Dermato-endocrinology

[This retracts the article Dermatoendocrinol. 2014 Oct 31;8(1):e983685.]

The current study examined the effect of single nucleotide (SNPs) polymorphisms in the ADIPOQ gene (I146T and G276T) on body mass index (BMI) of young adult women. The women were divided into underweight, normal, overweight and obese according to BMI. The circulating levels of adiponectin were measured using commercially available ELISA kits. Genetic polymorphisms were genotyped using the PCR-RFLP method. G276T and I164T SNPs are common in the examined population as the frequency of G allele of 276 SNP was 54...

Any clinical/biochemical marker revealing obesity or diabetes before their appearance is valuable. Insulin resistance (IR) is present in both disorders many years before occurrence. Accordingly, we determined whether acanthosis nigricans (AN) in the knuckles is associated to higher insulin and homeostasis model assessment for estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index values, and assessed the influence of body-mass index (BMI) and the diagnostic performance of AN in the knuckles to detect IR. In this cross-sectional controlled study, we included men or women, 18 to 23 years old, with or without AN in the knuckles...

Background : The relationship between cutaneous and extracutaneous complications in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes is unclear. Objective : The objective of the current study is to investigate the relationship between skin disorders and diabetic microangiopathic changes in pediatric and adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes. Patients and methods : Eighty patients with type 1 diabetes and 50 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All recruited patients were followed up monthly for a total period of 12 month...

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that arises because of complex environmental, immunological, and genetic interactions. Adipokines are bioactive mediators secreted from adipocytes of white adipose tissue and are known to have a role in body metabolism and regulation of immune responses. Leptin is a proinflammatory adipokine that functions mainly to regulate food intake and energy expenditure. Few studies have implicated adipokines in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. In this study, we investigated the association of three leptin gene polymorphisms: -2548G>A (rs7799039), -188 C/A (rs791620), and A19G (rs2167270), with the incidence of atopic dermatitis...

Background : Acne vulgaris is an inflammatory skin disorder with not as yet fully understood pathogenesis. In this controlled study, we assessed acne vulgaris patients for several possible pathogenic factors such as vitamin D deficiency, vegan diet, increased body mass index (BMI) and positive anti-transglutaminase antibody. Methods : We screened 10 years of records at a family medicine clinic for patients diagnosed with acne vulgaris. In eligible subjects, we collected data regarding 25-hydroxylvitamin D levels, BMI, dietary preference and serum IgA tissue transglutaminase levels...

The pathogenetic role of vitamin D as well as its clinical correlation in inflammatory skin diseases is still uncertain. This study aimed to compare serum levels of 25(OH) vitamin D (calcidiol) in outpatients suffering from different skin diseases using the same laboratory method in one study. In routine serum samples of 1,532 patients from the previous 12 months we identified retrospectively 180 (mean age 49.4 years, 80 female, 100 male) and 205 (mean age 36.3 years, 116 female, 89 male) patients with psoriasis (PSO) and atopic dermatitis (AD), respectively...

Most keloids are clinically observed as solid nodules or claw-like extensions. However, they appear hypoechoic on ultrasound images and are therefore easily confused with liquid features such as blood or vessels. The pathological manifestations of typical keloids also include prominent, thick blood vessels. The existing classification of scars fails to reflect the natural history of keloids. The outer characteristics of a typical keloid include bright red hyperplasia with abundant vessels, suggesting the importance of vascular components in the process of scar formation and prompting consideration of the role of inflammation in the development of granular hyperplasia...

Despite abundant sunshine throughout the year, vitamin D deficiency is endemic in the UAE. Solar radiation within the UVB range of the spectrum is required for the photosynthesis of previtamin D3 in the skin. Atmospheric transmission of UVB is strongly influenced by atmospheric conditions and solar zenith angle. We investigated the effects of diurnal and seasonal variation on the availability of sufficient UVB radiation for adequate previtamin D3 synthesis using an established in vitro model. Borosilicate ampoules of 7-dehydrocholesterol, the precursor of previtamin D3, in ethanol (50 µg/mL) were exposed to direct sunlight in an urban area of Abu Dhabi, at one hourly intervals between 0800 and 1700, on one day of each month over a period of one year...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Objective : To increase the level of awareness that Ehlers-Danlos/hypermobility syndrome (EDS) and vitamin D deficiency are associated with infantile fragility fractures and radiologic features that may be mistakenly reported to be caused by non-accidental trauma due to Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN). Patients and Methods : We constructed a case series, the largest to date, of infants with EDS who were vitamin D sufficient, insufficient and deficient and infants without EDS but with documented vitamin D deficiency and radiologic evidence of rickets who presented with multiple fractures originally diagnosed as being non-accidental and caused by child abuse...

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the pilosebaceous unit. Recent studies have shown an increasing number of cases of acne in adult women. These cases are predominantly normoandrogenic and present some clinical differences compared to adolescent acne. Local glandular metabolism turns some weak hormonal precursors into more active substances that increase the production of sebum, leaving these areas more prone to an increasing the colonization by Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes). Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of an androgenic metabolite as an adult female acne biomarker...

Objective: This study was to verify if the skin cleanser could help decrease the infection ratio of Demodex Folliculorum in acne patients. Methods: 132 participants with mild to moderate vulgaris acne participated in this monocentric, prospective, double-blind study. Dermatologists grading and Standardized Skin Surface Biopsy were performed in baseline and after using cleanser only 7 d later. Results: There was no significant difference between the 2 times for each type of acne, but the number of Demodex Folliculorum was significantly decreased compared with baseline...

The major effects of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signalling pathway on keratinocytes are cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and wound healing. In addition to these effects, an immunosuppressive effect of EGFR signalling has been reported. However, the precise mechanism of immunosuppression by EGFR signalling is not well understood. In this study, we clarified the involvement of increased local cortisol activation in EGFR signalling-induced immunosuppression in keratinocytes. EGF treatment up-regulated the expression of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) and supernatant cortisol levels in a dose-dependent manner in keratinocytes...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

There is a rise in number of people diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus. The incidence is rising in modern Indian society because of Industrial development and drastically changing lifestyles. Diabetic neuropathies are microvascular disorders that are usually associated with the duration of Diabetes. Among the various forms, the most common is Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy. The disease if neglected leads to chronic ulcer formation leading to amputations frequently. Hence the aim of this study is to document the early cutaneous changes and create an early awareness in the importance of controlling Diabetes...

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a weak androgen and had been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-adipogenic and anti-inflammatory effects on mouse and other rodent models, but not on humans, suggesting a systemic level difference between mouse and human. Our previous study on DHEA biological functions involving a variety of cell lines, suggested that the functional differences between mouse and human existed even at the cellular level. Hence, using mouse and human melanoma cell models, in-vitro effects of DHEA on cell growth, mechanism of cell death and mechanism of DHEA action were studied...

Recent studies indicate an important role for vitamin D3 in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), although its mechanism is not completely understood. The most puzzling aspect of ASD is that identical twins, who share identical DNA, do not have 100% concordance rates (∼88% for identical and ∼31% for fraternal twins). These findings provide major clues into the etiology: ASD must involve an environmental factor present in the prenatal milieu that both identical twins are not always exposed to because they do not always share it (i...

The major role of sebaceous glands in mammals is to produce sebum, which coats the epidermis and the hair providing waterproofing, thermoregulation and photoprotection. However, as the need for these functions decreased along the evolutionary changes in humans, a relevant question has been raised: are sebaceous glands and sebum the remnants of our mammalian heritage or do they have overtaken a far more complex role in human skin biology? Trying to provide answers to this question, this review introduces the evolving field of sebaceous immunobiology and puts into the focus the pathways that sebum lipids use to influence the immune milieu of the skin...

Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin in response to UVB irradiation, from either sun exposure or UVB sunbeds. The objective of the current study was to characterize serum 25(OH)D response to regular sunbed use from several lamp outputs following their respective time exposure recommendations. There were three groups that tanned over 12 weeks during the winter months in dedicated sunbeds based on lamp outputs (100 W and 160 W low pressure fluorescent and 700 W high pressure filtered metal halide lamps) and a control group provided serum 25(OH)D samples at baseline and end-of-study...