The development of melasma appears to be associated with increased levels of oestrogen, exposure to sunlight and a genetic predisposition. Several in vitro studies have partially clarified the effects of oestrogen and progesterone on melasma. However, oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression in melasma-affected skin has not been investigated to date, except for one case report on ER expression.\n\nObjective\n\nThe purpose of this study was to compare ER and PR expression between hyperpigmented areas and unaffected areas of facial skin in patients with melasma.\n\nMethods\n\nBiopsies were performed on skin lesions and adjacent-unaffected Raf tumor facial skin in 33 Korean

women with melasma. The sections were stained using haematoxylin and eosin, Fontana-Masson, and antibodies to NKI/beteb, ER alpha,

beta and PR.\n\nResults\n\nThe immunohistochemical expression of ER beta showed an increasing tendency in epidermal lesions without statistical significance. Expression of PR was significantly increased in the epidermal lesions compared with unaffected skin on the computer-assisted image analysis. Interestingly, there was increased ER beta Geneticin in vivo expression in the dermal lesions especially around small blood vessels and fibroblast-like cells compared with unaffected dermis on the semi-quantitative analysis. However, there was no significant difference in the expression of PR between the dermal lesions and unaffected dermis.\n\nConclusion\n\nThe results of this study

may provide useful information for further investigation into the pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches for treating melasma in relation to hormonal factors. The role of ER in the dermis in association with dermal environment such as blood vessels and fibroblasts remains to be further clarified.”
“Comparing the responsiveness over time of the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and the SF-36 in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) and assessing variation in the responsiveness of these measures by the number of co-morbidities.\n\nThis prospective study analyzed 335 THA patients Selleckchem Cilengitide treated at two southern Taiwan hospitals from 1997 to 2000. Magnitude of change in HRQoL was compared by generalized estimating equation. Bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrapping was used to measure magnitude of change in HHS and SF-36 subscale scores for five different time intervals spanning a 5-year period.\n\nThe analytical results indicated that the pain and physical function subscales of the HHS are more responsive than those of the SF-36 for short-term (within 1 year post-surgery) measurements but are less responsive for long-term measurements. At various follow-up intervals, the HHS and the SF-36 significantly differed in ES of changes in pain and physical function subscale scores for patients with one co-morbidity and for patients with two or more co-morbidities.