Dermatology News

• Obama Nominates Francis Collins to Lead NIH The former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute would bring rich scientific and administrative experience to the National Institutes of Health, experts say.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Changes in Medicare Pay Rules Could Have a Redistributive Effect The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced a series of proposed changes to the 2010 physician fee schedule.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Acne Drug Accutane No Longer Sold Generic versions of the acne drug are still available as isotretinoin.
  WebMD Health News, July 2009
• New Report Finds Flaws in Sunscreen Protection, Safety Sunscreens are improving, but 3 of 5 brand-name products either do not protect the skin from sun damage sufficiently, contain hazardous chemicals, or both, according to a report by the watchdog organization Environmental Working Group.
  WebMD Health News, July 2009
• FDA Safety Changes: Prevpac, Arava, Treanda The FDA has approved safety labeling revisions for a prepackaged regimen of lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin tablets; leflunomide tablets; and bendamustine HCl intravenous infusion.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Presence of Autoantibodies Not Tied to Outcome of Interferon Therapy for Melanoma Despite certain earlier reports, in melanoma patients being treated with adjuvant interferon, the appearance of autoimmune antibodies does not predict an improved outcome, European researchers report in the June 16th issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
  Reuters Health Information, June 2009
• Psoriasis Associated With All Vascular Disease As well as being an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, psoriasis is also associated with an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease, a new case-control study has shown.
  Heartwire, June 2009
• Watch for MRSA Transmission Between Pets and Humans: Review Pet owners should be aware of the risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections that are transmitted from their dogs and cats, and in the reverse direction, experts warn in a report released Sunday ahead of print in the July issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
  Reuters Health Information, June 2009
• Extensive Limb Involvement a Poor Prognostic Indicator in Cutaneous Lymphoma In patients with primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), extensive limb involvement and progression to extracutaneous disease are independent predictors of poor outcome.
  Reuters Health Information, June 2009
• Chemo Drug Cream May Fade Wrinkles
  WebMD Health News, June 2009
• Topical Fluorouracil Useful for Actinic Keratoses and Photoaging Twice daily treatment with fluorouracil cream can significantly improve actinic keratoses and photoaging, according to a report in the Archives of Dermatology for June.
  Reuters Health Information, June 2009
• Hydroxychloroquine Use May Be Safe in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus A systematic review suggests that hydroxychloroquine should be given to most patients with systemic lupus erythematosus during the whole course of the disease and should be continued during pregnancy.
  Medscape Medical News, June 2009
• South American Herb Potentiates Antibiotic Effect in MRSA Infections Brazilian researchers have discovered that an ethanol extract of the herb Turnera ulmifolia has a synergistic effect with gentamicin and kanamycin in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
  Reuters Health Information, June 2009
• FDA Warns of Bacteria in Clarcon Skin Products FDA cautions consumers to not use products made by Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory because of a bacterial contamination risk.
  WebMD Health News, June 2009
• High-Concentration Capsaicin Patch Granted Orphan Drug Designation for PHN The FDA has approved orphan drug designation for a high-concentration capsaicin dermal patch (Qutenza) for the treatment of pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia.
  Medscape Medical News, June 2009
• Vaccine Fights Melanoma An experimental vaccine shrinks tumors in people with deadly skin cancer.
  WebMD Health News, June 2009
• ASCO 2009: Investigational Targeted Therapy for Metastatic Melanoma Shrinks Tumors, Causes Stir at Meeting The treatment options for metastatic melanoma are limited and are not broadly effective. A new investigational agent could change that status.
  Medscape Medical News, June 2009
• Oculus Says FDA Approves Skin, Wound Gel Oculus Innovative Sciences Inc said U.S. health regulators approved its Microcyn skin and wound gel as both a prescription and over-the-counter formulation.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2009
• Anal HPV Infection Increases Risk of Homosexual HIV Acquisition In previously HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM), pre-existing anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with a higher risk of acquiring HIV infection, new research suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2009
• Pan-HPV Vaccine Seems Feasible Based on Multitype L2 Fusion Proteins Vaccination with multimeric L2 fusion proteins can induce protection against a wide range of human papillomavirus (HPV) types known to cause cervical cancer, the results of an animal study suggest.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2009