Epidemiology of pemphigus in Turkey: One-year prospective study of 220 cases

Pemphigus is a group of rare and life-threatening autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. Although they occur worldwide, their incidence shows wide geographical variation, and prospective data on the epidemiology of pemphigus are very limited. Objective of this work is to evaluate the incidence and epidemiological and clinical features of patients with pemphigus in Turkey. All patients newly diagnosed with pemphigus between June 2013 and June 2014 were prospectively enrolled in 33 dermatology departments in 20 different provinces from all seven regions of Turkey. Disease parameters including demography and clinical findings were recorded. A total of 220 patients were diagnosed with pemphigus during the 1-year period, with an annual incidence of 4.7 per million people in Turkey. Patients were predominantly women, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.41. The mean age at onset was 48.9 years. Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) was the commonest clinical subtype (n=192; 87.3%), followed by pemphigus foliaceus (n=21; 9.6%). The most common clinical subtype of PV was the mucocutaneous type (n=83; 43.2%). The mean Pemphigus Disease Area Index was 28.14±22.21 (mean ± Standard Deviation).  The incidence rate of pemphigus in Turkey is similar to the countries of South-East Europe, higher than those reported for the Central and Northern European countries and lower than the countries around the Mediterranean Sea and Iran. Pemphigus is more frequent in middle-aged people and is more common in women. The most frequent subtype was PV, with a 9-fold higher incidence than pemphigus foliaceus.   </p

Chitotirosidase and prolidase in tinea pedis: A preliminary study

Dermatophyte infections are superficial fungal infections. Tinea pedis is a dermatophyte infection of the feet and interdigital spaces. An evaluation was made of the chitotriosidase (ChT) concentrations, prolidase activity and the possible association between these biomarkers in tinea pedis. Study subjects were comprised of 42 patients with tinea pedis and 40 healthy subjects. Serum ChT concentrations and prolidase activity were determined in study population. Higher ChT concentrations were found in patients than controls (p &lt; 0.001). We did not find any difference between groups in terms of prolidase activity (p = 0.162). We also did not found any correlation between ChT and prolidase activity. ChT seems to have roles during the inflammatory conditions in patients with tinea pedis. Whereas prolidase activity is not associated with the tinea pedis. [Med-Science 2018; 7(1.000): 191-193

Combination of infra-red light with nanogold targeting macrophages in the treatment of Leishmania major infected BALB/C mice

Purpose In the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), developing drug resistance, existing toxic effects of drugs and failure respond to treatment cause the need to try different treatment methods. We investigated the effect of gold-conjugated macrophage-specific antibody on amastigotes under infra-red light for the treatment of CL. Methods Female BALB/c (4-8 weeks old, 20 +/- 5 g weight) mice were used in the study. The L. major strain was inoculated on the soles of mice in amastigote form and subpassed. Nanogold (Au), Au + macrophage-specific antibody (MSA) modification and near infra-red (NIR) (5 seconds) were applied to mice groups that developed cutaneous leishmaniasis on their soles. On the 5th and 10th days of the treatment, the lesions were examined clinically and pathologically. Results When the erythema values were examined, the highest decrease was calculated in the Au + MSA + NIR group in the measurements made on the 10(th) day (p < 0.014). The best improvement in 10(th) day measurements is in the NIR and Au + MSA + NIR groups when area values were examined (p = 0.011, p = 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of parasite load (PL) (p < 0.005) in pathological evaluation. According to PL grouping, the best result is NIR (p = 0.002). When both main titles (clinical and pathological) are examined, the Au + MSA + NIR group is thought to have an optimal therapeutical feature. Conclusions Au + MSA + NIR combination could be a new treatment approach for CL treatment