Dynamic Evaluation of Skin Displacement by the Frontalis Muscle Contraction Using Three-Dimensional Skin Displacement Vector Analysis

Purpose@#Understanding the muscle actions and resultant skin movement can enable more safe and effective botulinum toxin injection for the treatment of forehead wrinkles. We aimed to investigate skin displacement patterns of the forehead and adjacent skin due to frontalis muscle contraction using three-dimensional skin vector displacement analysis. @*Materials and Methods@#Thirty healthy individuals were enrolled. Photographs of the face were taken at rest and during maximal contraction of the frontalis muscle. Each expression image was aligned to its respective static image to compute the differences in the skin position. @*Results@#When frontalis muscle contracts, forehead skin displacement vectors were mostly vertical (63.4%), followed by lateral oblique (33.3%) and medial oblique (3.3%). In 53.3%, only the lower part of the forehead moved upward, while 40.0% showed bidirectional skin movement with transition line at a mean distance of 59.4 mm above the pupil. Moreover, 86.7% showed asymmetric skin displacement, and 83.3% showed both glabellar and eyebrow skin displacement. Frontalis muscle contraction also induced medial 2/3 (50.0%) or entire (33.3%) skin movement of the temple. @*Conclusion@#Botulinum toxin injection into the forehead can be individualized by considering the vector and asymmetry of skin displacement. Vertical or medial vector requires more centrally located injections, while laterial vector requires more laterally located injections. The presence and location of the vertical transition line are important for preventing ptosis when treating forehead lines with botulinum toxin. Glabellar movement during frontalis contraction suggests the need for a concomitant injection into the glabella to prevent glabella wrinkle accentuation.

Primary Localized Cutaneous Nodular Amyloidosis on Scalp Successfully Treated with Excision

Primary localized cutaneous nodular amyloidosis (PLCNA) is the rarest form of cutaneous amyloidosis, characterized by nodular deposits of light chain amyloids in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, without apparent systemic involvement. One or several nodules are preferably located on the extremities, trunk, or face. The most useful stain for detecting amyloid fibrils is Congo red, which, when combined with polarized light, makes amyloid proteins appear apple-green under a microscope. Immunohistochemical staining can help identify the exact type of amyloid proteins. Although the exact etiology of PLCNA is unclear, removal of nodules by shaving or surgical excision has shown good results. To the best of our knowledge, only seven cases of PLCNA have yet been reported in the Korean literature. In three of these cases, the patients had lesions on the scalp. Herein, we present a case of a 34-year-old male with PLCNA on the scalp with all the results of immunohistochemical evaluation.

Correlation between Lipids Measured in the Interstitial Fluid from Suction Blister and the Serum / 대한피부과학회지

Background@#Several biomarkers are measured in the interstitial fluid (IF) obtained from suction blisters that are used by dermatologists. As abnormal lipid levels can cause health problems, several studies have investigated the composition and distribution of lipids and lipoproteins in IF. However, to date, no study has focused on examining lipid profiles in the postprandial state. @*Objective@#This study aimed to compare postprandial changes in serum lipid profiles and IF obtained from suction blisters and investigated their correlation. @*Methods@#Fasting and postprandial levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides were measured in paired serum samples. IF was obtained from suction blisters from 20 healthy men using enzymatic-colorimetric methods. @*Results@#The IF/serum ratios of TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C remained unchanged postoperatively. Postprandial levels of HDL-C and LDL-C decreased in the serum but not in IF. In both fasting and postprandial states, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels in the serum were positively correlated with those in the IF. @*Conclusion@#The results of this study showed that lipoprotein cholesterol levels measured from suction blister fluids could be used as a biomarker to predict their serum levels regardless of food intake. Therefore, suction blister fluid sampling can be considered as a method to monitor serum lipid concentrations.

Methods and Effect of Management of Patients with Convergence Spasm and Aquired Pseudomyopia

PURPOSE: To evaluate changes in the degree of pseudomyopia and prognosis in patients with convergence spasm and acquired pseudomyopia. METHODS: The medical records of patients with convergence spasm and acquired pseudomyopia at the Korea University Medical Center from 2011 to 2014 were identified. We reviewed the patients' gender, age, onset time, visual acuity, refractive error, angle of strabismic deviation and the selected management (cycloplegics, patching, cycloplegics + patching, prism glasses). RESULTS: At the first medical examination, the mean age was 20.08 years. The mean spherical equivalent was -3.75 diopter (D) in the right eye and -4.03 D in the left eye based on manifest refraction and -2.59 D in right eye and -2.85 D in left eye using cycloplegic refraction. Eleven of 12 patients had esodeviation with a mean esodeviation of 10.42 D. The pupil size was 3.63 mm in the right eye and 3.63 mm in the left eye. No patient experienced severe miosis (pupil size <2 mm). Observation (5), patching (3), cycloplegics (2), patching + cycloplegics (1) and prism (1) management were performed in 12 patients. Outcomes included completely cured (3), improvement (7) and no change or recurrence (2). CONCLUSIONS: Active management is necessary for patients with convergence spasm and acquired pseudomyopia.