There have been considerable advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of pruritus in recent years. The purpose of this review was to highlight itch entities in women, and in particular pruritic vulvar dermatoses that women experience among different age groups. Unique temporal shifts may contribute to the etiology of many of these conditions. These changes lead to cyclical changes i...

Background: Vulvar dermatoses are inflammatory disorders of genital skin causing itch, burning, and plaques with overlying excoriation and linear fissures. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a soft foam based on Tiab® system (TF), complex of titanium micro crystals covalently bound with silver ions associated with hyaluronic acid, in the supportive treatment of lichen sclerosus (LS) and ...

The objective of the present study was to develop a model to predict lichen species richness for six test sites in the Swiss Pre-Alps following a gradient of land use intensity combining airborne remote sensing data and regression models. This study ties in with the European Union Project BioAssess which aimed at quantifying patterns in biodiversity and developing “Biodiversity Assessment Tools...

The present study used the epilithic fruticose lichen Ramalina maciformis to investigate the occurrence of mineral elements, including heavy metals, at a distance of up to 50 km from the industrial region in Ramat Hovav in the Negev Desert, Israel. The major objective of this study was an analytical comparison of elemental content and physiological parameters of lichen vitality, apart from a te...

AIM To determine whether use of a topical, nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching formula was able to preserve the absence of symptoms, mainly itching and burning, induced by an earlier and relatively short treatment with topical steroids in women diagnosed with vulvar dermatitis or lichen simplex. METHODS Ninety-six subjects (36 with contact dermatitis, 29 with allergic dermatitis...

In the present study, the new biological sources in the form of lichen Usnea orientalis Motyka was screened for its antidermatophytic potential. Six species of dermatophytes were chosen on the basis of their prevalence for antidermatophytic assays, and the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI)-recommended broth microdilution procedure was used to detect the efficacy of extract against d...

BACKGROUND Long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) and short interspersed element (Alu) retrotransposons have been identified to influence the human genome by modifications in gene expression. Variations in LINE-1 and Alu methylation have been shown to be associated with many diseases, predominantly malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Moreover, the degree and pattern of LINE-1 methylation are re...

The aim of this study is to optimize the culture conditions for lichen Usnea ghattensis G. Awasthi in order to increase biomass and antioxidant metabolite production. The cultured lichen consisted of usnic acid produced by mycobionts and photobionts after 2 to 3 months of inoculation. Cultures grown in the media with excess carbon sources showed significant increment in the biomass growth, usni...