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IntroductionBimekizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets Interleukin-17 A and F, approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. While bimekizumab has been evaluated in several phase-III clinical trials, real-world evidence is still very limited.MethodThis multicenter retrospective study included patients affected by plaque psoriasis treated with bimekizumab from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023, at 19 Italian referral hospitals. Patients affected by moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis eligible for systemic treatments were included. The effectiveness of bimekizumab was evaluated in terms of reduction in psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) compared with baseline at weeks 4 and 16. The main outcomes were the percentages of patients achieving an improvement of at least 75% (PASI75), 90% (PASI90) and 100% (PASI100) in PASI score.ResultsThe study included 237 patients who received at least one injection of bimekizumab. One hundred and seventy-one patients and 114 reached four and 16 weeks of follow-up, respectively. Complete skin clearance was achieved by 43.3% and 75.4% of patients at weeks 4 and 16, respectively. At week 16, 86.8% of patients reported no impact on their quality of life. At week 16, there were no significant differences between bio-naïve and bio-experienced patients in terms of PASI75, PASI90 and PASI100. The most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) were oral candidiasis (10.1%). No severe AEs or AEs leading to discontinuation were observed throughout the study.ConclusionOur experience supports the effectiveness and tolerability of bimekizumab in a real-world setting with similar results compared with phase-III clinical trials.

Aim: This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) in pediatric dentistry, comparing it with other restorative techniques, analyzing material performance, assessing cost-effectiveness, and exploring the long-term success in managing dental caries. Background: ART is a minimally invasive approach that removes decayed tissue using hand instruments and restores teeth with adhesive materials like glass ionomer cement (GIC). ART is particularly valuable in pediatric dentistry due to its simplicity, reduced discomfort, and suitability for resource-limited settings. It eliminates the need for anesthesia and expensive dental equipment, making it accessible in remote and underserved areas. Studies have shown its effectiveness in providing durable restorations while improving patient comfort. Materials and Methods: This systematic review follows the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched for studies published in the last ten years. The inclusion criteria included in vivo studies on children, randomized controlled trials, and case–control studies assessing ART’s effectiveness. Quality and risk of bias were evaluated using the ROBINS-I tool. Results: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. ART effectively managed dental caries, especially with high-viscosity GIC. Comparisons with the Hall Technique and Papacarie showed that ART remains a viable, cost-effective option. Conclusions: ART is a reliable, minimally invasive technique for pediatric restorative dentistry. Its accessibility and cost-effectiveness make it suitable for low-resource settings. High-quality materials and technique modifications further enhance restoration longevity.

Aim: This systematic review compared erbium lasers (Er:YAG/Er,Cr:YSGG) with conventional rotary instruments (dental turbine/high-speed handpiece) for caries removal and cavity preparation in pediatric dentistry, focusing on patient-centered outcomes and short-term restorative performance. Methods: Following PRISMA guidance, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for studies published between January 2010 and November 2025. Eligible studies were in vivo/human investigations in children with carious primary teeth comparing erbium laser versus rotary instrumentation. Results: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Across the included trials, erbium laser treatment was consistently associated with reduced intraoperative pain and improved comfort, often accompanied by lower anxiety indicators and higher child acceptance compared with rotary preparation. Several studies also reported a reduced need for local anesthesia in the laser group. In contrast, operative time was generally longer with erbium lasers than with turbines. When restorations were evaluated, clinical performance and short-term success (up to 12 months) were comparable between laser- and bur-prepared cavities, with no consistent disadvantages observed for laser preparation. Conclusions: Overall, erbium lasers appear to be a clinically effective and child-friendly alternative to conventional turbines, offering superior patient comfort while maintaining comparable short-term restorative outcomes, albeit at the cost of longer procedure duration.

We describe the second case of infection by Emergomyces pasteurianus in Italy. The patient presented ulcerated nodular lesions primarily in the forehead, beneath the orbital and nasal areas, but also in the neck and fingers in the early stages. Treatment involved amphotericin B, followed by long-term itraconazole, which resulted in complete clinical resolution. A review of the literature is also included.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune bullous disease caused by circulating autoantibodies toward the hemidesmosomal antigens BP180 and BP230. Cases of BP have been described following vaccinations against tetanus, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, influenza, pneumococcus, meningococcus, hepatitis B and rabies. The putative mechanism by which COVID-19-vaccines may induce BP has not been clarified. An Italian multicentre study was conducted to collect clinical, histopathological and immunopathological data of patients with BP associated with COVID-19-vaccines. Twenty-one cases were collected, including 9 females and 12 males (M/F = 1.3) with a median age at diagnosis of 82 years. Seventeen patients received the COMIRNATY Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, two the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine, one the ChAdOx1/nCoV-19-AstraZeneca/ Vaxzevria vaccine and one received the first dose with the ChAdOx1/nCoV-19-AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria vaccine and the second dose with the COMIRNATY Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Median latency time between the first dose of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the onset of cutaneous manifestations was 27 days. Median BPDAI at onset was 42. Eleven out of seventeen patients (65%) had positive titres for anti-BP180 antibodies with a median value of 106.3 U/mL on ELISA; in contrast, only five out of seventeen (29%) were positive for anti-BP230 antibodies, with a median of 35.3 U/mL. In conclusion, in terms of mean age, disease severity at diagnosis and clinical phenotype vaccine-associated BP patients seem to be similar to idiopathic BP with an overall benign course with appropriate treatment. On the other hand, the slight male predominance and the reduced humoral response to BP230 represent peculiar features of this subset of patients.

Linear immunoglobulin (Ig) A disease (LAD) is a rare autoimmune blistering dermatosis caused by linear deposition of IgA1 along the dermoepidermal junction of skin and mucosae. It can affect both children and adults. Although idiopathic in most cases, it can also be associated with infections, malignancies, or drug administration. Among medications, antibiotics are most commonly responsible, particularly vancomycin. We report the case of a 51-year-old female patient who developed mucocutaneous LAD after oral metronidazole administration, which was confirmed by histopathological examination and direct immunofluorescence of one of the bullous lesions. Lesions rapidly cleared after metronidazole discontinuation and a short course of oral methylprednisolone and dapsone. To our knowledge, this is the third reported case of metronidazole-induced LAD, and the first in which metronidazole was not administered in combination with other antibiotics such as ceftriaxone.

Introduction Several studies have demonstrated that psoriasis severity is generally greater in male patients, but it is unclear whether this gender difference may affect short-term therapeutic response. Notably, no studies have specifically investigated bimekizumab, a humanized, full-length IgG1 monoclonal antibody that acts as a dual inhibitor of interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F. Methods This was a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective, multicenter analysis. A cohort of 318 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, 229 male patients (median [IQR] age 35 [23–67] years) and 89 female patients (median [IQR] age 33 [20–68] years), were retrospectively evaluated for short-term response (16 weeks) to bimekizumab according to standard dosage (320 mg at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16, and every 8 weeks thereafter). Patients were assessed to evaluate whether gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics can affect treatment response to standard dose of bimekizumab, during the first 16 weeks of treatment. Therapeutic outcomes were evaluated by analyzing Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores recorded in each patient at three consecutive time points: baseline (T0), after 4 weeks (T4), and after 16 weeks of treatment (T16). Results Male patients showed more severe disease at baseline, compared to female patients ( p  = 0.01). A significant reduction in disease severity was observed in both male and female patients after 16 weeks of treatment, but male patients showed a faster decrease in PASI score between baseline and week 4 of treatment compared to female patients ( p  < 0.001). Nevertheless, by week 16, difference in PASI response and DLQI reduction between genders became less pronounced. Conclusion Although male patients exhibit greater disease severity at baseline compared to female patients, this does not result in a differential response to bimekizumab over the short term. Both male and female patients had equal probability of achieving complete or near-complete disease remission within the first 4 weeks of treatment, and both maintain this response status through week 16. The therapeutic benefit of bimekizumab may be due to the rapid dual inhibition of IL-17A and IL-17F, which may lead to consistent and robust clinical response across genders, regardless of baseline disease severity. Our results suggest a “gender severity-invariant effect” of bimekizumab, highlighting the treatment as rapidly effective in both genders, despite initial differences in disease severity.

Cutaneous immune-related adverse events are frequently associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) administration in cancer patients. In fact, these monoclonal antibodies bind the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 and programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 leading to a non-specific activation of the immune system against both tumoral cells and self-antigens. The skin is the most frequently affected organ system appearing involved especially by inflammatory manifestations such as maculopapular, lichenoid, psoriatic, and eczematous eruptions. Although less common, ICI-induced autoimmune blistering diseases have also been reported, with an estimated overall incidence of less than 5%. Bullous pemphigoid-like eruption is the predominant phenotype, while lichen planus pemphigoides, pemphigus vulgaris, and mucous membrane pemphigoid have been described anecdotally. Overall, they have a wide range of clinical presentations and often overlap with each other leading to a delayed diagnosis. Achieving adequate control of skin toxicity in these cases often requires immunosuppressive systemic therapies and/or interruption of ICI treatment, presenting a therapeutic challenge in the context of cancer management. In this study, we present a case series from Italy based on a multicenter, retrospective, observational study, which included 45 patients treated with ICIs who developed ICI-induced bullous pemphigoid. In addition, we performed a comprehensive review to identify the cases reported in the literature on ICI-induced autoimmune bullous diseases. Several theories seeking their underlying pathogenesis have been reported and this work aims to better understand what is known so far on this issue.

Background/Objectives: This systematic review examines the effectiveness and clinical indications of the 2 × 4 fixed orthodontic appliance for interceptive treatment in children with mixed dentition, aiming to simplify future orthodontic needs. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, a search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (May 2000–May 2025). The inclusion criteria focused on open-access, in vivo/human studies, case–control studies, cohort studies, and RCTs in English. Risk of bias was assessed using Rob 2.0. Results: Out of 362 initial records, 7 studies were included. Most of the included studies showed a low risk of bias, with some moderate risk in terms of confounding variables and participant selection, but no high risk was identified. Conclusions: The 2 × 4 fixed orthodontic appliance is an effective interceptive therapy for mixed dentition. Clinicians can optimize outcomes by understanding its biomechanics and clinical applications. Further research is needed to understand long-term impacts and improve efficiency.

We describe the second case of infection by Emergomyces pasteurianus in Italy. The patient presented ulcerated nodular lesions primarily in the forehead, beneath the orbital and sal areas, but also in the neck and fingers in the early stages. Treatment involved amphotericin B, followed by long-term itracozole, which resulted in complete clinical resolution. A review of the literature is also included.