Torello Maria Lotti

Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the peripheral blood of cutaneous melanoma patients provides information on the metastatic process and potentially improves patient management. The isolation by size of epithelial tumor cells (ISET) is a direct method for CTC identification in which tumor cells are collected by filtration as a result of their large size. So far, ISET has been applied only to CTC detection from epithelial cancer patients, and the technique has never been ...

Originally described as a product of the pituitary gland, propiomelanocortin (POMC) has recently been identified in other tissues, such as in human skin, where it may accumulate in response to various stimuli. Thus far, epidermal keratinocytes, as well as melanocytes and macrophages, have been shown to express POMC. This study investigated the expression of POMC mRNA in cultured dermal fibroblasts derived from either normal skin or keloids. Using Northern blot hybridization with a POMC ...

INTRODUCTION: Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonists are effective for the treatment of plaque-type psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, but concerns remain about the safety of these agents in the presence of chronic infections, including past hepatitis B (HBV) and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety of TNF-α therapy in patients with plaque-type psoriasis and concurrent past HBV or chronic HCV.

METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively from ...

Oxidative stress has been suggested as the initial pathogenetic event in melanocyte degeneration in vitiligo. Our previous results indicate that keratinocytes from perilesional skin show the features of damaged cells. In the present study, biopsies were taken from the perilesional skin of 12 patients suffering from nonsegmental vitiligo. The intracellular pathways involved in keratinocyte damage and apoptosis and the antioxidant protection of curcumin and capsaicin in these cells were ...

Psoriasis, a multisystem chronic disease characterized by abnormal keratinocyte proliferation, has an unclear pathogenesis where systemic inflammation and oxidative stress play mutual roles. Dermal fibroblasts, which are known to provide a crucial microenvironment for epidermal keratinocyte function, represented the selected experimental model in our study which aimed to clarify the potential role of SIRT1 in the pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease. We firstly detected the presence of ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate estrogen receptor (ER) expression in human melanoma tissues and in the adjacent healthy skin with the aim of explaining whether the ERalpha:ERbeta expression ratio has a role in neoplastic progression.

DESIGN: Prospective study.

SETTING: Department of Dermatology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. Patients Fourteen patients, 12 with cutaneous melanoma (6 women and 6 men) and 2 with melanocytic nevi (1 woman and 1 man).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Using ...

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic hyperproliferative inflammatory skin disease, characterized by a generalized redox imbalance. Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α therapy is widely used for the treatment of this disease, but its effect on blood redox status hasn't been explored.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of anti-TNF-α therapy on blood redox status in psoriatic patients.

METHODS: Twenty-nine psoriatic patients (PSO) were divided into two groups: one remained untreated (NRT) ...

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] is a genetically determined molecule whose role has been implied in cardiovascular pathology, and whose levels have been reported to be elevated in patients with psoriasis. Aim To assess the serum levels of Lp(a) in patients with psoriasis, and to investigate the associations of Lp(a) with other lipids and with psoriasis severity.

METHODS: Thirty-four patients with psoriasis and 26 healthy control subjects took part in the study. Serum levels of Lp(a) ...

Minimally ablative fractional laser devices have gained acceptance as a preferred method for skin resurfacing. Notable improvements in facial rhytides, photodamage, acne scarring, and skin laxity have been reported. The aim of the present work was to compare how different CO(2) laser fluences, by modulating the secretory pathway of cytokines, are able to influence the wound-healing process, and how these fluences are associated with different clinical results. Eighteen patients, all with ...

BACKGROUND: EUROPSO (European Federation of Psoriasis Patient Associations) undertook a Europe-wide survey examining quality of life and patients' perspectives on treatment and their disease.

OBJECTIVES: To explore patients' perspectives of psoriasis on their lifestyle and well-being and to gain insight into the effectiveness of and satisfaction with currently available therapies for psoriasis.

METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires (n = 50,500) were mailed to members of psoriasis ...

BACKGROUND: Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment is one of the most effective procedures for patients with non-aesthetic vascular lesions in addition to signs of skin photoageing, and it has been reported as very successful in the treatment of telangiectasias, spider nevi, erythrosis, and above all, rosacea and poikiloderma. Its use is based on the principle of selective photothermolysis, which exploits the haemoglobin absorption peak among its range of wavelengths.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with melanoma are especially encouraged to have regular follow- up visits with their dermatologist and to perform total-body skin examination on a routine basis to identify new pigmented lesions or detect significant changes in existing naevi.

OBJECTIVES: To identify main risk factors (sex, age, number of common and atypical naevi, family history, phototype) associated with multiple primary melanomas (MPM) and to investigate the association between regular follow up ...

The current treatment of vitiligo is not satisfactory according to the opinions of both the patient population and the dermatologists. Recently, combination therapies have been introduced, which are both systemic and targeted (microphototherapy). To evaluate the effects of topical treatments given alone or in combination with 311-nm narrow-band microphototherapy. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of: (1) 311-nm narrow-band microphototherapy;(2) tacrolimus 0.1% ointment twice a day; ...