News

Chances are that you remember the paperwork shock that resulted when you hired your first employee.

As more consumers hop onto the World Wide Web to search for information about healthcare, it's simply a must for dermatology practices to have Web sites.

Statistics say it's likely that romance will bloom among your staff members sooner or later. So be ready to take action should Cupid pay a visit to your practice.

National report - A Contour Threads (Surgical Specialties) lift offers a simple, safe, effective and cheaper alternative in face lifting procedures with minimal downtime, as compared with the traditional facelift, one expert tells Dermatology Times.

While many BDD screening tools exist, sources advise selecting an approach that best fits one's practice and personality. The following list summarizes a few:

National report - Contrary to popular belief, all lip augmentation procedures are not created equal.

Q How do the "no nick" razors work?

Ablative laser resurfacing with pulsed carbon dioxide and erbium YAG lasers, when introduced, was considered radical for its day.

GIF typically manifests during the first six to 10 weeks of treatment, and affects existing plaques with or without the presence of new lesions.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Fundamental concepts on the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris have not changed significantly over the past 25 years.

Philadelphia, Pa. - Oral antibiotic treatment for acne is generally very safe, but clinicians need to counsel patients about potentially serious adverse events and prescribe these agents judiciously in order to limit problems with bacterial resistance, says Guy F. Webster, M.D., Ph.D., clinical professor of dermatology, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, here.

Philadelphia - In patients with chronic urticaria who do not respond to standard antihistamine treatment, the older drugs sulfasalazine and dapsone represent promising new treatment alternatives, Lisa A. Beck, M.D. said here at the 2006 meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI).

Washington - Results of a phase 3a laboratory study suggest that a novel topical nitroglycerin (NTG) gel (Vascana, MediQuest Therapeutics) has exciting potential as a safe and effective treatment alternative for patients with Raynaud's phenomenon, said Laura K. Hummers, M.D., at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology here.

New York - Luxury-price wrinkle creams don't work any better than drugstore brands, according to a study by Consumer Reports magazine.

New York - Cholesterol-lowering statins and fibrates apparently aren't linked to a reduced risk of melanoma, researchers report.

Cardiff, Wales - Patients in the specialist skin condition ward at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, left their sick beds to protest the planned closure of the ward.

Iowa City, Iowa - The National Genecular Institute (NGI) has announced it is creating the largest known global tissue and genetic storage facility here.

Vancouver, British Columbia - Stem cell transplants for a primary malignancy increase the 10-year risk of developing a second solid tumor, including skin cancers, researchers report.

Rockville, Md. - Patients with moderate to end-stage kidney disease who undergo an MRI or MRA with a gadolinium-based contrast agent may develop nephrogenic systemic fibrosis or nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NSF/NFD), a new disease that may cause death, the Food and Drug Administration warns.

Dallas - Low-dose Propecia (finasteride, Merck), used to treat hair loss, appears to suppress prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, which could skew results of prostate cancer tests, researchers say.

Palm Beach, Fla. - Steven P. Rosenberg, M.D., of Palm Beach, Fla., has been appointed to a four-year term on the Florida Board of Medicine by Gov. Jeb Bush.

San Francisco - Cancer researcher James Cleaver, Ph.D., was honored by the American Skin Association for his work on the role of DNA repair in cancer prevention.

Rockville, Md. - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned five firms to stop compounding and distributing standardized versions of topical anesthetic creams marketed for general distribution.

National report - Chances are good that patients in dermatologists' offices have done research on what they have - or think they have - or what they need to have done or think they need to have done.

Brussels, Belgium - A year after receiving a partial face transplant, Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire has recovered to an "incredible" degree, one of her surgeons tells Dermatology Times. However, he says long-term risks - including graft rejection and the possible development of cancer as a result of her heavy immunosuppressive drug regimen - persist.

The vaccine completely protected against two strains and offered 60 percent to 90 percent survival against the other three strains.

Clearly, health issues will be high on the agenda of the new leadership in Congress. How it shakes out for dermatologists remains to be seen.

The challenge is to select the information and technology that is promising and practical.

I am a member of a charitable foundation committee that funds research grants to investigators interested in dermatologic scientific questions.

National report - According to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, interleukin-12 (IL-12) produces a partial response rate of 43 percent in patients with previously treated mycosis fungoides.