BACKGROUNDAcne vulgaris affects about 45 million people in the United States, and 85% of those aged 12 to 24 years.1-3 Acne vulgaris causes significant physical and psychological morbidity.1-3 Topical antibiotics,…

INTRODUCTIONAcne vulgaris is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit that affects approximately 50 million individuals each year in the United States. The pathophysiology of acne is associated with…

INTRODUCTION Propionibacterium acnes is the most common anaerobic, grampositive organism recovered from normal skin, particularly in areas rich in sebaceous glands.1 It preferentially resides within sebaceous follicles as a symbiotic…

INTRODUCTION There has been increasing interest in studying gender differences in skin disease to learn more about pathogenesis and to discover more effective treatments.1 The mechanisms underlying any gender differences…

INTRODUCTIONAged skin is characterized by the appearance of wrinkles, pigmentation irregularities, and loss of firmness due to diminished functionality of skin cells from both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, of which…

INTRODUCTIONPlaque psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin affecting approximately 2% of the US population.1 The physical signs of plaque psoriasis (erythema, scaling, dryness, pigmentary changes, and plaque…

INTRODUCTIONThe aerobic, gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important cause of both communityacquired and hospital-acquired infections.1-3 Community-acquired infections include, but are not limited to, ulcerative keratitis (usually associated with contact…

INTRODUCTIONThe amount and type of melanin pigments, which are polymers produced inside the melanosomes, determine skin color.1,2 While there is tremendous diversity worldwide in the color of human skin, uniform…

INTRODUCTIONActinic keratoses (AKs) are common dysplastic epidermal lesions that occur in fair-skinned individuals who have been chronically exposed to sunlight. Actinic keratosis lesions are usually found on sun-exposed areas such…

INTRODUCTION Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated disease characterized by red papules and plaques with a silver scale, and it affects 0.6% to 4.8% of the world population and approximately 2.2%…

INTRODUCTIONDrug eruptions are responsible for significant numbers of visits to the dermatologist each year. Typically, the eruptions begin approximately 10 to 14 days after the initial exposure to the drug.…

INTRODUCTIONImmunomodulatory therapies for psoriasis may predispose patients to an increased risk of new infections or reactivation of latent infections, such as tuberculosis,1,2 herpes zoster,3,4 and viral hepatitis.5,6 Because patients with…