Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element that plays a key role as a cofactor for over 300 enzymes involved in metabolic processes, protein synthesis, and gene expression regulation. Zn supplementation is used in the prevention and treatment of infectious, dermatological, and reproductive system diseases. Legal regulations allow for a relatively wide range of mineral content in this product category (from −20% to +45% of the declared value). The study aimed to analyze the quality of food supplements containing Zn—compliance with declared Zn content was assessed. The study included 80 preparations. The preparations varied in terms of declared Zn content, pharmaceutical form, chemical form of Zn, composition, and primary mode of action. Zn content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry after prior mineralization of the samples in concentrated nitric acid in a closed microwave system. It was estimated that 70% of food supplements contained Zn within the acceptable range. It should be emphasized that 23.75% of the preparations contained more Zn than the permissible range of Zn content, and 6.25% contained less—both of these groups of preparations may be associated with a health risk. From a regulatory perspective, these results highlight the need for continuous surveillance of the food supplement market to improve consumer safety.

Prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for dermatologic conditions in people with HIV in the modern antiretroviral era: A cohort study in Washington, DC.

Climate Change and Infectious Diseases in Dermatology.

The thyroid gland is akey endocrine organ that influences whole-body physiology. The skin, as the largest organ, provides avisible window into internal processes and offers valuable diagnostic clues during clinical examination. This article highlights the secondary cutaneous manifestations of thyroid dysfunction and explores associations between thyroid disorders and dermatological diseases.

Starch-coated metal-organic framework for controlled metronidazole delivery: Antibacterial performance and cytocompatibility assessment.

Climate Change and Dermatologic Health in People Experiencing Housing Instability and Homelessness: Insights and Implications for Clinical Dermatologists.

Cutaneous metastasis as the initial presenting sign of an underlying gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is very rare and easily confused with benign dermatologic disease. We present a 46-year-old female who developed multiple firm, erythematous nodules over the breast, shoulder, and buttocks over 3 months. The skin lesions were initially treated as soft-tissue infections, but there was no response to therapy. A core biopsy of the skin ultimately disclosed metastatic adenocarcinoma with prominent intracytoplasmic mucin and signet-ring morphology; similar malignant cells were subsequently identified in pleural and ascitic fluids. Immunohistochemical (IHC) studies demonstrated a CK7-positive, CK20-negative pattern with strong mucin expression and weak CDX2 labeling, consistent with an upper gastrointestinal primary. Cross-sectional imaging identified diffuse gastric wall thickening consistent with lienitis plastica, peritoneal and pleural involvement, and distant osseous metastases. Poorly differentiated signet ring cell gastric adenocarcinoma was confirmed through endoscopic biopsies, defining stage IV disease. Fluoropyrimidine-platinum chemotherapy and then second-line irinotecan failed to halt disease progression in this patient; her cancer reflected the classic chemo resistant behavior for this histologic subtype. She survived approximately two years after diagnosis. This case thus underlines the need to include metastatic cancer in the differential diagnosis of any persisting or atypical skin nodule: an approach which calls for early biopsy and well-thought-out interpretation of immunophenotyping findings, followed by timely integration of imaging to disclose the silent gastric malignancy and guide management appropriately in a multidisciplinary manner.

Abstract* Background Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted dermatological diagnosis has become increasingly important due to its ability to support clinical decision-making and reduce diagnostic variability among specialists. This paper presents DERMOSAN, an interactive software tool developed in Streamlit, based on a convolutional neural network (CNN), designed for the automatic classification of dermatological diseases using clinical images. Methods A public Kaggle dataset with 27,153 dermatological images distributed across ten clinical categories was used. The model was built on the ResNet152 architecture with transfer learning, implemented in TensorFlow and Keras. The images were divided into training (80%), validation (10%), and test (10%) subsets, applying class weighting to mitigate data imbalance. The tool integrates a Streamlit-based graphical interface that enables real-time image upload, local processing, and probabilistic diagnosis visualization. Results The model achieved 95% accuracy in training, 83% in validation, and 92.3% in testing. The confusion matrix showed better performance in the most representative classes. The developed interface allows for automatic diagnosis along with confidence scores and complementary clinical suggestions, facilitating quick and reproducible visual interpretation. Conclusions DERMOSAN is a stage of software development aimed at integrating deep learning models into accessible clinical environments. Although the system does not include clinical validation, it represents a step toward the creation of reproducible, open-source tools for AI-assisted diagnosis.

Primary Health Care (PHC) is recognized as the gateway to the Unified Health System (SUS), playing a central role in coordinating care. Dermatological diseases constitute a significant portion of the demand at this level of care, requiring effective resolution by multidisciplinary teams. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of dermatoses in Primary Health Care (PHC). This is an integrative literature review conducted in the SciELO, LILACS, PubMed, and CAPES Periódicos databases, covering publications between 2020 and 2025. Nine articles were included, highlighting the high prevalence of skin diseases in health services and the importance of family physicians in early diagnosis, clinical management, and longitudinal follow-up. The discussion indicates that primary care strengthens comprehensive care, increases the resolution of primary care, and reduces unnecessary referrals to specialized care. It is concluded that strengthening the Family Medicine (MFC), combined with investments in ongoing training in dermatology, is strategic for improving care quality, consolidating PHC as a care coordinator, and contributing to strengthening the Unified Health System (SUS).

Psychiatric comorbidities associated with dermatological diseases, particularly in pediatric populations, are relatively understudied compared to psychiatric comorbidities of other chronic diseases. Research suggests that skin conditions in adolescence often co-occur with mental health difficulties, including heightened risk for suicide. Dermatologists play a vital role as early identifiers of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) for their adolescent patients. Currently, there are no recommendations for screenings or assessments related to suicide risk in dermatologic settings. We provide evidence-based tools that can be helpful for STB assessment and highlight clinical pearls for increasing comfort when suicidal thoughts or behaviors occur in the pediatric dermatologist's office.

Abstract Gene therapy has advanced considerably in recent years, driven by innovations in vector engineering and a more advanced understanding of virology for clinical translation. Since 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved seven new viral vector‐based gene therapies, five of which use adeno‐associated virus (AAV) vectors, reinforcing their status as the leading platform for in vivo gene delivery. These approvals encompassed hematologic, neuromuscular, dermatologic, and neurogenetic diseases, using diverse serotypes and delivery routes tailored to the therapeutic context. Disease‐specific patterns of capsid usage reveal advancement in tailored capsid engineering based on anatomical targeting needs. Beyond AAV, non‐AAV vectors, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and adenovirus, are actively explored in cancer trials, while lentiviral vectors support applications in oncology and immune‐related disorders. This review provides an updated analysis of the clinical landscape of viral vector‐based gene therapies, highlighting new FDA‐approved products and ongoing clinical trials by vector type, disease indication, and clinical phase since our original review in 2021. Our analysis highlights advances in viral vector technologies that reflect a maturing field, transitioning from proof‐of‐concept studies to precision platforms increasingly capable of addressing rare monogenic disorders and more prevalent, complex diseases.

In order to develop non-antibiotic therapies to treat dermatological diseases it is urgent to spread knowledge on composition and properties of skin bacteria in healthy animals. Since horses are popular companions of humans, it is necessary to know what risk skin bacteria pose to humans. Therefore the aim of this work was to analyse species composition of staphylococci isolated from skin swabs of 50 healthy horses using MALDI-TOF (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight) spectrometry and to characterize their virulence properties. Swabs were collected from five body areas (neck, dorsal back, abdomen, pastern and muzzle). Among 19 different staphylococcal species identified, the most common species were Staphylococcus succinus, S. xylosus, S. vitulinus and S. warneri. The most frequent antimicrobial resistance in staphylococcal isolates was observed for penicillin G (48%). The blaZ gene was detected in 90% of penicillin resistant isolates while mecA and mecC genes were not observed. Only low level resistance was noted for erythromycin (12%), tetracycline (6%), linezolid (4%) and oxacillin (4%). No multidrug-resistant strain was found, the MAR (multiple antibiotic resistant) index in average was 0.048 ± 0.039. Biofilm production was observed in 90.1% of isolates whereas 62% of them showed strong production. Gelatinase, DNase, protease and lipase activity was found in 50.4%, 41.3%, 22.3% and 46.3% of isolates, respectively. The results of enzyme activities testing using API ZYM kits (BioMérieux) revealed common production of acid and alkaline phosphatase, esterase, esterase lipase and napthtol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase. The caution when interacting with horses is important especially in the case of injury since their staphylococci showed many virulent characteristics however they were not multi-resistant.

Acne is a common dermatological disease, characterized by the presence of comedones, papules, pustules or purulent cysts on seborrhoeic areas. Probiotics are a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms, conferring a health benefit. It has been demonstrated as an effective treatment for dermatological disorders. However, the effects of probiotics on acne remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the therapeutic difference (disease severity grading and number of lesions) between oral probiotics and control (placebo) in patients with acne. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library for randomized trials published before February 2025, comparing probiotics with other interventions, including pharmacological treatments or placebo, in patients with acne. We identified a total of 632 articles initially, and 9 studies involving 623 patients were included in the systematic review. Seven studies were further included in quantitative analysis. After the 4-week intervention, slight differences were observed in the number of inflammatory or noninflammatory lesions between the probiotics and control groups. However, after the 12-week intervention, probiotics significantly alleviated disease severity grading (standard mean difference -1.38, 95% confidence interval -2.69 to -0.08); decreased the total number of lesions (mean difference -10.4, 95% CI -16.2 to -4.51), the number of inflammatory lesions and the number of noninflammatory lesions; and improved skin hydration and sebum content compared with control. Moreover, no major adverse effects of probiotics were reported. Probiotics may exert therapeutic effects in patients with acne.

Purpose: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common cause of hair loss in men. Although medically benign, it has a significant psychosocial impact on patients. The high rate of family history suggests polygenic inheritance. The current study aims to investigate HLA-DR B1 allele positivity in patients with AGA and evaluate the relationship with metabolic and dermatologic diseases that may accompany this disease and vitamin D3 deficiency. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 85 male patients diagnosed with AGA based on clinical history and physical examination were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with stage II or higher AGA according to the Hamilton-Norwood classification were included in the study. Retrospective data were analyzed and recorded through chart review. Demographic characteristics, clinical findings, laboratory results, HLA-DRB1 allele profiles, and serum vitamin D3 levels were evaluated. Additionally, concomitant metabolic and dermatological conditions were assessed in all patients. Results: In the distribution of HLA-DRB1 allele frequencies, HLA-DRB101, HLA-DRB104, and HLA-DRB111 positivity were observed more frequently. When the specific allele subtypes were analyzed, DRB104 11 was positive in 6.4%, DRB111 11 in 11.2%, and DRB111 13 in 6.4% of cases. Vitamin D3 levels were found to be low in 82% of patients with AGA. Conclusion: This study shows that AGA is associated with immunogenetic factors and vitamin D3 deficiency. Screening these parameters may guide clinicians in early diagnosis and treatment.

Cheilitis refers to an acute or chronic inflammation of the lips. It may occur in isolation, affecting only the vermilion border, or may be associated with oral or perioral involvement. Numerous dermatological and systemic diseases may involve the lips, making the clinical assessment of cheilitis particularly challenging. Various types of cheilitis distinguished by frequency, cause, and duration have been described in the literature. However, there are no univocal recommendations on classification. This article aims to introduce a classification of cheilitis based on etiology, according to the following categories: 1) isolated cheilitis, referring to inflammation confined exclusively to the lips, without systemic manifestations or oral cavity involvement. This group includes cheilitis simplex, contact cheilitis, exfoliative cheilitis, granulomatous cheilitis, glandular cheilitis, plasma cell cheilitis, actinic cheilitis, and infectious cheilitis; 2) cheilitis associated with dermatological conditions that exhibit little to no systemic involvement, such as atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, autoimmune bullous diseases, discoid lupus erythematosus, and psoriasis; 3) cheilitis associated with systemic diseases when lip inflammation occurs in the context of systemic conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus, orofacial granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, Crohn's disease, Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome and nutritional deficiencies; and 4) drug-induced cheilitis, when a clear causal relationship is established between drug exposure and lip inflammation, as observed in cases of cheilitis induced by oral retinoids, erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and DRESS (drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms) syndrome. This proposed classification may offer clinicians a practical tool for the systematic evaluation and management of patients presenting with cheilitis.

Background: The inflammatory process in acne is often accompanied by increased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant activity, in particular the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Aims: Analysis of the influence of polymorphic loci T58C (rs1141718), Ala16Val (rs4880), C60T (rs11575993) of the SOD2 gene in patients of Uzbek nationality suffering from acne of varying severity. Materials and methods: The case-control study was conducted on genomic DNA samples isolated from the peripheral blood of patients. The studies were conducted from February 2023 to December 2023. 133 patients with acne were examined. The control group consisted of 125 conditionally healthy individuals of Uzbek nationality who did not have dermatological or other diseases. Results: According to the severity, the patients were divided into three groups: with mild severity - 51 (38.4%), with moderate severity - 63 (47.3%), and with severe severity - 19 (14.3%) (classification of the Global Alliance to Improve Acne Outcomes). It was found that the presence of an unfavorable C allele and a heterozygous T/C genotype for the rs1141718 polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of developing inflammatory processes under the influence of oxidative stress - the risk increases by 8-13 times in patients with mild and severe acne (P 0.05). In addition, a clear trend towards a higher frequency of occurrence of the unfavorable Val allele in the group of patients with acne was revealed, and an association of the Val allelic variant and the homozygous Val/Val genotype with the severity of the clinical course of the disease was established. Conclusions: Polymorphic variants of genes related to oxidative stress biomarkers, in particular SOD2 (T58C, rs1141718 and Ala16Val, rs180079), play a significant role in the pathogenesis of oxidative stress in acne.

In the last decade, there has been a steady upward trend in the incidence of atopic dermatitis, a genetically determined inflammatory skin disease, among the child population. The inclusion of topical glucocorticosteroids in pediatric practice is justified, since these drugs control the symptoms of dermatological disease, reduce the risk of severe course of the pathological process. In the course of the work, a list of glucocorticosteroids for topical use presented in pharmacies of the metropolis was studied. An assessment of the range of drugs in this group revealed that the proposed drugs have a variety of release forms and a wide price range. A study of the ratio of imported and domestic drugs revealed that the main country producing the analyzed drugs is Russia. However, in the list of these pharmacies at the time of the study, an insufficient range of concentrations (weak, moderate or strong activity) of topical glucocorticosteroids was noted, indicated in clinical guidelines for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in children. Thus, it has been established that it is necessary to expand the range of glucocorticosteroids for topical use for pharmacotherapy of atopic dermatitis in children of different age groups.

Alopecia areata is believed to be an isolated dermatological disease and also a potential marker of systematic diseases, particularly changes in body fat distribution as well as metabolic risk. An analysis of the thickness of skin-fat folds in men with alopecia areata in Ukraine makes it possible to expand our understanding of pathogenetic mechanisms of this disease and to approach more deeply its early diagnosis, and individual therapy. The aim of the study was to determine the features of skinfold thickness (SFT) in young adult Ukrainian men with alopecia areata. A clinical and instrumental examination (using an ARAMO ASW 300 dermatoscope-trichoscope) and an anthropological assessment (measurement of SFT in accordance with the recommendations of P. P. Shaparenko) were performed in 81 young adult Ukrainian men with alopecia areata. The severity of alopecia areata was determined according to I. V. Shutskiy. As a control group, we used SFT indicators of 82 apparently healthy Ukrainian men of the same age group from the database of the Research Center of Vinnytsia National Pirogov Memorial Medical University. Statistical processing of the results was carried out using the licensed software package Statistica 6.0, applying nonparametric evaluation methods. Significantly higher values of SFT were found in Ukrainian men with alopecia areata overall and at different degrees of severity, compared with practically healthy men, on the posterior (by 13.42-22.11 %), anterior surface of the arm (by 47.16-66.90 %), forearm (by 35.56-47.78 %), chest (by 70.59-87.86 %), and flank (by 21.77-31.63 %), and significantly lower SFT values on the thigh (by 15.73-20.98 %) and under the inferior angle of the scapula (by 36.13-47.59 %). Between groups of Ukrainian men with alopecia areata of different severity, only significantly lower SFT values on the posterior (by 9.31 % and 14.08 %) and anterior (by 9.73 % and 13.42 %) surfaces of the arm in patients with grade I severity compared with patients with grades II and III were established. The identified oppositely directed changes in SFT on the upper limb and thigh, as well as under the inferior angle of the scapula versus on the chest and flank in Ukrainian men with alopecia areata overall and at different degrees of severity, are manifestations of a “subpathological” constitutional type in this disease.

Azathioprine is a cytotoxic drug used frequently as a steroid-sparing agent in multiple dermatological diseases. Myelosuppression is known to occur with azathioprine, but severe pancytopenia and hair loss are uncommon. Hair loss usually occurs with long-term use, but sudden onset and rapidly progressive alopecia are extremely rare. In this report, we present an unusual case of a patient with chronic spontaneous urticaria, accompanied by elevated serum immunoglobulin E levels, who developed sudden-onset, rapidly progressing alopecia areata concurrent with azathioprine-induced bone marrow suppression. The patient’s condition improved following discontinuation of azathioprine, with concurrent resolution of leukopenia and gradual hair regrowth, suggesting a temporal and possibly causative relationship between the drug and both the hematologic and dermatologic manifestations. This case emphasizes the unpredictable nature of immunomodulatory therapy and highlights a paradox wherein a drug intended to suppress autoimmune activity potentially triggers a separate autoimmune condition. It also emphasizes the importance of vigilant monitoring for both common and rare adverse effects during azathioprine therapy.

To reveal the research status of fire needle by analyzing its patent applications, so as to provide reference for the development of fire needle equipment and the promotion of this therapy. By searching the incoPat global patent database, from its inception to December 29th, 2024, the patent data on fire needle was collected. The patent analysis was employed on patent application trends, geographical distribution, patent types, current legal status, applicants and inventors, overall technical composition and distribution of applicable diseases. With the help of incoPat's "shared value" evaluation model, the technical efficacy value of patent was comprehensively measured from 3 dimensions, i.e. technical stability, technological advancement and protection scope. Using SWOT analysis, the matrix of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of fire needle technique was constructed, and then its development trend was analyzed systematically. A total of 346 patents were included, comprising 23 granted invention patents (6.65%), 219 utility model patents (63.29%), and 157 patents were in an effective state of validity (45.38%). The number of fire needle patent applications showed a growing trend since 2013 and peaked in 2021. The top 3 provinces and cities in terms of the number of applications were Guangdong, Beijing and Shandong. Existing patents focus on improving convenience, reducing complexity, enhancing safety and increasing efficiency; and are specialized in treatment of dermatological diseases. The results of patent research on fire needle show the application of updated materials, invention of equipment and expansion of applicable diseases. However, there are still some limitations such as technical complexity, high cost, lack of composite talents, lack of awareness of patent maintenance and insufficient international promotion. Multiple strategies are proposed on the development of fire needle therapy, i.e. enhancing financial support and expanding the number of diseases, giving full play to regional characteristics and advantages to promote resource sharing, deepening the integration of industry, research and education to improve the quality of patents, strengthening supervision to reduce low-quality patents, and carrying out high-level research to promote technical standardization and internationalization, and enhance global competitiveness.