A 21-year-old man was seen for a 4-year history of recalcitrant, severe psoriasis. The problem affected the patient’s quality of life significantly, especially in having to miss lectures at college. Many treatments had been tried. He had been admitted to the hospital 4 times and was a regular attendee at the day treatment unit. Topical coal tar and anthralin caused irritation. Acitretin therapy...

In vitro systems that are responsive to tumor-promoting agents may facilitate the identification of such agents and the analysis of their mode of action. We have previously reported that the potent tumor promoter phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate induces the synthesis of the enzyme plasminogen activator in cultured chick embryo fibroblasts. We have, therefore, tested various compounds for their a...

The nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) transcription factor is a master regulator of inflammation. Short-term NF-κB activation is generally beneficial. However, sustained NF-κB might be detrimental, directly causing apoptosis of cells or leading to a persistent damaging inflammatory response. NF-κB activity in stressed cells needs therefore to be controlled for homeostasis maintenance. In mildly stresse...

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory, multi-system disease with predominantly skin and joint manifestations affecting approximately 2% of the population. In this third of 6 sections of the guidelines of care for psoriasis, we discuss the use of topical medications for the treatment of psoriasis. The majority of patients with psoriasis have limited disease (<5% body surface area involvem...

Inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6-PDH) by dithranol (anthralin, CAS 480-22-8) has been studied in the presence of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and various scavengers of active oxygen species. Most scavengers were found to be either inhibitors of G6-PDH by themselves or simply without effect. The combined addition of catalase and SOD as well as the heat-denatured enzyme...

The effect of various tumor initiators and promoters on induction of persisting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in different lines of lymphoblastoid cells was analyzed. Neither five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, amongst them potent tumor initiators (e.g., 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene), nor the potent (ultimate) liver carcinogen N-acetoxy-N-2-acetylamino-fluorene induced EBV. A series of compound...

In vitro systems that are responsive to tumor-promoting agents may facilitate the identification of such agents and the analysis of their mode of action. We have previously reported that the potent tumor promoter phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate induces the synthesis of the enzyme plasminogen activator in cultured chick embryo fibroblasts. We have, therefore, tested various compounds for their a...

In 2010, an expert committee of physicians and researchers in the field of dermatology working together as the Psoriasis Process of Care Consensus Panel developed consensus guidelines for the treatment of psoriasis. As much as possible, the guidelines were evidence based but also included the extensive clinical experience of the dermatologists. Psoriasis is a lifelong disease that requires long...