Oliver Brandt

University of Basel | UNIBAS · Dermatology

Background: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) has been identified as a biomarker in neuroaxonal injury. Cutaneous nerve injury resulting from inflammation and/or forced scratching may also potentially affect serum NfL (sNfL) levels. Objectives: We aimed to explore the relationship between sNfL levels and the severity of skin inflammation and scratch...

Background Dermatology teaching is fundamental for the promotion of young colleagues in our specialty. However, traditional teaching methods are being scrutinized by students of the ‘Generation Y and Z’, which can pose new challenges for teaching institutions. We therefore aimed to assess the motivational impact and reception of a newly created fou...

Zusammenfassung Die Dermatologische Klinik des Universitätsspitals Basel vereint die Disziplinen Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie inkl. klinischer Immunologie. Sie zeichnet sich durch Patientenversorgung, Forschung und Weiterbildung auf universitärem Niveau aus. Mit ihrer 109-jährigen Geschichte bietet die Klinik ein breites Spektrum an e...

Colchicine, which was already used by the ancient Egyptians, has recently experienced a renaissance in various medical disciplines, including dermatology. However, due to the potentially significant side effects of systemic use, many clinicians are cautious in their use of colchicine. This review provides a practical overview of the data on the est...

Zusammenfassung Das bereits von den alten Ägyptern angewendete Colchicin erfuhr jüngst – dank seines breiten therapeutischen Wirkspektrums – eine Renaissance in verschiedenen medizinischen Disziplinen inklusive der Dermatologie. Aufgrund seines potenziell erheblichen Nebenwirkungsprofiles bei systemischer Anwendung setzen viele Kliniker Colchicin a...

This 16 page document: "Supplementary Material" contains additional methods and results.

Background: Inconsistent data exist regarding the influence of parasitic infection on the prevalence of allergic sensitization and disorders. Objective: To investigate the impact of geohelminth and protozoan infections on sensitization patterns and allergic symptoms of children living in low-income communities in Gqeberha, South Africa. Methods...

Background: In the past two centuries generations of dermatologists around the world have created an enormous number of publications. To our knowledge, no bibliometric analysis of these publications has been performed so far, nor have registered trials been analyzed to anticipate future publication trends. Objectives: To determine the global dis...

Background: The COVID 19 pandemic increased publication productivity enormously with numerous new COVID-19-related articles appearing daily, despite the fact that many health care workers in the partially overburdened national health care systems were faced with major challenges. Methods: In a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study we...

Background The traditional patient‐physician relationship is being changed by the patients' searches for medical information on the Internet and in social media (SM). Freely available medical information online bears enormous potential but also holds dangers. Methods In this cross‐sectional, questionnaire‐based study, the patients' motivation, pre...

To date, the geographical distribution and global trends of search activities on psoriasis and atopic eczema on Google and YouTube are widely unknown. The aim of this study was to identify geographic and temporal trends in YouTube and Google search activities for psoriasis and atopic eczema. We used specific filter settings on Google Trends to indi...

Background In recent years, YouTube has become a recognized source of medical information for health care consumers. Although YouTube has advantages in this context, there are potential dangers as videos may contain nonscientific, misleading, or even harmful information. Objective As little is known about YouTube as a source of information on atop...

Background and objectives Anogenital warts (AGWs) are most commonly caused by low‐risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types, and although they are the most frequent viral sexually transmitted infections (STIs), little is known about STI coinfections in affected patients. We therefore sought to assess STI coinfection rates in patients with AGW, specify...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund und Ziele Anogenitale Warzen (AGW) werden vorwiegend durch Niedrigrisiko‐Typen des humanen Papillomavirus (HPV) verursacht. Obgleich sie die häufigste sexuell übertragbare Virusinfektion darstellen, ist über Koinfektionen mit anderen sexuell übertragbaren Infektionen (sexual transmitted infections, STI) bei den betroffe...

Prayer marks are asymptomatic callosities resulting from repeated, extended pressure and friction exerted on bony prominences when praying on hard ground s. A 41‐year‐old woman with ulcerative colitis treated with infliximab was referred to our clinic due to skin changes on her feet that were suspected to be drug eruptions. The patient presented se...

Itch is the most bothersome symptom in psoriasis, often leading to impaired quality of life. Treatment of psoriasis‐induced itch is frequently unsatisfactory as the various therapies employed have a delayed onset of effect. Histamine‐1 receptor (H1)‐antihistamines are not recommended in treatment guidelines as histamine is not considered a key medi...

Background Infestations with scabies mites are a global burden affecting individuals of all ages, classes and ethnicities. As poor sanitation and overcrowding favor the transmission of this highly contagious disease, epidemic outbreaks are frequently observed among displaced persons and asylum seekers. Due to the growing influx of refugees during t...

Mechanically induced itch is an important cofactor in many patients with chronic itch. However, studying mechanical itch in a controlled environment is challenging because it is difficult to evoke. We investigated the use of whole body vibration exercise (WBV) exercise, a training method used for musculoskeletal rehabilitation, to experimentally ev...

BACKGROUND Approximately 80% of internet users access health information online and especially patients with chronic illnesses rely on internet-based resources. YouTubeTM ranks second among the most accessed websites worldwide and hosts an increasing number of videos with medical information. However, its quality is sometimes unscientific, misleadi...

Zusammenfassung Spättypreaktionen auf Arzneimittel gehören zu den häufigsten Ursachen für Dermatosen überhaupt und manifestieren sich überwiegend in Form relativ harmloser exanthematischer, makulöser oder makulopapulöser Läsionen. Etwa zwei Prozent der betroffenen Patienten allerdings entwickeln schwere oder gar lebensbedrohliche, mit systemischen...

Adverse drug reactions of the delayed type rank among the most common dermatoses and are predominantly characterized by exanthematous macular or maculopapular eruptions. However, approximately 2 % of affected individuals develop severe or even life-threatening systemic immune reactions associated with organ involvement, requiring immediate diagnosi...

Mit einer Inzidenz von etwa 10 % gehören die durch humane Papillomaviren hervorgerufenen Warzen zu den häufigsten infektiösen Hauterkrankungen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Eine Übertragung ist sowohl über direkten Kontakt von Mensch zu Mensch als auch über kontaminierte Fußböden/Untergründe oder Gegenstände möglich. Das Behandlungsspektrum der kos...

All plakin family proteins are known to be autoantigens in paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP). In this study, we first examined whether PNP sera also react with epiplakin, another plakin protein, by various immunological methods using 48 Japanese PNP sera. Immunofluorescence confirmed that cultured keratinocytes expressed epiplakin. Epiplakin was detec...

Die Skabies ist eine weltweit auftretende Infestationskrankheit mit Milben, von der Menschen jeden Alters und Geschlechts und unabhängig von deren ethnischer oder sozioökonomischer Zugehörigkeit befallen werden können. Die Übertragung erfolgt überwiegend durch engen körperlichen Kontakt, Leitsymptom der Erkrankung ist der nahezu immer vorhandene qu...

Infestationen mit Kopfläusen kommen bei Klein- und Schulkindern häufig vor. Eine Übertragung erfolgt meist durch engen körperlichen Kontakt, wobei indirekte Transmissionen durch z. B. infestierte Kopfbedeckungen und Kämme, aber auch durch Kontakt mit befallenen Polstermöbeln oder Kopfstützen möglich sind. Von geringer Bedeutung hingegen sind in Wes...

Background Due to its high allergenic potential Ambrosia artemisiifolia has become a health threat in many European countries during the last few decades. Hence, several cities and communities initiated ragweed eradication campaigns. In Berlin, Germany, so-called Ambrosia scouts are being assigned the task of finding and eliminating this weed. We s...

The patient’s hay-fever diary (PHD) is a newly developed, internet-based tool for self-documentation of pollen-induced symptoms (eyes, nose and airways), general well-being and medication use. In Germany, more than 1,600 users made over 60,500 reports in 3 years (2009–2011). An analysis of these reports reveal that the nose symptom “sneezing” is th...

We report on the development of personalized pollen related information services that include sensitivity categorization, threshold identification and symptom forecasting, addressing patients with allergic rhinitis in Europe

The incidence and prevalence of pollen-associated allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma have been continuously increasing in many European countries during the last years. In addition to the genetic predisposition and drugs applied for the treatment of allergic signs and symptoms, the intensity of the complaints is determined by the amount of polle...

Aberrations in skin morphology and functionality can cause acute and chronic skin-related diseases that are the focus of dermatological research. Mechanically induced skin suction blister fluid may serve as a potential, alternative human body fluid for quantitative mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics in order to assist in the understanding of t...

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune bullous disease of the elderly and is associated with IgG and IgE autoantibodies against the hemidesmosomal proteins, BP180 and BP230. The purpose of this study was to characterize the epitope specificity of IgE against defined regions of BP180 and BP230 in 32 BP patients and 21 elderly patients...

Abbreviations: BP, bullous pemphigoid; Dsc, desmocollin; Dsg, desmoglein; EC, extracellular; PF, pemphigus foliaceus; PNP, paraneoplastic pemphigus; PV, pemphigus vulgaris

Unlabelled: Silver has been used successfully for decades as an antibacterial agent and has become a standard treatment for burns and bacterial skin infections. Silver-containing creams, particularly silver sulfadiazine (SSD), possess effective activities against bacteria and fungi. However, there is serious concern that silver ions applied to den...

Glucocorticoids (GC) are highly potent anti-inflammatory agents frequently administered in clinical medicine. However, even for the most potent GC dexamethasone, only modest effects have been observed in several murine studies. Here we demonstrate that intraperitoneal administration of dexamethasone displays no anti-inflammatory activity in two dif...

Perioral dermatitis is common in children and, if untreated, characterized by a chronic course lasting for months. Provocation factors known for adults, especially topical or inhaled corticosteroids, are relevant in children as well. We present eight children - all of them with dry skin - who developed perioral dermatitis after using sunscreens bas...

Adequate numbers and functional maturity are needed for leukocytes to exhibit a protective role in host defense. During intrauterine life, the skin immune system has to acquire these prerequisites to protect the newborn from infection in the hostile external environment after birth. We investigated the quantitative, phenotypic, and functional devel...

Glucose-6-phosphate (G6PD) deficiency is a common disease characterized by acute hemolysis induced by oxidative stress. More than 400 million subjects throughout the world carry the hereditary enzyme defect with the highest prevalences in Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean region. In individuals affected by the erythrocytic enzymatic disorder, bes...

Halo dermatitis (Meyerson's nevus) is an inflammatory, sometimes itchy, eczematous eruption usually encircling a preexisting melanocytic nevus that can be mistaken for malignant melanoma or Sutton's nevus. Unlike the latter, it mostly resolves spontaneously within weeks and never causes regression of the central lesion. Sutton's nevi, however, are...

Burns are the third most common accident involving children in Germany. They follow only traffic accidents and drownings. There are correlations between the type of burn, the age of the patient and the socioeconomic status.

Scabies is a worldwide infectious disease whose incidence in Germany has increased in recent years. Sex, age, race, and socioeconomic status play only a small role in the epidemiology of scabies. The scabies mite is almost always transferred by direct body contact. Children and especially small children have a greater risk of infection than adults....

There are three different lice which may affect humans. Only one is a major problem in pediatrics. The head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, can involve individuals of all ages and social strata. The prevalence is 1–3% in industrialized countries. Transmission is usually by direct head-to-head contact, which explains why most patients are children...

Warts or verrucae are among the most common infectious skin diseases in children with an incidence of about 10%. The true incidence is probably much higher, as often warts are not clinically identified and in other instances, they heal spontaneously before intervention is sought. Probably every human has at least one wart during the first two decad...

Ein zeitgemäßes Management des atopischen Ekzems umfaßt gleichberechtigt die der Krankheitsaktivität angepaßte Ekzemtherapie wie auch die Aufdeckung und soweit als mögliche Vermeidung von Provokationsfaktoren, durch die die genetisch determinierte Erkrankung ausgelöst und unterhalten werden kann (Abb. 78). Hierdurch sollen eine Stabilisierung des a...

The stratum corneum (SC) requires ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids to provide the cutaneous permeability barrier. SC lipids can be analyzed by normal-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). However, without further analysis, some uncertainty remains about the molecular composition of lipids represented by every TLC band of...

The non-involved skin of atopic eczema (NEAE) is characterized by severe dryness and an impaired barrier function of the stratum corneum as indicated by an increased transepidermal water loss. Previous studies have demonstrated that this barrier impairment coincides with marked alterations in the amount and composition of stratum corneum ceramides....

Ergotaminhaltige Medikamente gelten als Therapeutika der Wahl zur Kupierung des akuten Migräneanfalls. Als Nebenwirkung dieser Substanzen treten gelegentlich spastische Gefäßverengungen auf, die meist an den unteren Extremitäten lokalisiert sind und im Extremfall bis zur Gangrän führen können. In der hier vorgestellten Kasuistik handelt es sich um...

In the past, several authors described an association of vitiligo with autoimmune disorders and the presence of different tissue autoantibodies. A review of the literature showed large differences in the results. Therefore, 321 patients with vitiligo (male/female ratio 114/207) were examined to see whether the frequencies of associated diseases and...

In the past, several authors described an association of vitiligo with autoimmune disorders and the presence of different tissue autoantibodies. A review of the literature showed large differences in the results. Therefore, 321 patients with vitiligo (male/female ratio 114/207) were examined to see whether the frequencies of associated diseases and...

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections causing severe disease are reported frequently in patients suffering from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. This disease pattern may also be seen in an immunocompromised disease state with other causes, however, as in the case presented in this paper. An 84-year-old woman had hepatic cirrhosis resul...