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Background: Infantile Café-Au-Lait Spot (CALS) is a benign hyperpigmentary skin disorder that ranges in color from light brown to dark brown. Using traditional laser therapies including 532nm potassium titanyl phosphate(KTP) laser, 694nm ruby laser and 755nm alexandrite laser for infantile CALS treatment may provoke harmful side effects such as purpurae, crusts,Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH), mottled hypopigmentation and scarring. Unfortunately, there is no clear standard for the laser treatment of infantile CALS because an infant is too young to receive laser treatment. Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the efficacy and safety of Dr. Hoon Hur’s Golden Parameter Therapy (GPT) with a high fluence 1064nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser laser (QSNL) for infantile CALS treatment. Methods: Nineteen Korean patients with infantile CALS were enrolled in this study and treated with a 1064nm QSNL on a weekly basis for 20-50 treatment sessions of Dr. Hoon Hur’s GPT. The parameters were a spot size of 7 mm, a fluence of 2.2 J/cm2 and a pulse rate of 10Hz with one pass by a sliding-stacking technique over the infantile CALS. Results: After the final treatment, all of the 19 patients with infantile CALS were achieved the complete removal of pigmented lesions without any side effects such as purpurae, crusts, PIH, mottled hypopigmentation or scarring. No recurrences were observed in any of the patients after a follow- up of 6-14 months. Conclusion: We suggest that Dr. Hoon Hur’s GPT with a high fluence 1064nm QSNL is a safe and effective treatment for infantile CALS without causing side effects and recurrences. Keywords: Infantile Cafe au Lait Spot; 1064nm Nd:YAG laser; Dr. Hoon Hur’s GPT

Becker’s nevus, a cutaneous hamartoma, usually occurs as a large, unilateral, hyperpigmented and hypertrichotic patch on the shoulder or upper trunk, which can be present in childhood or adolescence. Becker’s nevus can be treated with traditional laser therapy using various types of lasers including a 532nm potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser, 694nm ruby laser and 755nm alexandrite laser. However, this may cause harmful side effects such as scarring, mottled hypopigmentation, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), purpurae, and crusts. As a result, no standard for the treatment of Becker’s nevus using lasers has been established. Therefore, this study was implemented to investigate the safety and efficacy of treating Becker’s nevus using Dr. Hoon Hur’s Golden Parameter Therapy (GPT) followed by Dr. Hoon Hur’s Optimal Melanocytic Suicide-1 Parameter Therapy (OMS-1 PT) which uses a high fluence 1064nm Q-switched Nd: YAG laser (QSNL). Forty-two Koreans suffering from Becker’s nevus participated in the study and received treatment on a weekly basis for 75-100 sessions using the QSNL according to Dr. Hoon Hur’s GPT then followed by Dr. Hoon Hur’s OMS-1 PT. The parameters for this study were a spot size of 7 mm, a fluence of 2.2 J/cm2 and a pulse rate of 10 Hz using a sliding-stacking technique for a single pass over the Becker’s nevus, followed by Dr. Hoon Hur’s OMS-1 PT using a sliding technique for 5 passes with the QSNL over the Becker’s nevus. Upon completion of the last treatment, all 42 patients with Becker’s nevus were cured, having no side effects, and entirely removing the pigmented lesions. None of the 42 patients reported any recurrences after their follow-ups 6-15 months after the final treatment. As a result of this study, we propose therapy to safely and effectively treat Becker’s nevus using a fusion of Dr. Hoon Hur’s GPT and Dr. Hoon Hur’s OMS-1 PT with a high fluence 1064nm QSNL to avoid any recurrences or harmful side effects.

Although periorbital edema is a common manifestation of dermatomyositis (DM), generalized subcutaneous edema associated with DM is extremely rare. Evans syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which an individual's antibodies attack one's own red blood cells and platelets. Evans syndrome is rarely a presenting feature of DM. DM has been rarely reported to be associated with either generalized edema or Evans syndrome. We report the case of a 52-year-old Korean woman who presented with generalized subcutaneous edema, an erythematous rash, dysphagia, and proximal muscle weakness, and subsequently developed features of Evans syndrome. Treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids and an immunosuppressive agent controlled the DM, the generalized subcutaneous edema, and the Evans syndrome.

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) patients have been recognized to have an increased susceptibility to cutaneous colonization and infection by bacteria, fungi and viruses. Objective We wanted to evaluate the associations of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and the haplotype in the defensin (DEFA) and defensin (DEFB) genes, and so we performed genotyping for the SNPs in these genes in both AD patients and normal controls. Method We genotyped 27 SNPs from the DEFA 4, 5 and 6 genes and the DEFB1 gene for 1089 case–control samples (631 AD patients and 458 normal controls). We analyzed the SNPs and haplotypes in each gene. Result We identified that two SNPs and the haplotype CT in the DEFB1 gene are associated with AD in Koreans. The rs5743399 (−2266T/C) SNP is associated with AD, and especially with the high IgE, extrinsic type, and the rs5743409 (−1241T/G) SNP is associated with AD. On the haplotype analysis of these two SNPs, the haplotype CT is associated with AD, and especially with the allergic, extrinsic type of AD. However, we could not find any significant associations between the SNPs in the three DEFA genes and AD. Conclusion We found that the rs5743399 SNP, the rs5743409 SNP and the CT haplotype in the DEFB1 gene were significantly associated with the susceptibility to AD. We also found that rs5743399 polymorphism and the haplotype CT in this gene showed a strong association with the allergic, extrinsic type of AD. These results suggest that the DEFB1 gene has a main effect on the skin inflammation and/or skin responsiveness to any kind of allergic reaction.

Two lignans were isolated from the heartwood of Pterocarpus santalinus by activity-guided fractionation and investigated for their biological properties and molecular mechanism of action. On the basis of their spectroscopic data, these compounds were identified as savinin (1) and calocedrin (2), dibenzyl butyrolactone-type lignan compounds having an alpha-arylidene gamma-lactone structure. These lignans significantly inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, and T cell proliferation elicited by concanavalin (Con A), without displaying cytotoxicity. The molecular inhibitory mechanism of compound 1 was confirmed to be mediated by the non-polar butyrolactone ring, according to a structure-relationship study with structurally related and unrelated compounds, such as arctigenin (a dibenzyl butyrolactone type lignan), eudesmin (a furofuran type lignan), isolariciresinol (a dibenzylbutane type lignan), and cynaropicrin (a sesquiterpene lactone). The results suggest that savinin may act as an active principle in the reported biological activities of P. santalinus, such as antiinflammatory effect, by mediation of the butyrolactone ring as a valuable pharmacophore.

Three TNF alpha-inhibitory lignans were isolated from the flower buds of Magnolia fargesii through bioassay-guided isolation. They were identified as eudesmin, magnolin and lirioresinol-B dimethylether on the basis of their spectroscopic data. All three lignans showed inhibitory effects on TNF-alpha production in LPS-stimulated murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7 and eudesmin showed the strongest activity (IC50 = 51 microM).

Certain flavonoids were reported to show an immunoregulatory activity against lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production. In the course of a search for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitory compounds from natural plants, we also isolated a prenylfavanone type of flavonoid, amoradicin, from the extract of Amorpha fruticosa by activity-guided fractionation. This compound significantly inhibited TNF-alpha production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells with an IC(50) value of 28.5 microM. The activity was comparable or higher than those of standard flavonoid compounds, genistein and silybin with IC(50) of 24.9 and 140.3 microM, respectively.