Nevoid hyperkeratosis (NH) of the nipple and areola is an extremely uncommon condition in prepubertal children. We report on a prepubertal girl with NH and provide dermoscopic findings that helped to make the diagnosis.
Childhood‐onset cutaneous mastocytosis (CM) have been regarded as a clonal disease similar to adult‐onset systemic mastocytosis since the discovery of somatic KIT mutations in pediatric patients. To our knowledge, all mutations previously detected in CM have been heterozygous. Here we report a case of pediatric CM in which only a KIT 502_503dupAY mutation, but not the wild‐type allele, was detected.
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Cosmetics, Vol. 6, Pages 12: An Evaluation of the Physicochemical Properties of Stabilized Oil-In-Water Emulsions Using Different Cationic Surfactant Blends for Potential Use in the Cosmetic Industry
Cosmetics doi: 10.3390/cosmetics6010012
Authors: Pamela Agredo Maria C. Rave Juan D. Echeverri Daniela Romero Constain H. Salamanca
One of the most complex problems in hair care formulations is the duality of the surfactants used. In this regard, such surfactants must be cationic so as to interact with the negatively charged cuticle surface of hair. However, these interdependencies typically lead to non-ideal values for the required hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) in the oil phase. This study was designed to evaluate the physicochemical properties of several oil-in-water emulsion prototypes for the potential use in hair conditioners. Here, a base formulation was utilized, incorporating binary mixtures of cationic surfactants in different proportions. The cationic surfactants employed were hydroxyethyl-behenamidopropyl-diammonium chloride, behentrimonium methosulphate, cetrimonium chloride, and (iv) Polyquaterniumpolyquaternium-70. The surfactants were evaluated for their capability to decrease the surface tension in an aqueous solution through contact angle measurements between the oily phase and the aqueous phase. The required HLB of the oil phase was also determined. The emulsification process was developed using standard preparation methods. For three months, the prototypes with high viscosity were packed in containers and stored in a stability chamber at accelerated conditions (40 ± 2 °C and 75 ± 5% RH). During this time, the size, size polydispersity, zeta potential, viscosity, rheological profile, and creaming index were all evaluated monthly. The results showed a slight change in the physical stability of the prototypes, where the droplet size increased moderately, however, did little to destabilize the formulations. This suggests that the mixtures of cationic surfactants used could be useful for technological developments in hair conditioning products.
Stress is among the most frequently self‐reported factors provoking epileptic seizures in children and adults. It is still unclear though, why some people display stress‐sensitive seizures while others don't. Recently, we showed that young epilepsy patients with stress‐sensitive seizures exhibit a dysregulated hypothalamus‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA)‐axis. Most likely, this dysregulation gradually develops, and is triggered by stressors occurring early in life (ELS). ELS may be particularly impactful when overlapping with the period of epileptogenesis.
To examine this in a controlled and prospective manner, the current study investigated the effect of repetitive variable stressors or control treatment between postnatal day (PND) 12 and 24 in male mice exposed on PND10 to hyperthermia (HT)‐induced prolonged seizures (control: normothermia (NT)). A number of peripheral and central indices of HPA‐axis activity were evaluated at pre‐adolescent and young adult age, i.e. at PND25 and 90 respectively.
At PND25 but not at PND90, body weight gain and absolute as well as relative (to body weight) thymus weight were reduced by ELS (versus control) while relative adrenal weight was enhanced, confirming the effectiveness of the stress treatment. Basal and stress‐induced corticosterone levels were unaffected, though, by ELS at both ages. HT by itself did not affect any of these peripheral markers of HPA‐axis activity nor did it interact with ELS. However, centrally we did observe age‐specific interaction effects of HT and ELS with regard to hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mRNA expression, neurogenesis with the immature neuron marker doublecortin and the number of hilar (ectopic) granule cells using Prox1 staining. This lends some support to the notion that exposure to repetitive stress after HT‐induced seizures may dysregulate central components of the stress system in an age‐dependent manner. Such dysregulation could be one of the mechanisms conferring higher vulnerability of individuals with epilepsy to develop seizures in the face of stress.
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A 68‐year‐old man presented for excision of a nodule on his right sub‐mandibular neck that had grown quickly over a three‐month period. Initially, it looked like an "ingrown hair," and he admitted to expressing blood‐tinged fluid from the nodule multiple times.
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Gastric cancer (GC) ranks among the most lethal epithelial malignancies, and its striking mortality rate prompts a global prevention strategy. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastritis is the main GC promoter, and the 2014 Global Kyoto conference recognized H. pylori gastritis as a (treatable) infectious disease. It is therefore plausible that any large‐scale intervention for H. pylori eradication would result in cleansing the world of the fifth cause of cancer‐related death. Atrophic gastritis is the cancerization field in which GCs (both intestinal and diffuse histotypes) mainly develop. Discontinuing the inflammatory cascade triggered by H. pylori is tantamount to preventing GC. For patients (still infected or eradicated) who have already developed gastric atrophy, the severity/topography of the atrophic changes correlates with their cancer risk. Gastritis OLGA (Operative Link for Gastritis Assessment) staging consistently ranks the atrophy‐associated cancer risk, providing a solid clinical/biological rationale for establishing patient‐specific surveillance programs. By combining primary and secondary prevention strategies, gastric cancer is a preventable disease.
