The GEA Scale is a global scale validated both on photographs and acne patients which can be used either in clinical research or by the dermatologist in his office.

Vitiligo has a major impact on health-related quality of life (QOL). Although a few vitiligo specific QOL instruments exist, there is no specific vitiligo burden tool. We developed and validated a specific vitiligo burden tool according to skin phototype. In total, 301patients completed 35-item of the Vitiligo Impact Patient scale (VIPs) of who 235 were of skin phototype I to III and 66 of phototype IV to VI. The dimensionality of the items was evaluated using factor analyses with results suggesting 3 factors in fair and dark skinned patients ("Psychological effects on daily life", "Relationships and Sexuality", and "Economic constraints, Care & Management of Disease"). Unidimensionality was confirmed by higher order factor analysis. Cronbach's α were high and intra-dimensional coherences all demonstrated good reliability (α>0.8). The final instrument consists of 29 items (19 items common to all patients, 3 specific to fair skin and 7 to dark skin. The test-retest reliability demonstrated very good reproducibility. Intra Class Correlation of each dimension was >0.90 for each population. External validity was confirmed by the correlation coefficients and Bland and Altman plots of the VIPs-FS and VIPs-DS versus the SF-12, PVC Metra, BISS and DLQI assessment tools.Journal of Investigative Dermatology accepted article preview online, 08 October 2015. doi:10.1038/jid.2015.398.

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Background: The role of heredity in acne severity and therapeutic response remains unclear. Objective: A prospective epidemiologic study was performed to compare clinical and evolutive features of acne and response to treatment in 151 patients with acne with (A+) or without (A–) family history of acne. Methods: A+ and A– patients were compared on clinical and therapeutic criteria. A+ patients were then distributed into subgroups (M+, F+, M+F+) following the origin of family history (father: F, mother: M). Results: The clinical profile was similar in the A+ and A– populations. Acne occurred earlier and more often before puberty in the A+ population, in which oral treatments and relapse after isotretinoin were more frequent. Retentional lesions (number and extent) were more important in the M+ and M+F+ populations. Conclusion: This study confirms the importance of heredity as a prognostic factor for acne. Family history of acne is associated with earlier occurrence of acne, increased number of retentional lesions and therapeutic difficulties.

Pre-pubertal onset vitiligo is strongly associated with personal and family history of atopy, suggesting that the predisposing immune background in vitiligo is not limited to autoimmunity, as also noted in alopecia areata. This study also suggests reconsidering the epidemiological data on sex ratio in vitiligo.