Topical vasodilators are widely used in reconstructive microsurgery in order to ameliorate intraoperative vascular spasm (vasospasm) and facilitate microvascular anastomoses. There is, however, a paucity of literature to support or discredit this practice. A survey of current practice in UK Plastic Surgery Departments was therefore undertaken. Email questionnaires were sent to all 281 consultan...

Correspondence to: S Conroy, The Medical School, Derbyshire Children’s Hospital, Uttoxeter Road, Derby DE22 3DT, UK; Sharon.conroy@ nottingham.ac.uk _________________________ E czema is the most common chronic skin disease, affecting 15 to 20% children in developed countries. Altered T cell function appears to be the primary immunological abnormality and patients have raised levels of IgE. Most...

BACKGROUND Transient hyperpigmentation is the most common complication seen following cutaneous carbon dioxide (CO2) laser resurfacing. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of a topical skin lightening regimen prior to cutaneous laser resurfacing reduces the incidence of post-laser resurfacing hyperpigmentation. METHODS One hundred consecutive CO2 laser resur...

In recent years, gels have been preferentially used for cosmetics and topical pharmaceutical preparations due to their favorable characteristics, such as being greaseless, readily spreadable easily removable. However, one
 obstacle that faced it was the inability enclose hydrophobic compounds. Therefore, a novel approach developed circumvent this limitation by mixing gel with an emulsion, ...

Antimicrobial resistance is recognised as a growing problem that seriously threatens public health and requires prompt action. Concerns have therefore been raised about the potential harmful effects of making antibiotics available without prescription. Because of the very serious concerns regarding further spread of resistance, the over-the-counter (OTC) availability of antibiotics was analysed...

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of topical vehicles on the in vivo human stratum corneum penetration of the antioxidant and skin photoprotective agent (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Model oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion and gel formulations containing 1 % (m/m) EGCG were prepared and subjected to photodegradation studies in order to select excipients that minimize the light i...

Atopic dermatitis, also known as atopic eczema, is a chronic pruritic skin condition affecting approximately 17.8 million persons in the United States. It can lead to significant morbidity. A simplified version of the U.K. Working Party's Diagnostic Criteria can help make the diagnosis. Asking about the presence and frequency of symptoms can allow physicians to grade the severity of the disease...

The scalp is a common site of involvement of psoriasis and, for many patients, is a challenging aspect of their disease. This can be attributed not only to the scaling, itching and cosmetic embarrassment that go with scalp psoriasis, but also to the fact that the scalp skin is relatively inaccessible, making topical therapies difficult to apply. The proximity of sensitive facial skin can also l...

Topical treatment of severe ocular infections may require the use of antibiotics fortified in concentration beyond commercially available preparations. The authors studied tear pharmacokinetics, tissue bioavailability, epithelial toxicity, and comparative antibacterial efficacy of topical tobramycin concentrations ranging from 0.3-5.0%. Tear pharmacodynamics demonstrate bioassay-measurable leve...

The topical delivery of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as Ibuprofen has been explored as a potential method of avoiding the first pass effects and the gastric irritation, which may occur when used orally. Ibuprofen is formulated into many topical preparations to reduce the adverse effects and simultaneously avoid the hepatic first-pass metabolism as well. However, it is dif...