The Postgraduate Diploma in Dermatology is hosted by the Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research at the Blizard Institute, part of Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
The Centre is one of the largest cutaneous research centres in Europe. It hosts groups of world-class academics and research-active staff, conducting research into a wide range of cutaneous, epithelial and dermatological conditions, from skin cancers to rare genetic conditions.
Researchers from the Centre, including Centre Lead Professor Edel O’Toole, have recently identified new avenues for possible treatment of the genetic skin disorder harlequin ichthyosis using a 3D cell model in a new paper published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Harlequin ichthyosis (HI) is the most severe form of ichthyosis, a family of genetic skin disorders characterised by dry, thickened, scaly skin. It is a rare inherited disorder caused by loss of function mutations in a gene called ABCA12, which provides instructions for making a protein that is essential for the normal development of skin cells and the skin’s protective lipid barrier. Present at birth, HI causes massively thickened skin with a markedly impaired skin barrier prone to infection and water loss, and requires intensive care treatment for the new-born. There is a huge unmet need for new treatments for patients with severe ichthyosis. This study identified four new possible avenues to treatment including some where drugs are already in clinical trials or licensed for other skin disorders.
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The Barts Centre for Squamous Cancer is a new centre of excellence dedicated to improving detection, treatment, and quality of life for patients with squamous cancer. It is a cross-institute collaborative centre at Queen Mary University of London, bringing together research groups with diverse expertise from across the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry to tackle the problem of squamous cancer and drive clinical innovation. Squamous cancers are the most frequent human solid tumours and a major cause of mortality. Squamous cancers can form in the skin, the lining of the oral cavity and oesophagus, the lungs, and the cervix. Recent pioneering research has shown that these tumours have common determinants, and this has raised exciting opportunities for new strategies for cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.
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In 2012, Professor Vicky Jolliffe published a report in the journal Clinical and Experimental Dermatology regarding a case of shave biopsy and subsequent excision biopsy of an atypical naevus performed using tumescent analgesia with 0.9% saline containing benzyl alcohol preservative. Dermatologists may see patients with actual or suspected local anaesthetic (LA) allergy who require an urgent dermatological procedure to be performed without time for formal allergy testing. The tumescence itself and the benzyl alcohol present in the 0.9% saline solution provided sufficient analgesia for excision. It was determined that this technique may be an option for managing urgent procedures in patients suspected or known to have allergy to LA.
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