Diabetes affects some functional properties of epidermis and dermis that may responsible for many cutaneous manifestations of diabetes. These results suggest that patients with diabetes mellitus tend to show a normal hydration state of the SC together with decreased sebaceous gland activity and impaired skin elasticity, without any impairment of the SC barrier function.

Skin is among the first and most heavily damaged organs upon sulphur mustard (SM) exposure. Pruritus is the most common chronic skin complication of SM, which adversely affects the quality of life (QoL). However, current therapies for the management of SM-induced pruritus are very limited and associated with side effects. The present trial investigated the efficacy of curcumin in the alleviation of SM-induced chronic pruritic symptoms. A total of ninety-six male Iranian veterans (age 37-59 years) were randomised to receive either curcumin (1 g/d, n 46) or placebo (n 50) for 4 weeks. Serum concentrations of substance P and activities of antioxidant enzymes were measured at baseline and at the end of the trial. Assessment of pruritus severity was performed using the pruritus score, visual analogue scale (VAS) and scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index. QoL was evaluated using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. Serum concentrations of substance P (P,0·001) as well as activities of superoxide dismutase (P ¼ 0·02), glutathione peroxidase (P ¼ 0·006) and catalase (P,0·001) were significantly reduced in the curcumin group, while no significant change was observed in the placebo group. Curcumin supplementation was also associated with significant reductions in measures of pruritus severity including the pruritus score (P, 0·001), VAS score (P,0·001), overall (P, 0·001) and objective SCORAD (P ¼ 0·009), and DLQI's first question (P,0·001). None of these measures was significantly changed in the placebo group. As for the QoL, although DLQI scores decreased in both groups (P,0·001 and P ¼ 0·003 in the curcumin and placebo groups, respectively), the magnitude of reduction was significantly greater in the curcumin group (P, 0·001). In conclusion, curcumin may be regarded as a natural, safe, widely available and inexpensive treatment for the management of SM-induced chronic pruritus.

BackgroundOral mucositis is one of the common complications of cancer chemotherapy and about 40% of the patients who take chemotherapy protocols, experience this irritating problem. The purpose of this study was to draw comparison between the therapeutic effects of our treatment modalities (topical steroid, honey, honey plus coffee) in patients suffering from oral mucositis.MethodsThis was a double blinded randomised clinical trial of a total of 75 eligible adult participants which they randomly fell into three treatment groups. For all the participants a syrup-like solution was prepared. Each 600 grams of the product consisted of “20 eight-mg Betamethasone solution ampoules” in the Steroid (S) group, “300 grams of honey plus 20 grams of instant coffee” in the Honey plus Coffee (HC) group, and “300 grams of honey” for the Honey (H) group. The participants were told to sip 10 ml of the prescribed product, and then swallow it every three hours for one week. Severity of lesions was clinically evaluated before the treatment and also one week after the initiation of the intervention. This study adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and guidelines of Good Clinical Practice.ResultsThis study showed that all three treatment regimens reduce the severity of lesions. The best reduction in severity was achieved in HC group. H group and S group took the second and third places. In other words, honey plus coffee regimen was the most effective modality for the treatment of oral mucositis.ConclusionOral mucositis can be successfully treated by a combination of honey and coffee as an alternative medicine in a short time. Further investigations are warranted in this field.Trial registrationIranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT: 201104074737N3, (9 May 2011).

Background: There are contradictory reports on the relationship between acne vulgaris and cigarette smoking. The objective of this study was to examine the relation between acne and cigarette smoking in a case-control study.

To validate the accuracy of newly proposed diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis (AD).Design: Double-blind, cross-sectional study comparing the achievement of new criteria with the diagnosis of a dermatologist.