Excimer Laser no tratamento do vitiligo em 123 pacientes: estudo retrospectivo

Introduction: Vitiligo is cosmetically disfiguring and can cause significant psychological morbidity. Most therapies require protracted treatments and can lead to disappointing results. More recently, 308 nm Excimer laser has proven to be effective in treating vitiligo. Objective: To analyze the effectiveness and patient satisfaction of 308 nm Excimer treatment for vitiligo patches in a variety of locations on the body. Methods: Patients with generalized or localized vitiligo (n = 123, 321 lesions), were studied. The patients were treated at a private practice between 2007 and 2010. Two independent examiners analyzed the response to the therapy by comparing clinical and photographic records before and after treatment. Results: More than half (n = 77) of the patients presented repigmentation greater than 60%, 26 presented 40-59%, and 20% had levels less than 39%. Facial lesions responded better to treatment than those in other body parts. Elbows, hands and feet were the less sensitive areas. In general, the patients were satisfied with the treatment. Conclusion: The use of Excimer laser for treating vitiligo was effective and safe, producing satisfactory cosmetic results and improving patients' self esteem.

Differential effects of variation in athletes training on myocardial morphophysiological adaptation in men: Focus on I-123-MIBG assessed myocardial sympathetic activity

High intensity systematic physical training leads to myocardial morphophysiological adaptations. The goal of this study was to investigate if differences in training were correlated with differences in cardiac sympathetic activity.58 males (19-47 years), were divided into three groups: strength group (SG), (20 bodybuilders), endurance group (EG), (20 endurance athletes), and a control group (CG) comprising 18 healthy non-athletes. Cardiac sympathetic innervation was assessed by planar myocardial I-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy using the early and late heart to mediastinal (H/M) ratio, and washout rate (WR).Left ventricular mass index was significantly higher both in SG (P < .001) and EG (P = .001) compared to CG without a statistical significant difference between SG and EG (P = .417). The relative wall thickness was significantly higher in SG compared to CG (P < .001). Both left ventricular ejection fraction and the peak filling rate showed no significant difference between the groups. Resting heart rate was significantly lower in EG compared to CG (P = .006) and SG (P = .002). The late H/M ratio in CG was significantly higher compared to the late H/M for SG (P = .003) and EG (P = .004). However, WR showed no difference between the groups. There was no significant correlation between the parameters of myocardial sympathetic innervation and parameters of left ventricular function.Strength training resulted in a significant increase in cardiac dimensions. Both strength and endurance training seem to cause a reduction in myocardial sympathetic drive. However, myocardial morphological and functional adaptations to training were not correlated with myocardial sympathetic activity.