Efficacy of Finasteride for Treating Patients with Androgenetic Alopecia who are Pileous in other Areas: A Pilot Study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) involves androgen-dependent hair loss and finasteride is an established treatment for the disease. However, reports of the influence of finasteride on hair growth in other areas of the body are lacking. AIMS: To investigate the effects of finasteride on hair, including the head and other areas of the body. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on whether AGA patients felt they were pileous in areas other than the head, they were divided into Group A (pileous) or Group B (not pileous). Finasteride (1 mg/day) was prescribed for both groups for at least 6 months, after which patients were asked to estimate the medicine's effects and any changes of their hair growth. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A total of 18 out of 37 patients were placed in Group A and 19 of them were in Group B, suggesting that about half of AGA patients in Japan are pileous in other parts of the body. Oral finasteride was effective (excellent or good) in 22 out of 37 (59.5%) patients overall, in 16 out of 18 (88.9%) patients in Group A, and in 6 out of 19 (31.6%) patients in Group B. None of the patients reported that oral finasteride had any effect on their hair growth other than on their head. Finasteride is more effective for treating AGA patients who are pileous in other areas of the body.

A pilot study of medium-dose cyclosporine for the treatment of palmoplantar pustulosis complicated with pustulotic arthro-osteitis.

Pustulotic arthro-osteitis (PAO), which is one of the most intractable complications of palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP), is resistant to conventional therapies such as oral administration of NSAIDs. The main purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of cyclosporine for treating PPP with PAO. Seven patients affected by PPP with PAO were enrolled, and were treated with cyclosporine at medium doses ranging from 2 to 3 mg/kg/day. The severity of the skin lesions was scored by the modified PASI and pain scores at 0, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after the initiation of treatment, were assessed. QoL was assessed by SF-8TM at 0 and 8 weeks. The average dose of cyclosporine used was 2.48 mg/kg/day. Each pain score improved statistically significantly at the indicated times after the initiation of treatment (P < 0.05). The QoL score improved significantly with a good correlation with the relevant pain scores. The modified PASI scores also decreased gradually, but were not statistically significant. No serious adverse events were observed in this study. These results suggest that a medium dose of cyclosporine is effective for treating PPP with PAO and markedly improves the patient QoL.

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS): changing carbamazepine to phenobarbital controlled epilepsy without the recurrence of DRESS.

We report a case of drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) due to carbamazepine. Anticonvulsants are the most common medicines causing DRESS and once it occurs, it is difficult to find an effective alternative treatment. In our case, switching from carbamazepine to phenobarbital successfully controlled both the DRESS and the convulsions. A positive patch test indicates the major role of delayed type allergy in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. Although reactivation of some viruses has been reported, their pathogenic role was not confirmed in our case.

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule: a clue to finding pancreatic cancer in a patient previously affected by gastric cancer.

An 82-year-old man with Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN) is reported. He had a past history of gastric cancer, which had been removed in its early stage. Histopathological findings, in which CA19-9 and other markers, such as PCNA and p53, were strongly positive in SMJN but negative in specimens from the gastric cancer, suggested that the nodule had derived from another internal malignancy and a detailed search led to the discovery of a pancreatic cancer.