Medium-Depth Chemical Peels in the Treatment of Acne Scars in Dark-Skinned Individuals

BACKGROUND: Multiple modalities are available for treating acne scars, one of which is chemical peeling. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of medium-depth peels in the treatment of acne scars. METHODS: A total of 15 patients (14 women and 1 man) were seen between November 1998 and March 2000. A medium-depth chemical peel was performed. The peel was performed using a combination of Jessner's solution followed by the application of 35% trichloroacetic acid (TCA). The mean age of patients who entered the study was 28 years. A total of 42 peeling sessions were performed: 13 patients had the full three-session regiment, 1 patient had two sessions, and 1 had only one session. RESULTS: Patients in our study had two forms of acne scars, the atrophic saucer or crater-like form and the pitted (ice-pick) form. Improvement occurred in all except one of our patients. Significant improvement (greater than 75% clearance of lesions) occurred in 1 patient (6.6%), moderate improvement (51-75% clearance) in 8 patients (53.3%), mild improvement (26-50% clearance) in 4 patients (26.6%), minimal improvement (1-25% clearance) in 1 patient (6.6%), and no response in 1 patient (6.6%). All patients had different combinations of the above two forms. Four patients (26.6%) had mainly pitted scars and deep atrophic scars. The clinical response in those patients was moderate, mild, minimal, and no response, respectively. The remainder of our patients had mainly atrophic scars of moderate depth. Nine patients (73.4%) suffered from transient postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. In two of them it was preceded by erythema that lasted for more than 1 month. All patients were free of noticeable pigmentation 3 months after the final peel. Patients in whom hyperpigmentation did not develop were of light brown complexion. CONCLUSION: We conclude that medium-depth chemical peel is a safe and effective method of treating acne scars even in patients with dark complexion.     

Comparing health system performance assessment and management approaches in the Netherlands and Ontario,Canada

Background  

Given the proliferation and the growing complexity of performance measurement initiatives in many health systems, the Netherlands and Ontario, Canada expressed interests in cross-national comparisons in an effort to promote knowledge transfer and best practise. To support this cross-national learning, a study was undertaken to compare health system performance approaches in The Netherlands with Ontario, Canada.     

高效液相色谱法测定右旋儿茶素血浆浓度及药代动力学参数

本文建立了体液中右旋儿茶素的RP-HPLC测定方法。采用C_(18)键合相硅胶为填料的固相提取柱进行样品预处理,右旋儿茶素的提取回收率为79.8%.应用二极管阵列检测器对色谱峰纯度进行鉴定。该法精密度好,方法回收率近100%,日内、日间的变异系数为2.4～5.6%,血浓69.6～1160 ng/ml范围内呈线性关系,r=0.9993。家兔静注右旋儿茶素18mg/kg,其药代动力学过程符合二室模型,分布相半衰期为0.129 h,消除相半衰期为1.19h。     

Orbital hydatid cysts: Report of four cases

Hydatid cysts of central nervous system are rare and comprise only 2% to 3% of all hydatid cysts reported. Orbital localization is very uncommon and has been reported less than 1 % of all hydatid diseases. The primary treatment of hydatid disease is surgical. The most important complication of the surgical treatment is secondary hydatidosis due to spillage of the cyst contents. Because of the difficulties of the orbital localization, total extirpation of the cysts without rupture is almost impossible. Preventing spontaneous rupture of the cysts during surgery and postoperative antihelmintic treatment should be taken into consideration in these cases.This study includes four cases who underwent surgery for orbital hydatid cysts. Radiological characteristics, operative technique and postoperative medical therapy are discussed.     

Paraneoplastic movement disorder in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and CRMP-5 autoantibody.

The paraneoplastic autoantibody, collapsin response-mediator protein (CRMP)-5 immunoglobulin G (IgG), is specific for neuronal cytoplasmic CRMP-5, and is usually associated with small-cell lung carcinoma or thymoma. We report on details of a movement disorder that followed anti-B-cell therapy in a patient with lymphoma, and was accompanied by CRMP-5 IgG.     

Esthesioneuroblastoma in a young child. Case report

Esthesioneuroblastoma is an uncommon malignant neoplasm that arises from olfactory mucosa, often with intracranial extension.A case report of the youngest victim in the literature (2-year-old boy) is presented.