Volume 17, Number 2

Neill Hepburn MD FRCP Consultant Dermatologist, Lincoln County Hospital, Lincoln

Ciclosporin is an immunosuppressant drug used in dermatology to treat patients with severe or recalcitrant psoriasis, or with severe atopic eczema. It has important adverse effects, particularly on the kidneys, so careful counselling and monitoring are required.

Jonathan MR Goulding BSc(Hons) MRCP Specialist Registrar in Dermatology, University Hospital, Coventry; Vinod Patel MD FRCP MRCGP Consultant Physician, George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton; Reader in Clinical Skills, Warwick University

The teaching and training of students, doctors and other members of the multidisciplinary team is a major tenet of the General Medical Council’s ‘Good Medical Practice’.1 Its significance lies in the fact that effective teaching and learning has a direct impact on the quality of care received by patients. Through the course of a two-part article, we aim to illustrate how teaching and learning in dermatology may be enhanced. In this first part, we review relevant principles of educational theory underpinning teaching and learning in practice. In part two, we will offer tips on incorporating these principles to improve ‘on the job’ teaching, as well as advice on delivering an effective presentation and ways to optimise small-group teaching.

Firas Al Niaimi MRCP Dermatology Registrar, Salford Royal, Manchester; Neil H Cox FRCP Consultant Dermatologist; Belinda Stanley FRCP Consultant in Genitourinary Medicine, Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is one of eight human herpes viruses. HSV occurs worldwide, in both sexes and all age groups. Herpes viruses establish lifelong latency. Once infection has occurred, they cannot be eradicated. HSV infections may reactivate, spontaneously or with identifiable triggers.

Neil H Cox, Editor

Those of my vintage and varied musical tastes (remember ‘Poor Swine’ by Kevin Coyne?) may think I’m in the 70s again, but I’m sitting in a state of some disbelief, watching emails cascade down from ‘the centre’ regarding the swine flu pandemic alert, with the first two cases confirmed 100 miles north from here (phew, westerly wind today).

Melissa Williams BA DipAN Staff Nurse; John English MBBS FRCP Consultant Dermatologist, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

The practice of colouring hair dates back to before the Middle Ages. The main agents used of old were natural vegetable extracts, but those are hardly used any more, whether in home hair dye kits or in hair dyes applied by professionals. For the last 100 years or so, p-phenylenediamine (PPD) has been the main agent used in permanent and semi-permanent hair dyes. It has a number of properties that make it a far more effective hair dye than other agents. However, it is also an important allergen.

Anne-Marie Skellett MB BChir Specialist Registrar in Dermatology; Clive Grattan MD FRCP Dermatology Consultant, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust

This review discusses the most common cutaneous features associated with rheumatological conditions, and their management.

Barry Monk MA FRCP Consultant Dermatologist, Bedford Hospital

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has said that he wants the NHS to provide more personalised care. It is a laudable intention, yet the paradox is that, in reality, we are being forced to see patients faster and faster and to provide care that is increasingly impersonal. Under the ‘Choose and Book’ system, patients can no longer see the consultant of their choice and, in hospitals, we are put under immense pressure to send patients back to primary care, rather than follow them up. As hospital waiting lists fall, I find myself busier and busier in private practice, which is the only place where I have the time to listen to patients properly and hear the real story.

Claire Martyn-Simmons MRCP Clinical Research Fellow in Medical Dermatology; Catherine Smith FRCP MD Consultant Dermatologist, St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease that affects approximately 2–3% of the world’s population. For many patients, it is a lifelong condition; 20–30% of patients will have severe psoriasis and will often require systemic therapy to achieve disease control. Methotrexate was first introduced as a treatment for psoriasis over 50 years ago and, in spite of the development of many new biological treatments, it remains the gold standard systemic therapy for psoriasis in Europe.