Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly effective and widely adopted treatment strategy for many skin diseases, particularly for multiple actinic keratoses (AKs). However, PDT is ineffective in some cases, especially if AKs occur in the acral part of the body. Several methods to improve the efficacy of PDT without significantly increasing the risks of side effects have been proposed. In this study, we reviewed the combination-based PDT treatments described in the literature for treating AKs; both post-treatment and pretreatment were considered including topical (i.e., diclofenac, imiquimod, adapalene, 5-fluorouracil, and calcitriol), systemic (i.e., acitretin, methotrexate, and polypodium leucotomos), and mechanical–physical (i.e., radiofrequency, thermomechanical fractional injury, microneedling, microdermabrasion, and laser) treatment strategies. Topical pretreatments with imiquimod, adapalene, 5-fluorouracil, and calcipotriol were more successful than PDT alone in treating AKs, while the effect of diclofenac gel was less clear. Both mechanical laser treatment with CO2 and Er:YAG (Erbium:Yttrium–Aluminum–Garnet) as well as systemic treatment with Polypodium leucotomos were also effective. Different approaches were relatively more effective in particular situations such as in immunosuppressed patients, AKs in the extremities, or thicker AKs. Conclusions: Several studies showed that a combination-based approach enhanced the effectiveness of PDT. However, more studies are needed to further understand the effectiveness of combination therapy in clinical practice and to investigate the role of acitretin, methotrexate, vitamin D, thermomechanical fractional injury, and microdermabrasion in humans.

Recently, the zebrafish has been established as one of the most important model organisms for medical research. Several studies have proved that there is a high level of similarity between human and zebrafish genomes, which encourages the use of zebrafish as a model for understanding human genetic disorders, including cancer. Interestingly, zebrafish skin shows several similarities to human skin, suggesting that this model organism is particularly suitable for the study of neoplastic and inflammatory skin disorders. This paper appraises the specific characteristics of zebrafish skin and describes the major applications of the zebrafish model in dermatological research.

Background Patients with liver disease may be at increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to immune dysfunction. However, the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in these patients remains unknown. This study aimed to determine whether patients with liver disease are at an increased risk of nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection upon admission to the hospital for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Methods The study prospectively enrolled 143 patients who were admitted at least once to the hepatology unit at our hospital; 95 patients (66%) were admitted at least twice during the study period. History of past symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 exposure was assessed on the day before hospital admission via an interview. Patients were evaluated for active SARS-CoV-2 infection via real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) performed on nasopharyngeal swabs and tests for serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Results None of the patients enrolled tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR at the first or the second clinical evaluation. One patient who had previously received a liver transplant and who had a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection that occurred 4 months before hospital admission tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG but not IgM antibodies at each of the two hospital admissions. Conclusions The results of our study suggest that patients with liver disease are at no increased risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data support the policy of maintaining clinical hospital checks that will be necessary until or possibly even after the completion of the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign.

No abstract

No patient developed JMML during the followup, which had a medium duration of 8.2 years (range 3.1-15.3 years). This case series confirmed the high frequency of JXG in children with NF1. Remarkably, among the seven patients without a previous diagnosis of NF1, six were younger than 2 years, and three had no familiarity for NF1. These patients could have benefited from an earlier diagnosis of NF1 if JXG had been endorsed as a diagnostic criterion.According to the previous reports (Ferrari et al., 2014), this study showed that JXG should reinforce the suspicion of NF1 in children with any other sign of the disease, namely café au lait spots. If future studies confirm these data, JXG could be included as a diagnostic criterion, allowing for earlier diagnosis of NF1 in younger children.No patients in this series presented JMML at the time of JXG diagnosis or developed it during follow-up. Thus, these data support the results of previous studies in denying an increased risk of JMML in patients with NF1 and JXG (Ferrari et al., 2014).