Journal of

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Background and Aim: Psoriasis vulgaris is a common chronic dermatic disease impresses many aspects of patients’ life. Many clinical researches focus on quality of life recently, to evaluate clinical interventions and treatments. This study planned to recognize different aspects of life in patients suffer psoriasis vulgaris.

Methods: This case-control study was performed on 100 patients suffer psoriasis vulgaris in 1391 year and 100 people who didn’t have any specific disease as control group. Quality of life was measured by standard quality of life questionnaire (SF-36) and data obtained were analyzed with chi square and t tests.

Results: Average score of SF-36 in psoriasis patients group 65.05±15.51 was significantly less than control group 78.31±11.93 (P<0.001). Difference between patients and control group was significant in all of aspects except physical and emotional aspects (P<0.05).

Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, patients with psoriasis vulgaris had a significantly lower quality of life, in comparison with the control group. Therefore, these patients require special attention and specific planning to improve and manage different aspects of their lives.

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Background and Aim: Microdermabrasion is a minimally invasive technology that is widely used in the field of cosmetic medicine. The mechanism of action of microdermabrasion is mechanical peeling of the skin using metal crystals. This review was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of microdermabrasion in the treatment of scar, acne, striae and its other indications.

Methods: A comprehensive electronic search was done in clinical evidence databases for clinical trials, systematic reviews, health economic evaluations, and health technology studies. The databases and search engines were PubMed, Ovid Medline, Scopus, Turning Research into Practice (TRIP), Center for Reviews and Disseminations (CRD), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), National Health System Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Cochrane Library, and ClinicalKey. The search was done up to July 2014. Key references were manually searched to find relevant studies. The eligible articles were investigated regarding the safety and efficacy of microdermabrasion.

Results: This systematic review includes 19 studies with a total of 368 patients, whom were treated with microdermabrasion for treatment of acne, vitiligo, melasma, acne scars, striae, skin rejuvenation, photo damaged skin and, photo-aging. Appraisal of the studies supported the efficacy and safety of microdermabrasion in treating the aforementioned skin problems.

Conclusion: Microdermabrasion, either as a single therapeutic intervention or in combination with other interventions, can be used in the treatment of several skin diseases and conditions. Since its side effects are milder than some other interventions, generally, it is considered as a safe method.

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Background and Aim: The use of medicinal herbs for the treatment of skin disease, such as acne, has a long history. The extract of Pistaca atlantica is used to treat various diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of Pistaca atlantica extract for the treatment of mild to moderate acne.
Methods: This clinical trial was performed on 60 patients with mild to moderate acne, who where randomly divided into two groups. After obtaining informed consent, volunteers in the case group received a topical extract of 15% Pistaca Atlantica once daily for 6 weeks. In the control group, placebo was given in the same way. Patients were evaluated for the number of lesions at the beginning, and 3 and 6 weeks after treatment.
Results: At the end of study, the mean reduction in lesions was 59.93% in the Pistaca atlantica group and -11.46% in the control group. Also Skin softness and lucidity were observed in the Pistaca atlantica group.
Conclusion: This clinical study showed that topical treatment with Pistaca atlantica extract can be recommended to improve mild to moderate acne. However, a longer study with larger sample size is needed to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this plant.

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Background and Aim: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common skin diseases in adolescents and young adults. Although acne do not physically disable the patient, it can cause significant psychological morbidities. The disease etiology is not fully understood; however, there are several factors involved in the pathogenesis. The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal variation of acne vulgaris in patients referred to skin clinic of Shohaday-e-Tajrish Hospital in Tehran in 2017.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study in patients diagnosed with acne vulgaris by a dermatologist. One-hundred three eligible patients were enrolled in the study. The severity of acne was graded as mild, moderate or severe. In addition to the demographic data, information on the acne severity and changes in the acne severity in summer and winter had been recorded.

Results: The average age of 103 acne patients was 24.68±6.77 years. Sixty-eight patients were female and 35 cases were male. Fifteen (14.6%) patients had mild acne, 55 (53.4%) cases had moderate acne and 33 (32%) subjects had severe disease. In the summer, symptoms improved in 34 (33%) patients, worsened in 18 (17.5%) patients, and remained unchanged in 51 (49.5%) cases. In winter, symptoms improved in 15 (14.6%) patients, worsened in 37 (35.9%) patients, and remained unchanged in 51 (49.5%) patients (P=0.001). There was no significant relationship between changes in the severity of acne in winter or summer with age, age of the disease onset or duration or severity of acne (P>0.05).

Conclusion: In the present study, the number of patients with acne exacerbation in winter was significantly higher than that in summer. This may highlight the important role of winter in increasing the acne severity; however, more comprehensive studies with more sample sizes are still needed in different geographical areas.