Ziprasidone in the treatment of delusional parasitosis.

Delusional parasitosis is characterized by a patient's fixed false belief of being infested with parasites or small creatures. The first-line treatment options are typical antipsychotics such as pimozide. However, the accompanying extrapyramidal side effects might limit their use. We report on a patient with a good response to pimozide combined with ziprasidone. Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic drug with a lower risk of extrapyramidal symptoms; thus, it might be considered a good first or second treatment option for delusional parasitosis.

Strict Anatomical Colocalization of Vitiligo and Elastolytic Granulomas.

Vitiligo is the most common depigmenting disorder, with a worldwide occurrence of 0.1-2% in the general population. Multiple conditions have been described colocalized in vitiligo patches, like psoriasis or lichen planus. However, actinic granuloma has not been described in association with vitiligo lesions so far.

Conjunctival Melanoma: A New Clinical and Therapeutical Approach.

Melanoma involving the conjunctiva is extremely rare. Graver prognosis has been reported with primary conjunctival melanoma than with their cutaneous counterparts [Collin et al.: Aust N Z J Ophthalmol 1986;14:29-34]. Among conjunctival melanomas, two significant risk factors for tumour-related death have been identified: (i) age older than 55 years and (ii) unfavourable tumour location (caruncle, cornea, fornix, palpebral conjunctiva) [Werschnik and Lommatzsch: Am J Clin Oncol 2002;25:248-255]. Here we present a rare case of lentigo maligna involving the palpebral, bulbar conjunctiva and the caruncle. We describe dermoscopic patterns observed and the use of a novel ocular melanoma therapy with topical imiquimod.

Aplicación de la estrategia secuencial de la OCDE para evaluar la irritación y corrosión dérmica por un producto fitosanitario / Application of the OCDE sequential strategy for the evaluation of dermal irritation and corrosion

Con la intención de reemplazar los ensayos en animales y mejorar las propiedades predictivas, la Guía TG404 de la OCDE sobre irritación/corrosión dérmica aguda ha desarrollado una nueva estrategia secuencial que promueve el uso de métodos alternativos tales como los test en sistemas in vitro. Se ha aplicado el procedimiento de esta estrategia para evaluar la irritación y corrosión dérmica por un nuevo fertilizante con fines de registro, con el objetivo de comprobar sus ventajas en un estudio normalizado. Para evaluar la corrosión dérmica se ha utilizado el sistema in vitro validado EpiDerm™, epidermis reconstituída formada por queratinocitos humanos. Puesto que por el momento no existe un modelo in vitro validado para irritación dérmica, ésta fue evaluada en el sistema EpiDerm™ y mediante un método in vivo. En ambos ensayos in vitro se midió también la liberación de IL1α. El producto fue clasificado como no corrosivo y no irritante. Los resultados del estudio demuestran las ventajas de la estrategia secuencial propuesta por la OCDE en la evaluación de la corrosión e irritación por las siguientes razones: a) se adquiere un conocimiento previo sobre las propiedades físicoquímicas de los compuestos químicos con el fin de evitar la exposición innecesaria de los animales a sustancias corrosivas b) los métodos in vitro de corrosión dérmica pueden sustituir los animales de experimentación c) las modificaciones propuestas para el test in vivo reducen el sufrimiento de los animales y suponen un importante ahorro económico y de tiempo. No obstante, se requiere con urgencia disponer de métodos alternativos in vitro para evaluar la irritación cutánea

In order to replace the assays carried out on animals and improve the predictive properties, the Guideline TG404 of the OCDE on acute dermal corrosion/irritation has developed a new sequential strategy that promotes the use of alternative methods such as the tests in in vitro systems. The procedure of this strategy has been applied in order to evaluate the irritation and dermal corrosion produced by a new fertilizer with the objective of obtaining a patent and in order to determine the advantages of using said fertilizer in a normalized study. In order to evaluate the dermal corrosion, the validated in vitro system EpiDermTM, a reconstituted epidermis formed by human keratinocytes, has been used. Since, at this moment, no in vitro model which is validated for dermal irritation exists, this method was evaluated in the EpiDermTM system and by means of and in vivo method. In both in vivo assays, the release of IL1α was measured also. The product was classified as noncorrosive and nonirritant. The results of the study showed the advantages of the sequential strategy proposed by the OCDE in the evaluation of the corrosion and irritation due to the following reasons: a) prior knowledge is acquired regarding the physicochemical properties of the chemical compounds for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary exposure of corrosive substances to the animals; b) the in vitro methods of dermal corrosion can substitute the experimentation animals and c) the modifications proposed for the in vivo test reduce animal suffering and represent important time and economical savings. However, there is an urgent need for available alternative in vitro methods for the evaluation of cutaneous irritation