INTRODUCTION Higher animals have a limited array of germline encoded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize highly conserved microbial structures known as pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Engagement of PRRs…

INTRODUCTION Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing, inflammatory skin disease arising from a complex interplay among genetic, environmental, immunological, and biochemical factors. AD affects 1-3 percent of the adult…

INTRODUCTION Age-associated facial changes are a result of thinning of the epidermis, atrophy of subcutaneous fat layers, structural changes of the bones, loss of elasticity and weakening of underlying muscles.1…

A Biopsy Diagnosis? Clinical Clues and Patterns to Help Distinguish Cutaneous Metastases: Part I of IIIntroduction Metastasis is an unfortunate consequence of many visceral and hematogenous malignancies. Although metastatic lesions…

FDA Approves Rituxan and Steroid for Severe Vasculitis Genentech and Biogen Idec have announced that the FDA approved Rituxan (rituximab), in combination with corticosteroids, as a new medicine for adults…

ACNEStudy of a New Drug Treatment for Acne Sponsored by Johnson & Johson. The purpose of this multicenter, double-blind, vehicle controlled, phase 2 study is to determine if three different…

INTRODUCTION Isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid) is a synthetic vitamin A derivative which is commonly prescribed in dermatologic diseases, especially in patients with severe acne. Although the exact mechanism of action of…

The University of Massachusetts Medical School Dermatology Residency Program celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2011. The program is based in Worcester, Massachusetts, the second-largest city in New England, in an…

INTRODUCTION Senile or actinic purpura was originally described by Bateman in 1817.1 In his original treatise, the morphology of purpura was described as dark purple blotches of an irregular form…

INTRODUCTION The successful treatment of bacterial infections improved significantly after sulfonamides were discovered to possess antibacterial properties in the late 1930s and especially when penicillin became available in the mid-1940s.…

INTRODUCTION Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing, inflammatory and pruritic skin disease. In industrialized countries, the prevalence of AD is 10−20 percent in children and 1−3 percent in adults.1…