Improvement of treatment may be one of the reasons for the decrease in mortalities of both SJS and TEN.

Treatment with steroid pulse therapy in combination with plasmapheresis and/or immunoglobulin therapy seems to have contributed to prognostic improvement in SJS/TEN.

In order to prevent ocular sequelae in adult patients when M. pneumoniae infection is suspected, more intensive treatment may be needed in adult patients than in younger patients.

We analyzed the TeV gamma-ray image of a supernova remnant RX J1713.7−3946 (RX J1713) through a comparison with the interstellar medium (ISM) and nonthermal X-rays. The gamma-ray data sets at two energy bands of >2 TeV and >250–300 GeV were obtained with H.E.S.S. and utilized in the analysis. We employed a new methodology, which assumes that the gamma-ray counts can be expressed as a linear combination of two terms: one is proportional to the ISM column density and the other proportional to the X-ray count. We then assume that these represent the hadronic and leptonic components, respectively. By fitting the expression to the data pixels, we find that the gamma-ray counts are well represented by a flat plane in the 3D space formed by the gamma-ray counts, the ISM column density, and the X-ray counts. The results using the latest H.E.S.S. data at 4.′8 resolution show that the hadronic and leptonic components constitute (67 ± 8)% and (33 ± 8)% of the total gamma rays, respectively, where the two components have been quantified for the first time. The hadronic component is greater than the leptonic component, which reflects the massive ISM of ∼104 M ⊙ associated with the remnant, lending support for the acceleration of cosmic-ray protons. There is a marginal hint that the gamma rays are suppressed at high gamma-ray counts, which may be ascribed to second-order effects including the shock–cloud interaction and the effect of penetration depth.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) has a complicated pathogenesis and its clinical features vary greatly among patients. Although many clinical parameters have been reported, it remains difficult to evaluate AD skin conditions adequately. Objective: To support better evaluation of AD patients, we attempted to develop a new, objective and noninvasive method that assesses skin condition in AD using biochemical markers in the skin’s horny layer (HL). Methods: Thirty-six patients with AD, 8 with psoriasis and 16 healthy volunteers were recruited. HL samples were obtained by tape stripping from involved and uninvolved skin of the forearms. Expression levels of 6 proteins in the HL [fatty acid-binding protein-5 (FABP-5), squamous cell carcinoma antigens 2 (SCCA2), α-enolase, annexin II, apolipoprotein A-I and albumin] were analyzed by immunoblotting and compared with clinical data. Results: The 6 proteins were detected at a high level in AD skin lesions, but scarcely in the normal controls. FABP-5 showed correlation with the local severity of the involved skin. Annexin II, apoprotein A-I and albumin showed correlation with the severity of specific eruptions. SCCA2 correlated significantly with total serum IgE level. Albumin levels in the uninvolved skin of AD patients showed significant correlation with the local severity in the involved skin of the same patient and with the trans-epidermal water loss. Albumin levels in psoriatic skin were very low, even with scratch marks, compared to those in AD skin. Conclusion: FABP-5, albumin and some other proteins in HL seem to be useful as biomarkers to evaluate inflammation and skin barrier conditions in AD patients.