Strategies for Immunointerventions in Dermatology

1 Basic Aspects.- A Rational Approach to Immune Intervention.- Skin as an Immunocompetent Organ in Health and Disease.- 2 Immunosuppressive and Antiinflammatory Compounds.- Cyclosporin A.- Rapamycin.- FK-506/Tacrolimus.- Low-Dose Methotrexate: An Immunomodifying Therapeutic Strategy for Dermatologie Diseases.- Leflunomide.- Fusion Toxins.- Dermatological Phototherapy: A Prime Example of Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Immunointervention.- Cytokines with Immunosuppressive Capacities.- Extracorporeal Photochemotherapy.- Glucocorticosteroids.- High-Dose Intravenous Immunoglobulins.- 3 Immunostimulatory Substances and Vaccination Therapies.- Interferon-a Therapy in Dermatology.- Tumor Necrosis Factors.- Cytokines and Cytokine Gene Transfer in Cancer Treatment.- Development of a DNA Vaccine Against Malignant Melanoma.- Low Molecular Weight Cytokine Inducers.- 4 Clinical Aspects of Immunosuppression and Immunostimulation.- Autoimmune Bullous Diseases.- Rheumatic Disease Group.- Atopic Dermatitis.- Psoriasis - Mediation of Skin Phenotype by Circulatory Pathogenic T Lymphocytes.- Vasculitis Allergica.- Contact Dermatitis.- Pyoderma Gangrenosum.- Viral Infections: Human Papillomavirus Infections Treated with Immunostimulatory Drugs and Vaccination Therapies.- Immunostimulation and Vaccination Therapy of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.- Cytokine Therapy and Vaccination in Tropical Diseases Leishmaniasis and Leprosy.- Cutaneous Lymphomas.- Non-melanoma Skin Cancer.- Therapy of Kaposi’s Sarcoma.- Adjuvant Melanoma Therapy.- Cytokine-Based Treatments for Advanced Melanoma.- Gene Therapy: A New Perspective for the Treatment of Malignant.- Topical Immunotherapy of Malignant Melanoma.- Vaccination with Dendritic Cells — A Specific Immunomodulatory Approach for the Treatmentof Malignant Melanoma.

Recent progress in the fields of pharmacology and immunology has provided us with new possibilities for treating dermatological diseases. This book reviews the most important immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory drugs and gives helpful, practical information on the treatment of various dermatoses, including autoimmundiseases, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, vasculitis, contact dermatitis, pyoderma gangrenosum, infectious diseases, and neoplasms of the skin - in particular, malignant melanoma.