Childhood Alopecia Areata: An Overview of Treatment and Recent Patents.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia Areata (AA) is a systemic autoimmune condition that usually starts in childhood. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to review genetics, therapy, prognosis, and recent patents for AA. METHODS: We used clinical queries and keywords "alopecia areata" AND "childhood" as a search engine. Patents were searched using the key term "alopecia areata" in Patents.google.com and freepatentsonline. com. RESULTS: Due to an immune-mediated damage to the hair follicles, hair is lost from the scalp and other areas of the body temporarily or even permanently. Children with AA are generally healthy. Evidence of genetic association and increased predisposition for AA was found by studying families with affected members. Pathophysiologically, T- lymphocytes attack hair follicles and cause inflammation and destruction of the hair follicles and hair loss. In mild cases, there would be well-demarcated round patchy scalp hair loss. The pathognomonic "exclamation mark hairs" may be seen at the lesion periphery. In more severe cases, the hair loss may affect the whole scalp and even the whole body. The clinical course is also variable, which may range from transient episodes of recurrent patchy hair loss to an indolent gradually deteriorating severe hair loss. The treatment of AA depends on factors including patients' age, the extent of the hair loss, duration of disease, psychological impact, availability and side effect profile of the treatments. For localized patchy alopecia, topical application of corticosteroids and/or intralesional corticosteroids are the treatment of choice. Other topical treatments include minoxidil, anthralin, coal tar and immunotherapy. In severe resistant cases, systemic immunosuppressants may be considered. Although herbal medicine, acupuncture, complementary and alternative medicine may be tried on children in some Asian communities, the evidence to support these practices is lacking. To date, only a few recent patents exist in topical treatments, including Il-31, laser and herbal medications. Clinical efficacy is pending for these treatment modalities. CONCLUSION: None of the established therapeutic options are curative. However, newer treatment modalities, including excimer laser, interleukin-31 antibodies and biologics, are evolving so that there may be significant advances in treatment in the near future. AA can be psychosocially devastating. It is important to assess the quality of life, degree of anxiety, social phobia and mood of the patients and their families. Psychological support is imperative for those who are adversely affected psychosocially.

Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients undergoing nail avulsion surgery for dystrophic nails.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients undergoing surgical nail avulsion. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Two dermatology centres in Hong Kong. PATIENTS: A total of 32 patients with nail diseases who underwent 33 nail avulsion procedures were reviewed from case records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age, gender, co-morbidities, disease duration, clinical features, histopathology and fungal culture of nail plate, nail bed specimen for fungal culture in appropriate cases, and postoperative outcome. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients at the time of nail avulsion was 54 (range, 27-86) years. The most frequent preoperative findings were thickened nails (23 specimens, 70%) and discolouration (20 specimens, 61%). Onychomycosis was the most common pre-consultative diagnosis (20 specimens, 61%). Prior to nail avulsion, topical or systemic treatment had been tried in more than half of the cases. Histopathology of the avulsed nails confirmed onychomycosis in 24 (73%) of specimens. The clinical cure rate was 88% and the mycologic cure rate was 100%. The procedure was well tolerated without significant complications. Relapse was only noted in three (9%) of the patients having nail avulsions. The time for full re-growth ranged from 5 to 10 months. CONCLUSIONS: Total nail avulsion is an effective management option for patients whose diagnosis of onychomycosis was doubtful, and constitutes a treatment armamentarium especially for patients with single or oligo-onychomycosis.

Clinical significance of Trichomonas vaginalis detected in Papanicolaou smear: a survey in female Social Hygiene Clinic.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical significance of Trichomonas vaginalis detected in Papanicolaou (Pap) smears in our local population. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: A sexually transmitted disease clinic in Hong Kong. PATIENTS: All patients having Pap smear, wet mount microscopy, and high vaginal swab culture performed in Tuen Mun Social Hygiene Clinic from April 2005 to December 2006 were recruited. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the Pap smear for the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis. RESULTS: A total of 209 patients had the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis in the study period. From among these, the results of 149 patients who had Pap smears, wet mount microscopy, and high vaginal swab culture performed were used in the analysis. Sixty cases were excluded because treatments were initiated before the consultation or because the Pap smear had not been done. Among the Trichomonas vaginalis cases with positive Pap smears, 58% (85/146) were symptomatic and 41% (60/146) had concomitant sexually transmitted disease. The respective sensitivity and specificity of the Pap smear in our study were: 98% (128/131; 95% confidence interval, 94-100%) and 96% (440/458; 94-98%). In total, 128 patients were defined as true positives by wet mount microscopy or culture, while 18 were defined as false positives. In our study population, the positive predictive value was 88% (128/146; 95% confidence interval, 82-93%). On comparing the clinical features of patients with true-positive and false-positive Pap smears, the odds ratio for the presence of symptoms and concomitant sexually transmitted disease was 1.9 (95% confidence interval, 0.7-5.1) and 2.0 (0.7-5.8), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the univariate analysis by Chi squared testing. CONCLUSION: Treatment for vaginal trichomoniasis is recommended if Trichomonas vaginalis is detected in a Pap smear.

A cluster of chilblains in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: To report a recent clustering of chilblain cases in Hong Kong. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: A regional hospital and a social hygiene clinic in the New Territories West, Hong Kong. PATIENTS: Patients with a clinical diagnosis of chilblains in February 2008. RESULTS: Eleven patients with chilblains were identified; seven (64%) gave an antecedent history of prolonged exposure to cold. They all presented with erythematous or dusky erythematous skin lesions affecting the distal extremities, especially fingers and toes. Laboratory tests revealed elevated antinuclear antibodies titres in two, positive rheumatoid factor in two, presence of cold agglutinins in one, and a raised anti-DNA titre (>300 IU/mL) in one. Skin biopsies were performed in six patients, four of them showed typical histopathological features of chilblains. In the patient with systemic lupus erythematosus, features of vasculitis were suspected, and in the one with pre-existing juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, there were features of livedo vasculitis. In 10 (91%) of the patients, the skin lesions had resolved when they were last assessed (at the end of March 2008), but had persisted in the patient who had pre-existing systemic lupus erythematosus. CONCLUSION: The recent clustering of chilblains was possibly related temporally to the prolonged cold weather at the end of January to mid-February. In our series, most of the patients developed chilblains as an isolated condition and resolved spontaneously within a few weeks. Laboratory tests and skin biopsies for chilblains are not necessary, unless the condition persists, the diagnosis in doubt or an underlying systemic disease is suspected.