ABSTRACT
Background: Vitiligo is an acquired disease of skin that presents with depigmented patches due to lack of melanocytes in the epidermis. Accumulation of toxic free radicals like hydrogen peroxide in the epidermis may be responsible for melanocytes death. Since ethyl vanillate [vanillic acid ethyl ester] is a strong hydrogen peroxide scavenger, it may be effective against vitiligo. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of ethyl vanillate cream on vitiligo patients receiving phototherapy
Methods: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial using ethyl vanillate cream 20% was performed on 30 cases of generalized stable vitiligo [randomly selected] who were receiving phototherapy in the outpatient clinic of Faghihi Hospital [Shiraz, Iran]. The patients randomly applied ethyl vanillate on an assigned lesion [left or right side of the body] and placebo on the opposite side lesion [almost the same size and location] twice a day for 3 months, while receiving a narrow band ultraviolet B [NB-UVB] 2-3 times weekly. Photos were taken at the beginning of the trial and at the end of 4[th], 8[th], and 12[th] weeks. Then, images were compared with the photos from the beginning of the trial based on VASI score
Results: There was a significant change in pigmentation after applying ethyl vanillate compared with baseline in medication side [P=0.002], but no significant change in placebo side [P=0.066]. Additionally, there was a significant difference between medication and placebo sides in pigmentation [P=0.005]
Conclusion: Ethyl vanillate may serve as an adjunct therapy for the treatment of vitiligo, although changes in pigmentation are mild clinically
ABSTRACT
Wounds and wound healing have always been one of the most important subjects that experimental researches were dedicated to. Simvastatin has been used for long as a common lipid lowering agent which was reported to have some pleiotropic effects such as antioxidation, anti-inflammation and immunomodulation. In this study we aimed to determine the effect of simvastatin on wound healing process in laboratory rats by means of stereological and histopathological analyses. 36 male Sprague-Dawley rats [220 +/- 20 g] with a 1 cm[2] circular full-thickness wound on their back were divided into three groups: SS group that received a gel with 2% concentration of simvastatin; UW group that received no treatment but daily irrigation with normal saline; Base group that was treated with the gel base. Duration of the study was 12 days and at the end, wound closure rate, grade of inflammation, granulation-tissue formation, ulceration, epithelization, fibroblast proliferation, collagen-bundles synthesis, and vascularization were determined. Outcome of this study revealed that Simvastatin improves the wound healing by its anti-inflammatory and epithelization induction effect as well as statistically significant induction of fibroblast proliferation and collagen bundle synthesis which were reported by our stereological and histopathological investigations. Results of the present study demonstrated that topical Simvastatin enhances the wound healing process through affecting different aspects of tissue regeneration; however, further researches are needed to find the exact mechanism, advantages and disadvantages of this chemical agent
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the effects of topical administration of 20% oltipraz solution on histomorphometrical and stereological aspects of skin tissue in full thickness skin wounds in laboratory rats
Methods: Thirty-six male Wistar portion rats [220 +/- 20 g] were randomly divided into three groups [n=12]. On the first day of experimentation, a 1-cm2 circular wound was made on the posterior surface of neck in all rats by removing a full thickness skin piece immediately after induction of anesthesia with ether inhalation. One group was treated with vehicle solution [DMSO alone]. The second group was treated daily with 20% oltipraz solution, and the third group, the control group, received no treatment. The wound closure rate was estimated our previously described method. The volume density of collagen bundles, vessels, and hair follicles, the vessels' length density, mean diameter of vessels and also fibroblast population were estimated by using stereological methods
Results: The oltipraz group indicated a significantly higher improvement [6.26% of the wound surface per day] than control and the vehicle treated groups [p=0.032]; furthermore, there was inconsiderable difference between the rate of wound closure in the group treated with vehicle [4.93% per day] and the control group [4.43% per day]
Conclusion: Oltipraz has positive influence on fibroblast proliferation and re-epithelization. A noticeable observation in our study was absence of scar formation in wounds which were treated by oltipraz and can be mentioned as an advantage of this drug
ABSTRACT
Estrogens foster immunological processes driven by CD4+ Th2 cells and B cells and androgens foster Th1 CD4+ and CD8+ cell activity. Higher levels of IFNgamma and IL-2 and lower levels of IL-4 and IL-10 are detected in the phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocyte culture supernatants of men compared with women. It is documented that the physiologic levels of estrogens produced during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle shift the female immune system toward a Th2-type response and that the Th1 cytokines are increased in postmenopausal women. However, the Th1 immune response is also surprisingly stronger in women, hence affording them a better protection against infections. Nickel sensitivity, a Th1 immune reaction, seems to be more common in women even if men wear earrings. Further, not only the Th2 but also the Th1 autoimmune diseases are generally more common in women than men. How do women advance a stronger Th1 response than men? It is suggested that in contrast to the paradigm that estrogens lead to a Th2 bias, estrogens can enhance Th1 cytokine production also. However, the discrepant effects of estrogens are difficult to be reconciled from a molecular viewpoint and hence are not advocated by all authors. This paper provides an explanation: The effects of dehydroepiandrosterone on Th1/Th2 balance seem to be model-specific; in humans dehydroepiandrosterone, represents a pivotal up-regulator of Th1 immune response. Steroid sulphatase is a microsomal enzyme that cleaves the sulphate group of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate. This enzyme is controlled by an X-linked gene that escapes the Lyon effect of X-inactivation; as a result, women usually have about twice steroid sulphatase in their cells, including macrophages, as have men. Putting all these facts together, it could be concluded that women's macrophages, which contain higher steroid sulphatase levels and enter peripheral lymphoid organs through afferent lymphatic drainage, produce higher levels of dehydroepiandrosterone in these organs; and higher levels of this hormone produce stronger Th1 immune responses