Key features ▪ Globally, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly utilized by patients with skin disease ▪ CAM encompasses a diverse group of therapies and systems, many without strong evidence of efficacy ▪ Among dermatology patients, the most popular…
Key features ▪ Modern sunscreens were first developed during the 1940s with the primary aim of preventing sunburn. Today, sunscreens are also used to prevent other aspects of photodamage, including carcinogenesis and photoaging ▪ The active ingredients in sunscreens include:…
Introduction There are two concerns in drug safety: drug reactions and drug interactions. When multiple medications are prescribed, drug interactions become an important safety and efficacy consideration for patients and physicians alike . Non-prescription drugs, as well as herbal or…
Introduction This chapter is designed to be a broad overview of selected systemic therapies for dermatologic diseases. It provides an historical perspective for each drug, a discussion of its mechanism of action and side effects, and touches briefly on indications…
Key features ▪ Absorption of topical medications depends upon several factors, including cutaneous barrier function, the anatomic site, the active agent, and characteristics of the vehicle ▪ In neonates, there is a greater risk of systemic toxicity with use of…
Interferons Key features ■ Human cells produce three antigenically distinct forms of interferon (IFN), originally described as leukocyte (α), fibroblast (β), and immune (γ) ■ Recombinant DNA technology can produce large quantities of highly purified human IFN ■ IFNs have…
Key features ▪ Bacterial, fungal, and viral infections of the skin and soft tissue are very common ▪ Selection of the appropriate treatment depends on the infecting microorganism, the site and extent of the infection, and patient characteristics (e.g. age,…
Key features ▪ Retinoids are structural and functional analogues of vitamin A that exert multiple effects on cellular differentiation and proliferation, the immune system, and embryonic development ▪ Retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs) are ligand-dependent transcription…
Key features ▪ Glucocorticoids continue to be among the most commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory agents in dermatology and all of medicine, with a large number of disorders responding to these drugs ▪ Proper use of systemic glucocorticoids requires a working knowledge…
Skin Barrier Matthias Schmuth Peter M. Elias Thomas J. Franz Jui-Chen Tsai Gopinathan K. Menon Kenneth R. Feingold Chapter Contents Stratum corneum structure and organization 2176 Epidermal metabolism and the skin barrier 2176 Impaired skin barrier and cutaneous inflammation 2179 The skin provides the largest interface…