Contracting shingles may cost up to S$340: National Skin Centre

Contracting shingles may cost up to S$340: National Skin Centre

The average total bill for treating shingles, along with the economic cost of not working, could cost as much as S$340, according to a study by the National Skin Centre.


Shingles is a rash and can cause long-lasting nerve pain for months or even years.

SINGAPORE: About one in five shingles patients experienced pain for more than one month.

In addition, the average total bill for treatment, along with the economic cost of not working, could cost as much as S$340, according to a study by the National Skin Centre.

The study also found that the duration of pain increases with age.

In one case, a 72-year-old patient who had shingles 12 years ago still experiences pain on a regular basis.

Shingles is a rash and can cause long-lasting nerve pain for months or even years.

There is no cure for shingles and one in three people who had chicken pox will develop shingles in their lifetime.

Vaccination is recommended for people who are above 50 years old.

Dr Pan Jiun Yit, a consultant dermatologist at the National Skin Centre, said: "It affects your sleep quality; it affects your productivity at work and affects your family life.

"And if you have shingles affecting a part of your body that is visible, for example your face, this can also result in cosmetic disfigurement as well."

- CNA/ec

- wong chee tat :)

Haploinsufficiency for AAGAB causes clinically heterogeneous forms of punctate palmoplantar keratoderma

Haploinsufficiency for AAGAB causes clinically heterogeneous forms of punctate palmoplantar keratoderma

Elizabeth Pohler, Ons Mamai, Jennifer Hirst, Mozheh Zamiri, Helen Horn, Toshifumi Nomura, Alan D Irvine, Benvon Moran, Neil J Wilson, Frances J D Smith, Christabelle S M Goh, Aileen Sandilands, Christian Cole, Geoffrey J Barton, Alan T Evans, Hiroshi Shimizu, Masashi Akiyama, Mitsuhiro Suehiro, Izumi Konohana, Mohammad Shboul, Sebastien Teissier, Lobna Boussofara, Mohamed Denguezli, Ali Saad, Moez Gribaa, Patricia J Dopping-Hepenstal, John A McGrath, Sara J Brown, David R Goudie, Bruno Reversade, Colin S Munro & W H Irwin McLean

Published online: 14 October 2012 | doi:10.1038/ng.2444

Irwin McLean and colleagues report that heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in AAGAB, which encodes a cytosolic protein implicated in vesicular trafficking, cause punctate palmoplantar keratoderma. They further show that knockdown of AAGAB in keratinocytes leads to increased cell proliferation accompanied by highly elevated levels of epidermal growth factor receptor.

- wong chee tat :)

Scientists find new gene mutation linked to skin disorder

Scientists find new gene mutation linked to skin disorder
Posted: 18 October 2012 1118 hrs

SINGAPORE: Scientists have identified a mutation in a gene that causes patches of very thick skin to appear on the palms and soles, which is a much milder form to that of the Indonesian "Tree Man", Dede Koswara, who's known worldwide for the bark-like growths on his body.

The team of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), a Biomedical Sciences Institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), worked with hospitals and research centres from the UK, Japan and Tunisia.

Patients with this disorder have thick rough skin patches on their hands and feet, which steadily increase to form larger lesions as they grow older.

In severe cases, the lesions can be painful and debilitating.

The researchers found that this skin disorder called punctate palmoplantar keratoderma (punctuate PPK), is caused by mutations in a gene called AAGAB.

Several families in Singapore are afflicted with different types of PPKs and scientists at A*STAR have also been working with doctors at the National Skin Centre to understand the different forms of this skin disorder.

A*STAR said identification of the gene mutation will help scientists better understand the molecular basis of the disease and potentially lead to a suitable treatment.

The scientists analysed DNA samples collected from 18 families from Scotland, Ireland, Japan and Tunisia who had punctuate PPK.

They found that the AAGAB gene was expressed in skin and had a role in the control of cell division.

"Every time we find a new genetic mutation that causes a skin disorder, it helps patients and their families to demystify their condition. With scientists and doctors working towards common goals like this, we find better treatments for more and more of these rare conditions," said Professor Birgitte Lane, Executive Director of IMB.

The IMB findings were published in the online issue of Nature Genetics on 14 October.

- CNA/ck


- wong chee tat :)