Author: David J. Goldberg, Alexander Berlin
Publication Date: December 31, 2011
Hardcover: 128 pages
Review Date: October 2013
Available at: amazon.com
Who is the book for?
Officially this book “will appeal to dermatologists in practice and training, to plastic surgeons, general physicians and to all healthcare personnel working in the administration of phototherapy and laser treatment for acne and rosacea.”
Why a Real Book?
Certainly when you hold this hard covered cloth book in your hand, and flip through the glossy pages with brilliant photographs you will appreciate that this is a book for professionals.
Only a few professional level books exist that address rosacea.
More and more sufferers of any condition look to the internet for information.
This is all well and good, but there is still a place for a well researched book perhaps often overlooked in our `wikipedia first’ generation.
The Authors
Dr. Goldberg is well known to rosacea sufferers from his article Combining Red & Yellow LEDs, Topicals & Antibiotics and the subsequent interview he kindly agreed to do.
Chapter Overview
- Acne Vulgaris – Epidemiology and Pathophysiology
- Acne Vulgaris – Current Medical Therapeutics
- Lasers and similar devices in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris
- Treatment of Acne Scars
- Rosacea – Epidemiology and Pathophysiology
- Rosacea – Current Medical Therapeutics
- Lasers and similar in the Treatment of Rosacea
- Lasers and similar in the Treatment of Sebaceous Hyperplasia
This review will concentrate on Chapters 5, 6, and 7 as they are of most interest to rosacea sufferers.
Chapter 5 – Rosacea – Epidemiology and Pathophysiology
This chapter is a good solid description of what is securely understood about the condition we know as rosacea. Firstly the familiar description of rosacea we know as the Rosacea Expert Committee description of rosacea and its subtypes are presented, albeit with original glossy photographs of each subtype.
The authors do note that the expert committee consensus is not fully descriptive of what is and is not rosacea as there is no specific laboratory test for rosacea.
In the Pathophysiology of Rosacea section, i.e. how does rosacea develop, sections discuss vascular abnormalities, inflammation and dermal matrix degradation, climactic exposure, philosebaceous unit abnormalities and microbial organisms (dealing with demodex folliculorum, bacillus onerius and helicobacter pylori).
The final section has an extended summary of the latest findings relating to cathelicidin and its role in the immune system and possible relation to rosacea.
Chapter 6 – Rosacea – Current Medical Therapeutics
This chapter deals with the published results that support the current recommend rosacea treatments. The description of antibiotics, azelaic acid, sodium sulfacetamide, retinoids are liberally sprinkled with the peak papers that support their usage.
Chapter 7 – Lasers and similar in the Treatment of Rosacea
The authors point out that the redness and broken blood vessels of rosacea are not well covered by existing oral and systemic rosacea therapies. So here in this chapter lasers are how they are best used to treat rosacea are described.
We are told that the chromophore that is targeted in telangiectasias and erythema is oxyhemoglobin which absorbs that most light at the wavelengths of 415 nm, 542 nm and 577 nm and another band at 800 to 1100 nm. The band at 418 nm is hard to target though because this wavelength does not typically penetrate deep enough to treat the dermal vasculature.
The next three sections explore how Pulse Dye Lasers, Intense Pulsed Light, and KTP / Nd:YAG Lasers can best be used to target rosacea symptoms backed by references to studies supporting their use in rosacea.
This section will be invaluable for practitioners starting to treating rosacea sufferers and also for rosacea sufferers seeking to engage their practitioners.
The commercially available IPL, Pulsed-Dye Lasers and Nd:YAG / KTP Lasers are listed.
Free Book Previews
You can preview a few pages and table of contents of the book at amazon book preview and also the first 25 pages (2 Chapters) and the index at Google Books:
Conclusion
This is a solid and well researched, high quality text on acne and rosacea and how to treat it. Especially for those who might be looking to lasers and other related therapies to treat their rosacea, this book is well worth purchasing. The excellent references and background information will also be valuable for any rosacea sufferer seeking to engage with their doctor on the state of the art in rosacea treatments.
Along with the excellent Rosacea Diagnosis and Management, rosacea sufferers have 2 quality references in order to direct their rosacea beating quest along the best path to treatment success.
Purchase the book at amazon.com
See Also: other Rosacea Book Reviews
Related Articles
- Articles on Laser Therapy, IPL,
- Professor Frank Powell – Rosacea Diagnosis and Management
