise patients who want to have tattoos removed.

Allergan's recently announced $600 million settlement to resolve federal charges that it marketed Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) for unapproved uses could hinder innovation and hamper patient care, some dermatologists worry. But in the long term, sources agree that the settlement will have little impact on the fortunes of the drug or its maker.

Although not as common as basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) can metastasize and exhibit more aggressive growth patterns than BCC. As a result, many experts have called for an improved staging system for cSCC to determine prognosis of tumors.

The U.S. injectable market has added lidocaine-containing versions of popular hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers, and additional fillers are expected, an expert says. Juv?derm XC (HA, lidocaine; Allergan) was available in Europe for about a year before earning Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance in February 2010. Restylane-L and Perlane-L (HA, lidocaine; Medicis) also won FDA approval in February 2010.

Growth factors that are developed via human fibroblast stem cells hold the promise of skin rejuvenation without presenting risks of toxicity or infection, according to an assistant professor of clinical medicine and dermatology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.

Changes in tax laws can catch successful people off guard. With most physicians so busy worrying about potential reimbursement reductions, they don't have the time to address the important challenge of establishing a tax-wise estate plan for their families.

There is a battle brewing in Washington by men and women who wear white coats to work. It's a battle over the manner in which non-physicians, such as nurses and nurse practitioners, can market or promote their level of service and expertise, and it has resulted in legislation being introduced in the U. S. House of Representatives.

Nano-engineering represents a promising approach for vaccine delivery, an expert says. Immunonano-engineering capitalizes on the properties of matter on the nanoscale to design products that deliver drugs or prevent bacteria growth, or to generate new classes of drugs, says Adnan Nasir, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Pediatric onychomycosis is relatively uncommon, with an overall prevalence among all patients with onychomycosis of about 2.5 percent. The condition occurs more often in adolescents than in young children, says Amy Paller, M.D., Walter J. Hamlin Professor, chairwoman of dermatology, professor of pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

The adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) among dermatologists is hitting a stumbling block - namely, the onerousness of final "meaningful use" rules recently released by the federal government. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently released guidelines for earning government incentives for implementing the paperless systems.

Money and our ability to manage it determines how well we live, how well we are able to care for our families, how well we sleep at night, and, yes, how well we will enjoy our golden years. So why, after dealing with the stuff every day of our lives since early childhood, are so many of us klutzes in the way we handle it?

Recent published findings of a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) for alopecia areata (AA) have pinpointed at least eight genes linked to the disease.

A longitudinal pigmented band in the nail, also call longitudinal melanonychia (LM), is often a diagnostic dilemma for dermatologists. The potential causes of LM are many, but its potential signal for melanoma warrants efforts to seek a precise diagnosis.

A single, one hour-long application of a high-dose capsaicin patch recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not only proves to significantly reduce pain in patients suffering from postherpetic neuralgia, but also maintains its analgesic effect for up to three months.

The pain patients perceive during and after dermatologic or cosmetic procedures can sometimes be difficult to manage. Hypnosis is one technique that can significantly calm patients before and during surgery, as well as substantially reduce - and possibly even eliminate - perioperative pain.

If you depend on some of your investment portfolio to produce income, you’re suffering from a bad case of sticker shock. Let’s see what an investor with the tidy sum of $100,000 to invest might get for his money at today’s anemic interest rates.

Vignettes contributed by more than 160 Women’s Dermatologic Society (WDS) members for the society’s new coffee table book, Petals & Pearls, reveal words of wisdom, acts of courage, fun facts and much more.

Results of a recent Dutch study suggest that cryotherapy outperforms topical salicylic acid in treating common warts, MedPageToday reports.

The Food and Drug Administration has cleared Zeltiq Aesthetics’ CoolSculpting, a cryosurgical device, for the noninvasive spot reduction of fat in diet-resistant areas such as “love handles,” Medscape reports.

The market for cosmetic surgery, facial aesthetics and lasers is expected to almost double in size and to exceed $3 billion over the next seven years, according to iData Research, a pharmaceutical market research firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, PRNewswire reports.

The nation’s first face transplant patient has asked Ohioans to register as organ donors, the Associated Press reports.

Minneapolis - Results of a small study show that bone-marrow transplantation may help fight the rare, genetic skin disease recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. But, due to risk factors, the treatment is probably appropriate only for the most severe cases, MedPage Today reports.

Philadelphia - A new study suggests that psoriasis sufferers have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, MedPage Today reports.

Rotterdam, Netherlands - A Dutch population-based study suggests that redheads run the highest risk for developing multiple basal cell carcinomas (BCCs), MedPage Today reports.

Miami - A new study suggests that “engineered skin” &emdash; or bilayered living-cell therapy (Apligraf, Organogenesis) - significantly improved healing of diabetic foot ulcers compared with other advanced biologic therapies, MedPage Today reports.

Ready To Socialize? : Electronic media offer new channels for savvy derms to connect with patients Thumbs Down : AAD halts proposal to adopt British guidelines for care of AKs Special Report : Pigmentary Disorders

Big on promises and a little short on delivery. That's the way Marta Rendon, M.D., would describe most of the skin-lightening therapies proffered as alternatives to hydroquinone. She says it's not that the herbal compounds currently being touted as safer alternatives to hydroquinone don't work at all, but, she says, they don't work nearly as well.

The science to prove claims that oral supplements help reduce the signs of skin aging is lacking. But one dermatologist says she believes that supplementing with specific vitamins, oils and other nutrients plays an important role in anti-aging treatments - especially when patients do not get enough of these nutrients in their diets.

To successfully treat lentigo maligna melanoma and its precursor, lentigo maligna, Mohs micrographic surgery using MART-1 immunostains is a technique touted by experts, according to David Brodland, M.D., who practices in Pittsburgh.