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Skin of Color Update Agenda

Skin of Color Update Co-Chair Dr. Eliot Battle Shares Insights into 2019 Faculty and Topics

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Skin of Color Update Co-Chair, Dr. Eliot Battle, discusses the elite faculty lineup and topics planned this year including hair loss, keloids, rosacea, acne, lasers, aesthetic treatments, skin cancer, medical dermatology, melasma, hyperpigmentation, vitiligo, inflammatory diseases and much, much more!

Skin of Color Update 2019 (previously Skin of Color Seminar Series) is the largest CE event dedicated to trending evidence-based research and new practical pearls for treating skin types III – VI. Attendees leave with critical annual updates and fresh practical pearls in skin of color dermatology.

Join us this year in New York City, September 7-8, 2019! Register today at https://skinofcolorupdate.com/registration-hotel-2019/

Co-Chair Dr. Alexis Shares the Exciting 2019 Program Highlights

By Sessions, Skin of Color Update Agenda

Skin of Color Update 2019 (previously Skin of Color Seminar Series) is the largest CE event dedicated to trending evidence-based research and new practical pearls for treating skin types III – VI. Attendees leave with critical annual updates and fresh practical pearls in skin of color dermatology. Earn CE in New York City with direct access to elite experts and an experience unmatched by any other event in dermatology.

Medical Updates in Skin of Color

Medical Updates in Skin of Color

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During the 16th Annual ODAC Dermatology, Aesthetics and Surgical Conference, ANGELO LANDRISCINA, MD had the pleasure of taking part in the Resident Career Development Mentorship Program (a program supported by an educational grant from Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.). and was paired with Dr. Andrew Alexis, Co-Chair of the Skin of Color Update.

Dr. Alexis lectured on new developments in the treatment of skin of color focusing on two prevalent conditions: hyperpigmentation and central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA). Below are Dr. Landriscina’s takeaways and pearls from this lecture.

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Seemal Desai Melasma Skin of Color Update

Melasma and PIH – Disorders of Hyperpigmentation

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During his talk at the 2018 Skin of Color Seminar Series (now known as the Skin of Color Update), Dr. Seemal Desai discussed the treatment of melasma (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation PIH) with a particular emphasis on new and emerging therapies. Dr. Bridget Kaufman, onsite correspondent for the meeting, shares highlights directly from the talk.  *Clinical pearls* from this session are bolded, underlined, and marked with asterisks.

Dr. Desai started by stressing the importance of having an honest and upfront conversation with your melasma patients about realistic expectations for treatment. *You must emphasize to patients that this is a chronic condition and set their expectations accordingly.*While improvement with treatment is likely, there will always be underlying pigmentary changes even despite treatment. Patients must understand from the beginning that they cannot be cured of this condition.

Dr. Desai then addressed the large vasodilatation/vascular component of melasma. Although the predominant feature of melasma is the hyperpigmented patch, a pink hue becomes apparent after treatment of the brown pigment. Historically, the redness was thought to be a side effect of Modified Kligman’s Formula, but more recent research suggests that this due to an inherent expression of vascular markers in melasma lesions. This vascular component can be treated with low fluence pulsed dye laser; oral tranexamic acid has also been helpful in Dr. Desai’s practice.

Dr. Desai then addressed the relationship between thyroid disease and melasma. There are a few studies showing thyroid disease in patients with recalcitrant melasma. *If, after optimal treatment, a patient does not improve within 3-6 months, you may want to get a free T4 and TSH to screen for thyroid disease.*

So now onto the treatment of melasma! Given that triple combination cream (TCC) is the gold standard therapy for melasma, it makes sense that Dr. Desai started with a discussion of research on this product. A randomized controlled trial of TCC in Southeast and East Asian patients with melasma found that, after 8 weeks of treatment, *TCC was superior to monotherapy with hydroquinone, although it was associated with more adverse effects.* Dr. Desai has found this to be true in his practice and, therefore, he rarely prescribes hydroquinone alone. The retinoid and steroid in TCC help with desquamation and exhibit anti-inflammatory properties that counter the upregulation of prostaglandins and tyrosinase in melasma.

For more pearls like this – register for Skin of Color Update in NYC now before it is sold out.

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Excerpt provided with permission. Originally published by Next Steps in Dermatology. All rights reserved.
Skin of Color STD Ted Rosen

Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Skin of Color: Crisis State

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As one would expect, Dr. Ted Rosen’s session at the Skin of Color Seminar Series 2018 (now Skin of Color Update) on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) in Skin of Color was engaging, informative, and shocking to many in the audience. Dr. Rosen addressed the increasing rates of STDs in the United States and highlighted the alarming predominance in non-white ethnic groups.

*Clinical pearls* from this session are bolded, underlined, and marked with asterisks.

The STD data from 2017 is worse than 2016, which was worse than 2015, and so on. *Every year, 20×106new STDs are diagnosed!*Over 50% of Americans will contract an STD during their lifetime, often before the age of 25. Teenagers are at high risk as well, with 1 in 4 teenagers developing an STD. First piece of good news: *Sex in high school is decreasing*in the US, with the exception of a few states(from east to west): North Carolina, Michigan, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Arizona. Perhaps this will correlate with decreased STD transmission among teenagers in the coming years.

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Excerpt provided with permission. Originally published by Next Steps in Dermatology. All rights reserved.

 

 

Skin of Color Update CCCA

Pearls from Primary Cicatricial Alopecias in Black Women

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Hair Apparent: A Multi-Part Series on Hair Disorders – Part II

Dermatology residents from throughout the Washington DC area recently convened at a recent hair disorders symposium, where distinguished experts in the field of hair disorders discussed the evaluation, work-up, and treatment of a wide variety of alopecias and scalp disorders. A treasure trove of clinical pearls was shared along the way, and the attendees learned a host of new strategies to apply to the management of hair loss, which is both widely prevalent and frequently undertreated. Attend Skin of Color Update in to learn more or continuing reading below.

This post is the second of a multi-part series that summarizes salient points from each of the lectures, as well as strategies that residents can add to their alopecia armamentarium.

 

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Hair disorders skin of color update

Clinical Approach to Hair Loss in Pediatric Patients

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Physicians from throughout the Washington DC area recently convened at a hair disorders symposium, where distinguished experts in the field of hair disorders discussed the evaluation, work-up, and treatment of a wide variety of alopecias and scalp disorders. A treasure trove of clinical pearls was shared along the way, and the attendees learned a host of new strategies to apply to the management of hair loss, which is both widely prevalent and frequently undertreated.

This is an excerpt from a multi-part series on Next Steps in Dermatology that summarizes salient points from each of the lectures, as well as strategies that physicians can add to their alopecia armamentarium.

This post is devoted to Dr. Leslie Castelo-Soccio’s lecture, “Clinical approach to hair loss in pediatric patients.” Dr. Castelo-Soccio is a pediatric dermatologist as well as the Dermatology Section’s Director of Clinical Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is an expert in alopecia as well as genetic skin disease. Her lecture provided an incredibly useful roadmap for residents learning to navigate the following aspects of caring for the pediatric alopecia patient…

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Acanthosis-Nigricans-Mimicking-Melasma-boost-768x578

Acanthosis Nigricans Mimicking Melasma

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Case Report and Pearls for Accurate Diagnosis – An Interview with the Author

During the 2018 Skin of Color Seminar Series (now the Skin of Color Update), approximately twenty posters could be seen hanging in the poster viewing area.  Each of these posters highlights novel and exciting research in skin of color. In one such poster, Dr. Monica Huynh and colleagues presented a case of acanthosis nigricans mimicking melasma.

Case Report

The patient was a 45-year-old female with a pertinent past medical history of diabetes mellitus type 2. They presented with discoloration of the cheeks for several years.  She had been treated previously with hydroquinone 4% with minimal improvement. Physical examination revealed brown-gray hyperpigmented, velvety, lichenified plaques on the lateral zygoma and hollow of the cheeks bilaterally as well as on the posterior neck.  Given the patient’s clinical presentation and past medical history of diabetes mellitus, a diagnosis of acanthosis nigricans was made. The dermatology team initiated treatment with salicylic acid cleanser twice daily, hydroquinone 4% cream twice daily, and tretinoin 0.025% cream nightly. After 8 weeks, the patient was switched to triple combination cream with improvement in facial hyperpigmentation. Due to facial dryness, the cleansing regimen was changed to salicylic acid cleanser in the morning and mandelic acid cleanser plus toner in the evening.

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Hair Loss Callendar

Understanding Hair Loss in Skin of Color Patients

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These are clinical pearls from SOCSS 2018 on hair loss in skin of color patients by Valerie Callender, MD

At the Skin of Color Seminar Series 2018 (now Skin of Color Update), Dr. Valerie Callender focused on how structural differences in afrocentric hair and cultural haircare practices contribute to the high prevalence of alopecia in African American women in particular.

*Clinical pearls* from this session are bolded, underlined, and marked with asterisks.

Dr. Callender started her lecture with an introduction to alopecia – one of the most common dermatologic concerns of African American patients. Given that healthy hair is considered to be a sign of beauty, youth, and attractiveness, alopecia has a huge negative impact on the quality-of-life of affected individuals. The psychological comorbidity of hair loss makes it essential that physicians understand the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of common causes of scarring and non-scarring alopecia. *It is important to note that patients can present with BOTH scarring and non-scarring alopecia, and both must be considered during the work-up*.

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Ask a mentor Amy McMichael

Ask a Mentor Q&A Recap – Dr. Amy McMichael

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We had the opportunity to ask a mentor,  Dr. Amy McMichael, chair and professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University Health Sciences and Skin of Color Update faculty, questions about establishing a career in academics, finding a mentor, and better serving patients of color.  See all of her insightful answers below.

Q1: I previously attended the Skin of Color Seminar Series (now Skin of Color Update) and while sitting in the audience, I noticed that many of attendees appeared to be white physicians. Do you think there’s a representation problem in Dermatology, and could it be impacting our patients?

However, we know from other research in the house of medicine that Dermatology is second only to Orthopedics in having the worst representation of African Americans. Also identified as a major problem is the poor pipeline of under-represented minorities in college, medical school, and ultimately, in residency. We all have lots of work to do in terms of mentoring at every level to get the pipeline full of appropriate candidates.

In addition to this, we need to all be thoughtful about looking at residency applicants who may not be traditional, but who would make resilient and excellent dermatologists.

Q2: Most dermatologists (at least most of the ones I know) seem to think they don’t need special training for treating patients of color and can’t seem to acknowledge that a gap in training exists. As a dermatologist of color, I find it personally frustrating. Do you find this to be true among your peers?  If so, how do you address this with them?

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