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Background:Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, which most commonly causes dysuria, pruritus and soreness of the vulval and perianal areas. Potent topical corticosteroids are used for the treatment of LS, but it is well known that they inhibit collagen synthesis and cause skin atrophy as a side effect. Methods: The present pilot study evaluated the efficacy and safety of pimecrolimus cream 1% applied twice daily for up to 6 months in 29 women with severe LS. Results: Of the 26 subjects who completed the follow-up period, 42% (11/26) were in complete remission with relief from itchiness, pain and inflammation. A 3.5-fold increase in type I collagen synthesis and a 7.5-fold increase in type III collagen synthesis of the affected areas was detected after 2 months of pimecrolimus treatment. There were no systemic adverse reactions, although mild local skin reactions were reported by 50% of the patients. Blood concentrations of pimecrolimus were checked in 10/26 patients (39%) and were undetectable in all cases. Conclusions: Patient-applied 1% pimecrolimus cream is safe and effective for the treatment of LS.

Hackers, malicious users, system malfunctions, and other incidents can disrupt organizational IS and cause severe organizational losses or even impact societies as a whole. In this paper, I review interdisciplinary literature on business continuity from an information systems (IS) perspective to increase understanding on how organizations can prepare for and respond to incidents. I use a narrative review approach with descriptive elements to review 83 peerreviewed papers published between 2000-2012 across a wide array of journals and disciplines. I identify themes across the past contributions, join the currently isolated streams of literature under a concept of IS continuity, and identify research gaps in the current knowledge. The results suggest that one can understand past contributions in terms of four themes that emerged from the literature: 1) social aspects as IS continuity enabler, 2) technology as IS continuity enabler, 3) salience of IS continuity, and 4) models that improve IS continuity. To move toward an integration of the past research, and to pinpoint research gaps, I present an integrative framework. Further, the research contributes to forming an IS continuity community to facilitate cooperation and communications among scholars sharing a common interest.