Dear friends, patients, and colleagues,

We hope you had a healthy and happy holiday season and are ready for the New Year! If any of your New Year resolutions involve improving cellulite, you might want to consider VelaSmooth™, a device that smoothes and shapes cellulite. Initial studies show improvement in body contouring also! In this newsletter edition, we included the inside scoop on the Florida Botox scare (as well as try to reassure you about the purity of our BOTOX® Cosmetic) and also give you some insight on new ways to treat actinic keratoses, common pre-skin cancers caused by excessive sun damage. Don't forget to check out some tips on dry skin care.

We have included our first quarter schedule to keep you up-to-date on our practice and store events, as well as our participation in continuing medical education programs and our presentations at national meetings. We pride ourselves on our commitment to continuous educational development so that we can maintain our mission: to provide you with only the utmost professional, caring and innovative skin care. We also want to congratulate our Clinical Director, Erin C. DeVita, CST, on passing her test to become a Certified Medical Laser Safety Officer. Congratulations!

Yours Truly,
Amy Forman Taub, MD and Staff

• Calendar
• Events and Specials
• Dermatology Medical
  News & Research
  Studies
• Aesthetic Dermatology
  News
• Skinfo News
• Goodbye

Seminars/Conferences/Workshops

November 11, 2004: Dr. Taub performed a skin cancer screening at Good Shepherd Hospital.

January 22, 2005: Shannon Morrow, PA-C will be presenting cosmetic and medical dermatology information at a local women's seminar.

January 26: Dr. Taub lectures to the Dallas Dermatological Society on Photodynamic Therapy.

January 30: Dr. Taub is participating in a roundtable of laser experts called the "Epifacial Workshop" in New York City.

February 19 & 20: Advanced Dermatology and Skinfo® will be at the Chicagoland Women's Expo at Arlington Race Track in Schaumburg.

February 26: Dr. Taub will be the guest of Cutera, a laser company, to direct a workshop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about their products.

March 5: Dr. Taub will be participating in the Advanced Aesthetic Symposium hosted by Syneron Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana.

March 30 - April 1: Dr. Taub, Erin DeVita, CST and Suzanne Lombardo will attend the American Society for Laser Surgery and Medicine Annual Meeting where Dr. Taub will make a video presentation on the success of the Pan G™ Lift.

Advanced Dermatology Specials

January 1 - February 15, 2005 - Injectable Fillers Promotion: 10% off of Restylane™ and Hylaform™. Please call for a complimentary consultation or to schedule your appointment.

February 16 - March 31, 2005 - Get ready for Spring! *Choose from the following: VelaSmooth™, Laser Hair Removal and Laser Leg Veins. Buy any 2, get 10% off, buy any 3, get 15% off.*

PDT for Actinic Keratoses:
Actinic keratoses (AKs) are small flesh colored or slightly red scaly spots which are pre-skin cancers. Traditional treatments include liquid nitrogen and chemotherapy creams. Now we have 2 new alternatives: The first uses a cream called Aldara (5% imiquimod cream) to stimulate the body's own immune system to eradicate the "bad cells". Use of the immune system to fight off cancer or pre-cancer is an exciting new idea with a lot of promise. The second features Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), a painless, light-based therapy administered in the office, which we have found to be very successful. One to three treatments are usually sufficient and most have been covered by insurance. PDT will also target abnormal cells that cannot be seen, thus helping to prevent future AKs and even potentially preventing skin cancer. As a bonus, PDT often makes your skin look much better!

Research Studies:

VelaSmooth™ - We have enrolled 10 people in the IRB study for FDA approval for the fat contouring laser and cellulite study. We will present our findings in our next newsletter.

PDT Acne Study - We will begin enrolling patients into our PDT acne study in the coming month. There are exclusion criteria to be a candidate for the study. Please call our office for more information.

Rosacea Study - We are currently accepting participants into the rosacea study comparing the efficacy of three different laser treatments for improving rosacea. You must have moderate to severe rosacea and be on the same topical medications for the last three months, as well as not had a laser treatment on the face for the past year. Call the office for more information.

Tissue Tightening Study - We are in the process of evaluating the only three treatments that are available for non-surgical tissue tightening: the Titan™, the Polaris WR™, and the Thermage® treatment. We may be the only office in the US that has all three modalities! We have performed split face treatments evaluating the differences between the procedures listed above and are in the process of compiling results. We will update you on our findings in our next newsletter!

VelaSmooth™ - We are one of only 70 centers in the US with the VelaSmooth™ - a new technology which features laser, radiofrequency and suction to reduce the appearance of cellulite. We are now accepting appointments for treatment of the hips, buttocks, thighs, and/or abdomen. The treatments are twice a week for 4 weeks and maintenance is recommended every 2-3 months. Early results have been promising- people participating in the study feel it has made their skin smoother and their clothes fit better!

VISIA system - We have the most updated version of facial photographic capture and analysis called the VISIA CR from Canfield Systems. With this amazing tool we can analyze your skin up close and see every crease, pore and line! We can also analyze it for UV damage as well as provide very detailed before and after photographs so that we can most accurately chart your progress. Call now for a complimentary skin analysis!

Injectable Filler Update - Restylane™ and Hylaform™, both FDA approved injectable fillers, are on the upswing - there was a 39% increase in sales last year in the US! These fillers consist of hyaluronic acid, a protein that is found in abundance in our skin. Our experience is that they each have a specialty: Restylane™ is great for filling volume, like the nasolabial grooves, whereas Hylaform™ is wonderful at giving lips definition and getting rid of smaller wrinkles, like those found on the upper lip. If you have lines, grooves, dents, scars or even just thin, crinkly lips, consider fillers!

Florida Botox Scare - By now many of you have heard about the fact that four people in Florida were hospitalized after botulinum toxin injections. The person who supplied the material was well-known as a promoter of "bootlegged" or "make it your own BOTOX," as well as not being a licensed health care professional. Just recently Drs. Jean and Alastair Carruthers, the innovators who discovered that BOTOX® could be used for frown lines, published a 15 year study demonstrating the safety of BOTOX® Cosmetic injections. Millions of people got BOTOX® Cosmetic last year without any serious adverse events. Rest assured that we use only sterile BOTOX® Cosmetic made by Allergan at Advanced Dermatology. This scare highlights the importance of seeking BOTOX® Cosmetic injections or any type of cosmetic procedure from a reputable medical practice, preferably one headed by a board-certified dermasurgeon who is on-site and actively supervising and/or performing the procedures, such as Dr. Taub does at Advanced Dermatology.

Not ready for injections? Argireline might be your answer. Argireline is an acetyl hexapeptide-3 that stops the communication between the nerve endings and the muscles that trigger the development of some fine lines and wrinkles. The relaxation thus reduces the development and appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Argireline is found in Kinerase C6 Peptide Intensive Treatment. This new treatment product also contains antioxidants L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin E and Green Tea Extract. The combination of ingredients helps to relax wrinkles caused by facial expressions, help stimulate collagen production and provide antioxidant protection. Kinerase C6 Peptide Intensive Treatment may be used with other products or by itself, and it may be used in conjunction with BOTOX® Cosmetic to gain further improvement.

'Tis the season for dry skin. When the ambient humidity decreases, the air literally sucks moisture from our skin, leaving it rough and dry as well as sensitive to fragrance, soap and wool. There are different strategies for combating dry skin. One strategy is to use something creamy to coat the skin surface and trap the water inside. We have found that Theraseal with dimethicone helps to seal in moisture and keep hands soft and supple. Mavena Hydrolotion or Lipolotion features moisturizers with Dead Sea salts, famous for retaining water on the surface of the skin so it does not evaporate. Another strategy to combat skin dehydration is to increase the thickness ofthe skin layer that holds water called the epidermis. Alphahydroxy moisturizers like Skinfo® Soft & Smooth Body Lotion and Skinfo® Vita Body Moisture exfoliate the rough skin and increase water carrying capacity. For the face, use SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel to boost your moisture activity and plump up the fine lines on the skin. If you have absolutely parched facial skin that is sensitive you need NeoStrata's Biohydrating Cream. Don't forget the common sense stuff: tune up your humidifier, use fragrance free laundry detergent, fabric softener, non-drying soaps and body cleansers!

Skinfo®Wax Bar - Now Open! Come and check out Skinfo®'s new wax bar. We are offering waxes that will include shaping and arching the brow. We will have upper lip waxing too. All waxes come with a complimentary makeup and skincare consultation! Please stop in or call for pricing.

Makeup tips - Once again gloMinerals glam 2 kit is back with even more exciting colors and shades. Read below for a natural and soft make-up look.

Eyes base: Posh #1
Contour: Coppersheen #3 or Posh #3
Highlight: Coppersheen #2 or Posh #2
Eyeliner: Espresso cream
Lips: Rosepetal or Cashmere
Cheeks: Sweet

For additional information,
please check our websites
www.advdermatology.com
and www.skinfo.com.