Study provides first evidence-based colchicine dosing recommendations
Updated: 2011-09-02 04:00:00
Colchicine, a widely used drug for the prevention and treatment of gout flares, interacts dangerously
with many commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics, anti-hypertensive drugs, anti-fungals,
immunosuppresants and protease inhibitors, according to a study published in the August issue of Arthritis
& Rheumatism. However, most patients can take colchicines safely with these medications as long as the
dose is adjusted, the study indicated.
What chemical peels lack in hype, they more than make up for with versatility and value, says Gary D.
Monheit, M.D., associate clinical professor of dermatology and ophthalmology, University of Alabama,
Birmingham.
Approaches to treatment of primary Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) have varied widely, but results of a
published study (Schwartz JL, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2011;29(8):1036-1041) support nodal staging as an important
component in managing this cutaneous malignancy, according to investigators from the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor.
For an efficient, low-risk solution to lower eyelid laxity, cosmetic surgeons can consider
small-incision closed lateral canthoplasty, according to Robert Alan Goldberg, M.D., chief of orbital and
ophthalmic plastic surgery and co-director of the Aesthetic Reconstructive Surgery Service at the University of
California, Los Angeles' Jules Stein Eye Institute.
Although patterned pigmentation in children can include a variety of clinical findings involving
neurologic, musculoskeletal and cardiac abnormalities, most localized pigmentary disorders are not associated with
systemic manifestations, according to pediatric dermatologist James Treat, M.D., University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine, Philadelphia.
Protein glycation is an important event in skin aging, self-tanning creams and the toasting of bread.
While these activities may seem unrelated, all of them involve a chemical reaction known as protein
glycation.
When the United States reached a virtual gridlock in July over raising the country's debt ceiling,
most politicians agreed that the country needed to cut spending to bring the nation's budget back into line. With
the medical component of the proposed spending cuts, On Call wondered how dermatologists viewed the political
gymnastics occurring in Washington and how the impact on Medicare and Medicaid would affect their practices and
medicine in the future.
The simple dose conversions used for today's neurotoxins may not result in optimal cosmetic outcomes,
and this may be due to the unique nature of each individual toxin, according to a recent study.
Mr. Eye, who was hearing impaired, was to be scheduled for Mohs micrographic surgery. Unfortunately,
before his surgery he became ill and did not recover, nor did he return to Dr. Skin's office for six months.
Unfortunately, Dr. Skin's staff had forgotten about Mr. Eye's hearing impairment. They took his lack of response as
senility consistent with his age. Dr. Skin chose to use only palliative treatment while watching the carcinoma
invade Mr. Eye's orbit over the next year.
Aesthetic Exchange is a department in Cosmetic Surgery Times that offers cosmetic surgeons the
opportunity to provide input on various industry-related issues/trends. This month's question is: What
cosmeceuticals and/or key active ingredients best help patients to maintain a youthful appearance and reduce the
signs of aging?
Melasma can be both recurrent and persistent, so it is imperative that clinicians treat it sooner
rather than later, according to a dermatologist specializing in treating the condition.
Diane Berson, M.D., lives for life's interactions. "I just enjoy interactions on a daily
basis, whether that's with my patients, my family, my colleagues or my friends," she says.
Pleasing Aesthetic outcomes are equally important in both male and female patients undergoing cosmetic
facelift surgery. However, facelift procedures in males may be considered more challenging, as some surgical
endpoints can differ from those in their female counterparts. Understanding the nuances and particular surgical
goals of the male cosmetic patient is crucial in helping to achieve positive Aesthetic outcomes.
Regulators are beginning to address stem cell therapies, which show promise for skin rejuvenation as
well as many other clinical applications, as research into this burgeoning field continues to grow
worldwide.
A minimally invasive technique for inner thigh lifting incorporating a novel design for the
dermoadipose flap resection and using the adductor major tendon to anchor the inferior flap is safe, effective and
offers decreased morbidity with better and more durable cosmetic results compared to other thighplasty procedures,
according to its innovator, Guillermo Blugerman, M.D.
Medina, Ohio, dermatologist Helen M. Torok, M.D., says her busy practice could spend $3,000 to $5,000
every quarter on a printed and snail-mailed patient newsletter. Instead, creating a business page on Facebook
eliminated that expense and allows her to offer patients more timely information.
Although numerous hydroquinone-free compounds for skin lightening are available, their effectiveness
depends on the severity of the condition, according to Marta Rendon, M.D., who practices in Boca Raton,
Fla.
Many physicians don't understand the key characteristics that differentiate currently available
hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers, says Derek H. Jones, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology,
University of California, Los Angeles.
Dermatology practices are busy places where even a small delay in the morning can throw physicians off
schedule for the remainder of the day. The result isn't just more stress; it can include unhappy patients and
perhaps even staff overtime costs. None of those outcomes is good for you, your patients or your
staff.
There's more than one way to apply minimally invasive treatments to any given patient both safely and
successfully, say experts who discussed how they would approach several typical cases during Vegas Cosmetic Surgery
2011 in June. From neuromodulator dosing to filler choices, "There's room for a lot of individual
preference. That's the art of it — there is no right answer," says Corey Maas, M.D., a San
Francisco facial plastic surgeon.
There are innovations in nonsurgical modalities for the treatment of actinic keratoses (AKs) and
nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) and a basis for broadening the use of preventive strategies, says Leonard H.
Goldberg, M.D.
When analyzing suspicious lesions, any diagnostic tool is only as good as the physician using it.
Besides patients' suspicions, dermatologists can rely on objective diagnostic tools including dermoscopy and total
body photography.
While the implementation of health information technology (HIT) systems in medical practices has the
potential of improving healthcare efficiency and patient care, there are obstacles that medical practices must
overcome, and those problems are especially acute for small practices such as those operated by many
dermatologists.
With the mandatory integration of electronic medical records (EMR) into the physician's practice, it
would seem that future RAC or carrier audits will be seamlessly easy to navigate and win. As more and more
dermatologists start using this electronic documentation tool in their offices, however, I am being bombarded by
questions and concerns from the new users — both physicians who are clients and those who are
not.
Most of us have had experiences of being unjustly accused of poor medical care by a person whose
capabilities to make these sorts of judgments are suboptimal at best. What can be done to combat these annoying and
sometimes slanderous utterances placed online?
Treatment of pigmented lesions has evolved over the past five to 10 years, according to Eliot Battle
Jr., M.D., cosmetic dermatologist and chief executive officer, Cultura Dermatology & Laser Center,
Washington, and clinical instructor, department of dermatology, Howard University Hospital.
Supplementation with a combination of calcium and vitamin D may cut the chance of melanoma in half for
a group of high-risk women, researchers at Stanford University say.
One facial plastic surgeon has set out to categorize the facial rejuvenation system via a
condition-specific classification algorithm, which would enable physicians to communicate with one another when
discussing cases and the techniques they use in facelifting surgery.
The addition of afamelanotide, known by the trademark Scenesse (Clinuvel), may represent a major
advance in the treatment of vitiligo, a condition for which there is no therapy in the United States that has been
approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Recent advances have given rise to new blepharoplasty techniques, some of which can benefit patients
without the need for surgery. Filler and other rejuvenation options can achieve comparable cosmetic outcomes
without the risks inherent in more invasive procedures.
Archaeologists in Britain have found the first pre-Roman planned town which shows that Iron Age societes were much more sophisticated than previously thought. Prof Mike Fulford, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, said: “The people of Iron Age Silchester appear to have adopted an urbanised Roman way of living. “They did this all before [...]
The wall of a cairn, an ancient burial mound, from the Parthian Empire has been found in Northern Iran. A coin and a copper artifact of the medieval Islamic civilization were also found at the archaeological site in Nowshahr in Mazandaran province, the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization said. The Affelle archaeological site is about [...]
A unique Roman jar riddled with holes is stumping scientists who have never come across anything like it before. “Everyone’s stumped by it,” Katie Urban, one of the researchers at the London, Ontario, museum, told LiveScience. “We’ve been sending it around to all sorts of Roman pottery experts and other pottery experts, and no one [...]
An analysis of an Egyptian mummies hair shows that a fat-based product was used to hold their hair styles in place. McCreesh thinks that the fatty coating is a styling product that was used to set hair in place. It was found on both natural and artificial mummies, so she believes that it was a [...]
43 medieval tombs have been uncovered near the coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria. 43 tombs have been found in the area of the so-called Church 2 in Kaliakra. The most precious find there is a stamp with the portrait of the Virgin Mary, discovered on August 15th, the very same day when the [...]
A 3D scan of a 2,500-year-old Egyptian mummy shows that the was of high status because his organs were removed and replaced with rolls of linen. The images indicate that embalmers removed the man’s brain and major organs and replaced them with rolls of linen, a superior embalming method used only for those of high [...]
A new study suggests that the Black Death of 1348-49 was spread through person-to-person contact, not by rats. “The evidence just isn’t there to support it,” said Barney Sloane, author of The Black Death in London. “We ought to be finding great heaps of dead rats in all the waterfront sites but they just aren’t [...]
Researchers have found a 3,500-year-old substance in an ancient Egyptian flask to be a carcinogen. It is believed it may have been used as a skin lotion to help tackle eczema. The contents included palm and nutmeg oil, along with fatty acids of the kind that can relieve such disorders. There are known to have been cases [...]
New evidence found at a fort in England points to a more advanced Roman textile industry than previously thought. These fabric scraps, it turns out, provide evidence that Rome developed an unparalleled textile industry. Romans established factories throughout their empire, having learned effective loom building from the Egyptians. Dyes allowed the creation of riotous color [...]