Pemphigoid gestationis in a third trimester pregnancy

Promising Natural Products in New Drug Design, Development, and Therapy for Skin Disorders: An Overview of Scientific Evidence and Understanding Their Mechanism of Action

The skin is the largest organ in the human body, composed of the epidermis and the dermis. It provides protection and acts as a barrier against external menaces like allergens, chemicals, systemic toxicity, and infectious organisms. Skin disorders like cancer, dermatitis, psoriasis, wounds, skin aging, acne, and skin infection occur frequently and can impact human life. According to a growing body of evidence, several studies have reported that natural products have the potential for treating skin disorders. Building on this information, this review provides brief information about the action of the most important in vitro and in vivo research on the use of ten selected natural products in inflammatory, neoplastic, and infectious skin disorders and their mechanisms that have been reported to date. The related studies and articles were searched from several databases, including PubMed, Google, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Ten natural products that have been reported widely on skin disorders were reviewed in this study, with most showing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-microbial, and anti-cancer effects as the main therapeutic actions. Overall, most of the natural products reported in this review can reduce and suppress inflammatory markers, like tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), induce cancer cell death through apoptosis, and prevent bacteria, fungal, and virus infections indicating their potentials. This review also highlighted the challenges and opportunities of natural products in transdermal/topical delivery systems and their safety considerations for skin disorders. Our findings indicated that natural products might be a low-cost, well-tolerated, and safe treatment for skin diseases. However, a larger number of clinical trials are required to validate these findings. Natural products in combination with modern drugs, as well as the development of novel delivery mechanisms, represent a very promising area for future drug discovery of these natural leads against skin disorders.

Diagnosis, fetal risk and treatment of pemphigoid gestationis in pregnancy: A case report

BACKGROUND

Pemphigoid gestationis (PG) is a rare autoimmune blistering disease that usually presents in the second or third trimester, with an incidence of 1 per 50000 pregnancies. PG tends to recur with an earlier onset and a more severe course in subsequent pregnancies. Skin biopsy markers can be confirmed by direct immunofluorescence staining.

CASE SUMMARY

Our patient was diagnosed with PG at 8 mo of gestation with fresh bullous lesion marks on the abdomen and limbs. Termination of the pregnancy was performed by cesarean section at 37 + 4 wk of gestation. The patient delivered an infant weighing 3620 gm. The infant had urticaria-like and vesicular skin lesions and was diagnosed with PG. The patient was discharged on prednisolone and in a satisfactory condition. The infant was discharged after anti-inflammatory therapy for one week.

CONCLUSION

PG is a rarely reported disease, and 10% of newborns develop mild clinical symptoms consisting of urticaria-like or vesicular skin lesions. We intend to remind clinicians to consider this condition when a patient presents with such lesions so that treatment can be started early and neonatal morbidity can be taken into account.