Ultraviolet (UV) radiation plays a pivotal role in the development of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Numerous factors potentially place athletes at high risk for developing these cancers. Various prevention strategies ameliorate this risk, including avoiding sun exposure during peak UV exposure hours, applying sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 30 or above before participating in outdoor sports, wearing hats and sunglasses, and reducing exposure with long pants and long-sleeve shirts. The literature, however, cites several barriers to these prevention approaches, including sports' competition rules, the lack of availability of sunscreen, and the lack of information about sun safety behaviors. Sun safety education programs prove effective in getting athletes to participate in prevention strategies. This article reviews the effect of UV radiation on athletes' skin and provides sports medicine clinicians with suggestions to improve the sun safety behaviors of their athletes.
Onychomycosis is a fungal nail plate infection that has been increasing in prevalence. A variety of oral and topical anti-fungal agents are currently available but their use is limited by their adverse effect profile, drug–drug interactions, and limited efficacy. Therefore, there is a great need for newer anti-fungal agents. Tavaborole is one of these newer agents and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2014 for the topical treatment of mild to moderate toenail onychomycosis. Tavaborole is a novel, boron-based anti-fungal agent with greater nail plate penetration than its predecessors, due to its smaller molecular weight. It has proven through several Phase II and III trials that it can be a safe and effective topical agent for the treatment of mild to moderate toenail onychomycosis without the need for debridement. In this paper, we review the landscape of topical and systemic treatment of onychomycosis, with particular attention to the pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of topical tavaborole.
Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory dermatosis, affecting 2-3% of the US population. While first-generation cytokine antagonists targeting tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-dependent pathways have produced favorable responses in the treatment of psoriasis, higher levels of efficacy in a greater proportion of patients have been shown in trials with antibodies targeting interleukin (IL)-17A and the IL-17 receptor subunit. This examines the role of IL-17 inhibitors in the treatment of plaque psoriasis. The efficacy and safety results from the phase-3 trials with monoclonal antibodies targeting IL-17RA (brodalumab) and IL-17A (ixekizumab and secukinumab) validate IL-17 as a highly effective therapeutic target for the treatment of plaque psoriasis.
Laser treatment is a relatively new and increasingly popular modality for the treatment of many dermatologic conditions. A number of conditions that predominantly occur in women and that have a paucity of effective treatments include rosacea, connective tissue disease, melasma, nevus of Ota, lichen sclerosus (LS), notalgia paresthetica and macular amyloidosis, and syringomas. Laser therapy is an important option for the treatment of patients with these conditions. This article will review the body of literature that exists for the laser treatment of women with these medical conditions.
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