Cipamfylline cream is significantly more effective than vehicle, but significantly less effective than hydrocortisone 17-butyrate cream in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

The cardinal effects of cytotoxic drugs found in this study were tapering of the proximal hair shaft and premature entry of the follicle into telogen, conflicting with the conventional view that affected hair follicles continue in anagen. There was a resulting effluvium of a mixture of tapering telogen hairs and fractured hairs. As entry into telogen is an integral part of the process, cytotoxic hair loss may be regarded as a variant of the conventional 'telogen effluvium' and we propose the term 'atrophic telogen effluvium'. There was no obvious protective effect on the hair loss of prior treatment with topical calcipotriol.

Background: Recently, a combination product (Daivobet^® ointment: calcipotriol 50 µg/g, betamethasone dipropionate 0.5 mg/g) has been developed for the treatment of psoriasis. Objective: This study aimed to demonstrate that the atrophogenic potential of Daivobet is less or equal to the skin thinning produced by Diprosone^® (betamethasone dipropionate 0.05 mg/g). Methods: The forearms of 45 subjects were treated with Daivobet and Diprosone or Daivobet and its vehicle twice daily over a 4-week period. Sonographic measurements for full skin thickness, clinical assessments and biopsies were carried out. Results: A confidence interval approach was used to establish that skin thinning following treatment with Daivobet was equal to or less than thinning with Diprosone. Histological results did not suggest differences between Daivobet and Diprosone. Clinical signs of atrophy or irritation were not observed. Conclusions: The atrophogenic potential of Daivobet and Diprosone was similar following twice daily application over a 4-week treatment period. Skin irritation was not observed.

Two hundred and fifty-four specimens from males and females consulting a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases were analyzed for genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Each clinical sample was tested by the cell culture technique and the polymerase chain reaction using a closed system. When the two test systems were compared, the overall sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction was 96% and the specificity 94% when compared to the cell culture technique. By use of a closed system for DNA extraction and sample transfer for the polymerase chain reaction, contamination of the samples was minimized. The polymerase chain reaction detected a higher number of Chlamydia trachomatis infections among both symptomatic and asymptomatic females and males, and it also detected Chlamydia trachomatis at an earlier stage of infection when compared to cell culture. The polymerase chain reaction did not detect Chlamydia trachomatis after sufficient antibiotic treatment of the chlamydial infections.