No abstract

Laser treatment is a relatively new and increasingly popular modality for the treatment of many dermatologic conditions. A number of conditions that predominantly occur in women and that have a paucity of effective treatments include rosacea, connective tissue disease, melasma, nevus of Ota, lichen sclerosus (LS), notalgia paresthetica and macular amyloidosis, and syringomas. Laser therapy is an important option for the treatment of patients with these conditions. This article will review the body of literature that exists for the laser treatment of women with these medical conditions.

Granulomatous pigmented purpuric dermatoses (PPD) are rarely reported. We present a case of granulomatous PPD in a 7-year-old boy, one of only two pediatric cases with reported solitary disease. The pathogenesis of unilesional granulomatous PPD may be different from the more commonly described multifocal/widespread disease variant.

No abstract

We certainly appreciate Dr Danby's passionate commitment to exploring the role of dairy in acne. It should, however, be emphasized that our study did not show an association between total dairy consumption and acne, but low-fat/skim milk and acne. As stated in the article, ''When low-fat/ skim milk is removed from total dairy consumed, the difference between the acne and control groups loses statistical significance (P ¼ .23),'' meaning that the low-fat/skim milk component of total dairy accounted for the difference shown. This was not the outcome we predicted, but nonetheless, that is what the data show. And because there are real, and as Dr Danby eloquently points out, very intricate differences between whole-fat and skim milk, we cannot say that all dairy is equal.Regarding our ''exceptionally conservative'' recommendations to await further studies before instructing our patients with acne to eliminate dairy, or even skim milk, it is unclear what effect elimination of dairy in a patient already with acne will have. Those data do not exist. Again, Dr Danby is correct in asserting that influences on our hormonal pathways are complex, as evidenced by data showing that low-birthweight babies are at risk for premature adrenarche. Maybe dietary influences are already set by adolescence? We therefore stand by our recommendation that intervention studies are needed before wholesale dairy elimination can be standard counseling to our patients with acne. And like Dr Danby, we are eagerly awaiting those studies and to learn more about this fascinating topic.