Background: Little is known about the impact of nutrition on the development of skin structure and function in infants. Methods: We investigated epidermal, dermal, and subcutis parameters of aged-matched well-nourished and moderately undernourished infants in this single-center, cross-sectional, noninterventional study using noninvasive methods (skin caliper, 20-MHz sonography, transepidermal water loss, skin pH, and corneometry). Plasma fatty acids were determined as an indicator of nutritional differences. 310 infants from different age groups, i.e., 1 week, 4 weeks, and 6, 9, 12, 24, and 36 months were included. Approximately half of each age group was well-nourished (WHO reference values weight-for-height/length Zscore: –0.75 ≤ Z ≤ 0.75) and the other half was moderately undernourished (–3 ≤ Z < –2). Results: Structural maturational differences in the deeper dermis and subcutis regions of the skin and subtle functional changes in the epidermis were observed in moderately undernourished infants without notable clinical symptoms. Reduced skin barrier function or skin hydration were not observed in the undernourished infants, and skin pH shifted to more acidic values in this group. Conclusion: These findings reveal a greater impact of moderate undernutrition on the development of the dermis and subcutis and suggest that critical epidermal functions such as skin barrier and pH are mostly maintained.

Background: Topical preparations are a common treatment for superficial acute wounds, which at the least do not interfere with healing and ideally result in enhanced wound healing irrespective of microbial colonization. Objective: To examine the effects of a topical antimicrobial gel and its vehicle on the wound healing of standardized, superficial abrasions. Methods: Thirty-three healthy volunteers were enrolled in a double-blinded, randomized, intraindividual comparison study. Three standardized, superficial abrasions were induced on their forearms. A tyrothricin 0.1% gel (Tyrosur® gel; Engelhard Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG, Niederdorfelden, Germany) and its vehicle were randomly applied to two of the test areas, and one lesion remained untreated. Results: A significant improvement of wound healing was seen with both tyrothricin 0.1% gel and its corresponding vehicle in the clinical assessment. The mean area under the curve (AUC) of wound healing scores was the same for both preparations and the mean reepithelization scores were comparable at all test points over the entire 12 days. A lower mean AUC representing less reepithelization was found for the untreated test fields. Conclusion: The use of tyrothricin 0.1% gel and its corresponding vehicle resulted in statistically significant improved wound healing with an earlier onset of healing in particular. Based on these results obtained using an abrasive wound model, it can be concluded that the addition of tyrothricin 0.1% to the gel vehicle did not interfere with the improved wound healing seen with the vehicle alone.

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Background/Aims: Psoriasis plaque tests (PPTs) are important tools in the early phases of antipsoriatic drug development. Two distinct PPT design variants (open vs. occluded drug application) are commonly used, but no previous work has aimed to directly compare and contrast their performance. Methods: We compared the antipsoriatic efficacy of mapracorat 0.1% ointment and reference drugs reported in 2 separate studies, representing open and occluded PPT designs. The drug effect size was measured by sonography (mean change in echo-poor band thickness), chromametry, and standardized clinical assessment. Results: Antipsoriatic effects were detectable for the study drugs in both occluded and open PPTs. Differences between the potency of antipsoriatic drugs and vehicle were observable. The total antipsoriatic effect size appeared to be higher in the occluded PPT than the open PPT, despite the shorter treatment duration (2 vs. 4 weeks). Effect dynamics over time revealed greater differences between some study drugs in the open PPT compared to the occluded PPT. Conclusion: Taking the higher technical challenges for the open PPT into account, we recommend the occluded PPT as a standard screening setting in early drug development. In special cases, considering certain drug aspects or study objectives that would require procedural adaptations, an open PPT could be the better-suited design. Finally, both PPT models show clear advantages: classification as phase I studies, small number of psoriatic subjects, relatively short study duration, excellent discrimination between compounds and concentrations, parallel measurement of treatment response, and go/no go decisions very early in clinical development.

Recent clinical studies have shown that adjuvant chemotherapy may improve response rates to treatment for advanced head and neck carcinomas. Given preoperatively, some chemotherapeutic agents adversely affect wound healing. The specific purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of cisplatin on wound healing when it is given preoperatively. Forty-four Swiss outbred mice were divided into control and treatment groups. One week before surgery, the treatment group received cisplatin (2 mg/kg body weight) by subcutaneous injections on 2 consecutive days. Each control animal was given an equal volume of normal saline. A 1.5 cm transverse incision was made in each animal, and wounds were closed with surgical staples. The mean wound-breaking strength was determined for a minimum of 5 treatment and 5 control mice on postoperative days 6, 10, 13, and 16. Serum creatinine, blood cell counts, and changes in weight were also monitored. Results showed wound strength on postoperative day 10 to be significantly reduced in mice treated with cisplatin (P less than 0.05). There was no significant difference for wound strength on any other days and all other variables were similar between both groups. In conclusion, cisplatin has an adverse effect on wound healing, the peak of which probably occurs during the proliferative stage of wound healing. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal time for surgery after preoperative chemotherapy. All new chemotherapeutic agents, particularly those being considered in a preoperative regimen, should be tested in this manner.