Compounding with Sarah

  Tretinoin, Adapalene, Tazarotene: Understanding the Difference Between Common Retinoids By Sarah Taylor, PharmD What are retinoids? Retinoids are vitamin A (retinol) derivatives either synthetic or natural. Natural retinoid derivatives include retinoic acid (tretinoin), and retinyl esters. Synthetic retinoid derivatives include newer retinoids like tazarotene or adapalene. Retinoids play a role in a wide variety of processes within the body including reproduction, vision, inflammation, and cell differentiation and proliferation among others. 1 Common retinoids such as tretinoin and adapalene are FDA approved for the management of acne vulgaris, tazarotene is approved for use for acne as well as plaque psoriasis. 2,3,4 Currently, retinoids are approved for a relatively limited number of conditions, but studies have been evaluating their use for other purposes for many years. Some of these conditions include management of scars/keloids or stretch marks, aging skin, hyperpigmenta

  Managing Post-Viral Anosmia Anderson de Oliveira Ferreira   Introduction             Olfactory dysfunctions (OD), characterized by reduced, absent, or distorted olfaction, are relatively common in the general population, and may affect approximately 20% of the adult population at some point in their lives 1 . OD dysfunction can be classified in either quantitative terms, involving the intensity of the alteration, or qualitative terms, in this case involving the altered odor quality. Normal olfactory function is defined as normosmia. Quantitatively, olfactory dysfunctions are classified as hyposmia (decrease in smell), functional anosmia (has no useful function in daily life), and anosmia (total lack of smell) 2,3 . Physiologically, our olfactory perception changes with age, reaching the peak of perception in the fourth decade of life and significantly declining in odor recognition and identification after the age of 60 years 4 . Several diseases are associated with OD; among