Comorbidities associated with psoriasis: an experience from the Middle East.

Recent studies suggest that psoriasis patients have higher rates of comorbidities. We sought to determine the prevalence of comorbidities and co-medications in our psoriasis patients. We conducted case-control study in 1835 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and age- and gender-matched cohort without psoriasis. Patients were examined for clinical characteristics of psoriasis, PASI scores, and data of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, comorbidities, and co-medications were analysed for both patients and controls. We identified 1661 (92.8%) patients with mild to moderate psoriasis (PASI < 10) and 129 patient's (7.03%) with severe psoriasis (PASI > 10). Patients with psoriasis were more likely to be current smokers (51.34% vs 32.51% controls). Respective prevalence rates of risk factors in those with mild-moderate psoriasis, severe psoriasis, and controls were as follows: inflammatory arthritis (20%, 31% and 10.68%); coronary heart disease (4.1%, 8.35% and 1.42%); obesity (BM1) (32.5%, 41% and 17%); diabetes mellitus type II (37.4%, 41% and 16%); hypertension (32%, 40.3% and 11.55%); dyslipidemia (14.1%, 22.48% and 4.96%); metabolic syndrome (16%, 26.35% and 6.76%); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (5.36%, 6.98% and 4.03%); cancer (0.3%, 1.55% and 0.16%). They had a higher odds of inflammatory arthritis, coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes mellitus II, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. They were receiving significantly wider varieties of drugs. Which most commonly included antidiabetic drugs, antihypertensives, and hypolipidemic drugs.

Comparative study on the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of imiquimod 5% cream versus cryotherapy for molluscum contagiosum in children.

To compare the efficacy, safety and acceptability of imiquimod (IMQ) 5% cream with cryotherapy for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum (MC) in children. Prospective, randomized, comparative, observer blinded study. A total of 74 children, with MC were divided randomly to receive treatment with either IMQ 5% cream (group A) 5 days a week or cryotherapy (group B) once a week until clinical cure or up to a maximum of 16 weeks. All the patients were followed up weekly during active treatment. The patients were followed-up for 6 months after clinical cure to look for recurrence. In the IMQ group (group A), the overall complete cure rate was 91.8% (34 of 37), 22 of the 37 patients cleared by the end of 6 weeks and 12 more patients cleared by the end of 12 weeks, while the remaining three patients (8.1%) did not clear even after 16 weeks. Whereas, in the cryotherapy group, all 37 patients achieved complete cure, 26 of 37 (70.27%) patients cleared after 3 weeks, and the remaining 11 (29.72%) cleared by the end of 6 weeks. No statistically significant difference was found between the overall complete cure rate in both groups at the end of maximum treatment period (16 weeks). Pain, bullae formation, pigmentary changes, and superficial scarring were more significantly common in the cryotherapy group compared with the IMQ group. Imiqimod 5% cream seems to be slow acting but an effective agent for the treatment of MC in children. IMQ appears to be practically painless and more cosmetically accepted treatment when compared with cryotherapy, and may be the preferred treatment of MC in children especially with numerous small lesions. Cryotherapy has the advantage of being rapidly effective, and is less expensive than IMQ and may be the preferred treatment for large solitary or few lesions.