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Background: As hyaluronic acid (HA) filler injections have become increasingly popular in the esthetic field, so have their side effects. Vascular complications, which can lead to skin necrosis or permanent scarring, are a particularly dangerous complication and occur when the filler is injected directly into a blood vessel or when an adjacent blood vessel is compressed by the filler material. Objective: To assess the clinical prognosis based on post‐procedural management and clinical findings of HA filler vascular complications. Methods: Herein, we present a case series of vascular complications due to HA filler and evaluate their clinical prognosis based on post‐procedural management and clinical findings. Clinical assessments were performed using Doppler ultrasound, thermography, and laboratory tests. Results: Factors including white blood cell count, the time of treatment initiation, and time of hyaluronidase injection influenced the clinical outcomes. Early recognition and prompt hyaluronidase injection proved crucial in preventing further damage and improving prognosis. Conclusion: This case series highlights the importance of early detection and appropriate management of HA filler complications. Physicians should be aware of the potential risks associated with fillers and promptly address any adverse effects to achieve optimal clinical outcomes. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings and refine treatment strategies for the HA filler complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In any dermatologic procedure, patient acceptance of treatment is heavily influenced by intraprocedural pain. Intralesional triamcinolone injections are very important in keloid scar and nodulocystic acne treatment. However, the main problem of needle‐stick procedures is pain. Cryoanesthesia is ideally intended to cool only the epidermis during treatment and has advantage which did not require application time. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the pain‐reducing effect and safety of CryoVIVE® (newly introduced cryoanesthesia device) during triamcinolone injections for nodulocystic acne in actual clinical settings. Patients/Methods: In this two‐staged, non‐randomized clinical trial, a total of 64 subjects underwent intralesional triamcinolone injections for their acne lesions with cold anesthesia using CryoVIVE®. The pain intensity was assessed with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. Safety profile was also evaluated. Results: The mean pain VAS scores on the lesion with and without cold anesthesia were 3.667 and 5.933, respectively (p = 0.0001). No side effects, discoloration, and scarring were observed. Conclusion: In conclusion, the anesthetic use of CryoVIVE® with intralesional corticosteroid injections is a practical and well‐tolerated modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Onychomycosis is the most common infective nail disease, and treatment includes topical and systemic antifungal medications. Recently, laser therapy has emerged as a therapeutic option for patients who are unable to take oral antifungal agents. We investigated the effectiveness and safety of a novel long‐pulsed 1,064‐nm gallium arsenide (GaAs) laser surgical device for onychomycosis. Methods: This 24‐week single‐center, single‐blind, active‐controlled exploratory clinical study comparatively evaluated the long‐pulsed 1,064‐nm GaAs laser (Healer1064) with the short‐pulsed Nd:YAG laser surgical device in 20 participants randomly assigned to receive either test or control treatment at 4‐week intervals during the 12‐week treatment period. The rate of clinical improvement was evaluated by two independent dermatologist evaluators using the Onychomycosis Severity Index‐score (OSI‐score) and Turbidity Scale with standard photographs. Overall improvement and patient satisfaction were evaluated. Safety evaluation included pain intensity and adverse events. Results: In 44 (test: 25; control: 19) cases in 19 participants who completed treatment, the clinical improvement rate in the test and control groups was 52.00% (13/52 cases) and 44.44% (9/19 cases), respectively, with significantly lower pain scores in the test than the control group for every treatment visit (P < 0.05) and without severe adverse events. Conclusions: The novel long‐pulsed 1,064‐nm GaAs laser showed greater, albeit nonsignificant, clinical improvement and was associated with less pain during treatment. Thus, the Healer1064 can provide satisfactory treatment outcomes through painless and effective improvement in onychomycosis symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a growth factor that plays a pivotal role in wound healing and maintaining tissue homeostasis by regulating cell survival, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Exogenous administration of bioidentical human recombinant epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) has been known to promote skin wound healing, although rhEGF is increasingly being used in drug delivery systems and nanotechnology. However, despite considerable attention being focused on the potential clinical applications of rhEGF in several dermatological conditions beyond wound healing, the number of studies still remains relatively low. Herein, we conducted a literature search of PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar databases to retrieve published literature related to rhEGF and summarised the effects of rhEGF in the treatment of various wound types, radiotherapy or chemotherapy‐related skin reactions, atopic dermatitis, skin aging, and post‐inflammatory hyperpigmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All of the patients showed improved skin pigmentation until 3 months after treatment without any other treatment. (C) Linear crista cutis and sulcus cutis with dispersed dark brown dots on dermoscopy. [Extracted from the article]

Exosomes are nano‐sized extracellular vesicles released by the majority of the cell types. Exosomes play a major role in intercellular communication via transferring cargoes between cells and altering specific functions of the target cells. The interest in the biological activities of exosomes has been increasing and their therapeutic role has already been demonstrated in various diseases. Recently, there is growing evidence that stem cell‐derived exosomes (including mesenchymal stem cell, umbilical cord‐derived mesenchymal cell, adipose‐derived stem cell, and pluripotent stem cell) can also be used in a variety of skin conditions due to their regenerative and anti‐inflammatory capacity. In this paper, we will provide a brief overview of recent studies on practical applications of exosomes in several dermatologic conditions and their potential mechanisms. By elucidating the different mechanisms and therapeutic roles of exosomes in various disease conditions, we hope dermatologists and other clinicians to establish better strategies for disease treatment with further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a novel hyaluronic acid (HA) filler containing the epidermal growth factor (EGF) was developed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rheological properties, preclinical efficacy and biocompatibility of the EGF‐containing HA filler (HA–EGF filler) using a photoaged mouse model. The rheological properties of the new HA–EGF filler were assessed. Twenty‐four female hairless mice (SKH1) underwent photoaging induction with 8 weeks of ultraviolet‐B irradiation. The mice were randomly divided into four groups and intradermally injected 100 μl of phosphate‐buffered saline, HA–EGF filler, HA filler or polynucleotide (PN) into the dorsal region. We examined the effect of fillers on photoaged skin by dermoscopic examination. Furthermore, histological evaluation with immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the biocompatibility and collagen formation at the 10th week. A real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and western blot test assessed the expression of collagen I/III, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and transforming growth factor. The viscosity and elasticity of the HA–EGF filler were lower than those of the HA filler. Histological evaluation revealed no significant differences in the collagen synthesis between the HA–EGF, HA and PN filler groups. No inflammation was observed during the experimental period. The HA–EGF filler induced type I/III collagen production and downregulated the expression of MMP‐1, 3 and 9. Our results suggest that the novel HA–EGF filler may be an additional therapeutic option for photoaged skin, which works by inducing collagen synthesis. Based on these preclinical results, further well‐controlled clinical studies are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unlike various topical treatment options for acne vulgaris, options for acne scars mostly involve invasive interventions. So far, only a few clinical trials have investigated the effects of topical treatment for acne scars. Objectives: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of DA‐5520, a recently developed topical gel for the treatment of different types of acne scars. Methods: A 12‐week prospective, randomized, active‐controlled, evaluator‐blind, single‐center study involving 36 participants with acne scars was performed. Participants were randomized into four different groups at a 1:1:1:1 ratio: laser resurfacing with DA‐5520 application (test 1); laser resurfacing without DA‐5520 application (control 1); comedone extraction with DA‐5520 application (test 2); and comedone extraction without DA‐5520 application (control 2). For 12 weeks, participants in the two test groups applied DA‐5520 twice daily, while participants in the control groups applied moisturizers alone. Participants in the test 1 and control 1 groups received a single session of laser resurfacing at visit 1 (week 0). All participants were followed up at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, and objective scar evaluation using the échelle d'évaluation clinique des cicatrices d'acné (ECCA) score was performed at each visit. Results: Clinical improvement of acne scars, confirmed by the ECCA grading scale (1 for atrophic scar and 2 for hypertrophic scar), was observed after using DA‐5520 when combined with laser resurfacing or individually, and no associated adverse reactions were noted. Conclusions: Preliminary results of this study revealed that DA‐5520 may be a promising new formulation for treating all type of acne scars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound‐guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS‐TBNA) is used to evaluate hilar/interlobar/lobar lymph nodes. This study aimed to assess the clinical utility of EBUS‐TBNA for station 10/11/12 lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with primary lung cancer. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database of patients with primary lung cancer who underwent EBUS‐TBNA for station 10/11/12 LNs from January 2015 to December 2019. Patients with benign results from EBUS‐TBNA who did not undergo surgical sampling/clinical follow‐up or who received radiotherapy/chemotherapy were excluded. Results: The analyses were conducted on 889 LNs from 797 patients. The overall diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value of EBUS‐TBNA were 95.7, 100, 97.3, 93.2, and 100%, respectively. Diagnostic sensitivity was significantly lower for LNs <10 mm than ≥10 mm in size (90.1% vs. 97.8%; p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in diagnostic performance according to the nodal station (10 vs. 11/12) and left‐ versus right‐sided LNs. The diagnostic sensitivity (100 vs. 95.5%; p = 0.221) and specificity (100 vs. 100%) of N3 LNs was not significantly different from those of N1 LNs. In this study, eight (8/91, 8.8%) patients with cN1 NSCLC received neoadjuvant treatment based on the results of EBUS‐TBNA. Conclusion: EBUS‐TBNA accurately evaluates station 10/11/12 LNs of both N1 and N3 disease. The diagnostic performances of EBUS‐TBNA for station 10/11/12 LNs seem to be comparable to those of EBUS‐TBNA for mediastinal LNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the efficacy and safety of combined treatment with a serum comprising a micro‐diamond suspension and micro‐gold cage with a 1064 nm picosecond neodymium‐doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser for facial skin rejuvenation. Topical serum was applied to the entire face and allowed to penetrate the skin and hair follicles for 20 min. Each participant was then treated with a 1064 nm picosecond Nd:YAG laser on the face. Photographs of each participant were taken at baseline, immediately after treatment, and 2 weeks after treatment using an imaging tool (Mark‐Vu®; PSI PLUS, Suwon, Republic of Korea). Global improvement scores by two blinded investigators and participants' satisfaction scores were also assessed. The melanin index (MI), transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and skin hydration were evaluated using a device. Parameters associated with skin rejuvenation were assessed using Mark‐Vu®. Adverse events were observed and reported by participants and physicians during the treatment and follow‐up visit. At week 2, 40% (4/10) of the participants showed more than moderate clinical improvement in the investigator's global improvement assessment. No significant differences were observed in the MI, TEWL, skin hydration level, or skin parameters of Mark‐Vu®. At week 2, 40% of the participants reported a high satisfaction score and minimal side effects. The novel topical facial serum comprising micro‐diamond suspension and micro‐gold cage is safe and effective when combined with laser treatment for facial rejuvenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive accumulation of submental fat (SMF) causes a lower face cosmetic problem. A lipolytic injectable has recently been developed as a solution. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects and safety of DWJ211 (a newly developed lipolytic injectable) in the reduction of SMF and to identify the optimum dose. In this multi‐center, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study, subjects with moderate to severe SMF were randomized to injections of DWJ211 0.5%, DWJ211 1%, DWJ211 2% or placebo in the submental area, every 4 weeks, up to Week 12. Efficacy was determined by improvements in physician‐assisted SMF rating scales (PA‐SMFRS) and subject‐assisted SMF rating scales (SA‐SMFRS) 4 weeks after the last treatment (Week 16). Safety was assessed by inquiries, subject diary entries of adverse events, laboratory tests, and vital sign checks. Of 140 enrolled subjects, 136 were included in the analysis. The proportions of subjects, who achieved ≥1‐grade improvement on the PA‐SMFRS were 41.7%, 65.7%, 84.4%, and 72.7%, and the proportions of subjects, who achieved ≥1‐grade improvement on the SA‐SMFRS were 50.0%, 71.4%, 93.8%, and 81.8% for the placebo, DWJ211 0.5%, DWJ211 1%, and DWJ211 2% group, respectively. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were more common in each of the treatment groups compared with placebo, with the most common ADR being injection site pain. No subjects experienced any serious adverse events. In conclusion, the 1% DWJ211 dose was beneficial for SMF reduction and had a tolerable safety profile. Thus, we selected 1% as the dose to be tested in a Phase 3 clinical trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for body contouring, botulinum toxin (BTX) injection is being widely used off‐label for muscular hypertrophy. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has investigated the clinical efficacy of BTX type A (BTX‐A) in deltoid muscle hypertrophy. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intramuscular injection of BTX in reducing deltoid muscle hypertrophy. Overall, 10 patients with bilateral deltoid muscle hypertrophy were treated with an intramuscular injection of prabotulinum toxin A, with a total of 50 units [U] administered per patient. As measured by ultrasonography, the thickness of the deltoid muscles was significantly decreased at weeks 2 and 12. In addition, the clinical assessment score by blinded investigators was improved after the treatment; however, patients' satisfaction scores were relatively low. No major complications were reported. Therefore, intramuscular injection of BTX‐A seems to be a candidate for novel treatment option for deltoid muscle hypertrophy. Further larger clinical studies are warranted to confirm the efficacy of BTX‐A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the successful treatment of facial varicella-zoster scars using a combination therapy of a fractional CO2 laser and a pneumatic injector device. The study presents three cases in which patients with post varicella-zoster scars were treated with this combination therapy and achieved significant improvements in their scars. The treatment involved administering a hypertonic glucose solution using a pneumatic needle-free injector and performing passes of fractional CO2 laser. The article highlights the efficacy and safety of the pneumatic injector and the fractional CO2 laser in treating depressed scars. The combination therapy was found to be effective in achieving better cosmetic outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

Baboon syndrome, case report, systemic contact dermatitis, vaccine, coronavirus disease, symmetric drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema Keywords: baboon syndrome; case report; coronavirus disease; symmetric drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema; systemic contact dermatitis; vaccine EN baboon syndrome case report coronavirus disease symmetric drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema systemic contact dermatitis vaccine 91 93 3 06/14/22 20220701 NES 220701 CASE REPORT A 53-year-old man presented with an erythematous papular skin eruption. Symmetric drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema-like eruption related to coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine. [Extracted from the article]

Dear Editor, Ultrasound (US) is increasingly used as a first-line investigation method to evaluate soft tissue masses in dermatology.1 Besides clarifying clinical presentation, high-resolution US can aid in diagnosis. Does Doppler analysis of musculoskeletal soft-tissue tumours help predict tumour malignancy? Furthermore, most soft tissue tumors (benign and malignant) were hypoechoic on US.1 Other sonographic features of the lesions were also analyzed (Table 1). [Extracted from the article]

Background and objective: The global burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing and COPD patients are at higher risk for all‐cause mortality. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COPD on specific‐cause mortality using national data. Methods: This was nationwide retrospective cohort study of 340, 767 adults aged 40–84 years who lacked COPD diagnosis at baseline between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2013. Incident COPD was defined by reference to COPD claim codes and prescription of COPD medication at least twice annually. Cox proportional hazard ratio (HR) for each cause of death in the COPD group was compared to that of the non‐COPD group, with other causes of death accounted as the competing risk. Results: All‐cause mortality was higher in the COPD (2,978 per 100, 000 person‐years) than the non‐COPD group (629 per 100, 000 person‐years) and adjusted HR was 1.41 (95% CI = 1.32, 1.50). The association was particularly strong for chronic lower airway disease (adjusted sub‐HR = 9.67; 95% CI = 7.21, 12.96) and lung cancer (adjusted sub‐HR = 3.16; 95% CI = 2.68, 3.71), and the association was stronger in those aged <60 years. Conclusion: In this large national cohort, COPD patients were at a statistically significant higher risk for all‐cause mortality than those without COPD. They were more likely to die from chronic lower airway disease, lung cancer and pneumonia than subjects without COPD. The impact of COPD on specific mortalities was stronger in younger subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging immune profiling data suggest a higher sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), compared to those without COPD. This study aimed to investigate the clinical impact of COPD on the treatment response to ICIs in a large number of patients with NSCLC. In total, 133 patients with spirometry test results were retrospectively identified among those who received palliative pembrolizumab for NSCLC. COPD was defined as pre‐bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity <0.7. Overall survival (OS), progression‐free survival (PFS), and objective response rate were analyzed according to the presence of COPD. Spirometry‐based COPD was present in 59 (44%) patients. Patients with COPD had better OS (hazard ratio [HR] for death, 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26–0.78) and PFS (HR for disease progression or death, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.31–0.79) than those without COPD. These associations persisted after adjusting for potential confounders including smoking history. The response rate was also higher in patients with COPD than in those without COPD (38.2% vs. 20.5%, p = 0.028). Spirometry‐defined COPD was associated with a significantly longer OS and PFS in patients with NSCLC treated with palliative pembrolizumab. Identifying coexisting COPD could predict favorable treatment outcomes in patients with NSCLC treated with pembrolizumab. What's new? Coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in lung cancer patients portends a poor outcome. Recently, however, extensive immunological studies have suggested a higher sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with COPD, compared with those without COPD. By using an objective measure for COPD diagnosis in a relatively large number of patients, this study confirms that COPD is associated with better survival outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with palliative pembrolizumab. Identifying COPD could thus be helpful to predict favorable treatment outcomes in patients with NSCLC treated with pembrolizumab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramides mediate crucial cellular processes including cell death and inflammation and have recently been implicated in inflammatory bowel disease. Ceramides consist of a sphingoid long-chain base to which fatty acids of various length can be attached. We now investigate the effect of alerting the ceramide acyl chain length on a mouse model of colitis. Ceramide synthase (CerS) 2 null mice, which lack very-long acyl chain ceramides with concomitant increase of long chain bases and C16-ceramides, were more susceptible to dextran sodium sulphate-induced colitis, and their survival rate was markedly decreased compared with that of wild-type littermates. Using mixed bone-marrow chimeric mice, we showed that the host environment is primarily responsible for intestinal barrier dysfunction and increased intestinal permeability. In the colon of CerS2 null mice, the expression of junctional adhesion molecule-A was markedly decreased and the phosphorylation of myosin light chain 2 was increased. In vitro experiments using Caco-2 cells also confirmed an important role of CerS2 in maintaining epithelial barrier function; CerS2-knockdown via CRISPR-Cas9 technology impaired barrier function. In vivo myriocin administration, which normalized long-chain bases and C16-ceramides of the colon of CerS2 null mice, increased intestinal permeability as measured by serum FITC-dextran levels, indicating that altered SLs including deficiency of very-long-chain ceramides are critical for epithelial barrier function. In conclusion, deficiency of CerS2 influences intestinal barrier function and the severity of experimental colitis and may represent a potential mechanism for inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosai-Dorfman disease can present as a solitary nodule without systemic involvement, histopathologically showing diffuse histiocyte proliferation with emperipolesis, numerous lymphocytes, and plasma cells. Dear Editor, A 6-year-old female patient presented with an asymptomatic solitary nodule on her left thigh. The patient had no underlying disease or family history, and no abnormalities were found in the blood test of the patient. [Extracted from the article]

We identified azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane derivatives that are active diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 ( DGAT)-1 inhibitor. Among the azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane series, compound 6b showed good in vitro activity toward human DGAT-1, selectivity toward DGAT-2, and liver microsomal stability. Compound 6b exhibited no CYP inhibition, hERG binding, or cell cytotoxicity. Additionally, compound 6b reduced the level of plasma triglyceride after oral administration in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rickettsia monacensis, a spotted fever group rickettsia, was isolated from Ixodes nipponensis ticks collected from live-captured small mammals in South Jeolla province, Korea in 2006. Homogenates of tick tissues were inoculated into L929 and Vero cell monolayers using shell vial assays. After several passages, Giemsa staining revealed rickettsia-like organisms in the inoculated Vero cells, but not the L929 cells. Sequencing analysis revealed that the ompA-small part (25-614 bp region), ompA-large part (2849-4455 bp region), nearly full-length ompB (58-4889 bp region) and gltA (196-1236 bp region) of the isolates had similarities of 100%, 99.8%, 99.3% and 99.5%, respectively, to those of R. monacensis. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolate was grouped into the cluster in the same way as R. monacensis in the trees of all genes examined. These results strongly suggest that the isolate is closely related to R. monacensis. As far as is known, this is the first report of isolation of R. monacensis from ticks in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]