Hello there
I must presume the word "good" is key to your question. In as much as
"good" may be highly subjective, I have limited the websites to
organizations which are either from medical professionals or
publications which are considered trustworthy to the average member of
a community such as major newspapers, magazines or trade journals.
"Liver spots" are also a subject for which most articles may be rather
brief instead of in-depth, or detailed reports, as may be found for
other medical conditions, so you may find much of the information
repetitive. As our disclaimer states, the material a Google Answers
researcher provides is not to be taken as a substitute for informed
professional medical advice.
My apologies in advance for repeating a disclaimer about "trust" in
many of the website reviews but since this is a medical question and
feelings about the medical profession or publications differ, I feel
it needs to be emphasized due to the nature and wording of your
question.
I have included no pages from cosmetic firms as commercial sites may
exaggerate or downplay information in the name of making a profit.
The websites provided are in no particular order or ranking.
1 - "Liver Spots" - This page from Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines,
Iowa gives a brief definition, alternate names and causes. While the
page states that liver spots are harmless and painless, it does
provide a warning about "cosmetic appearance" but even more
importantly that liver spots may hide a diagnosis of skin cancer,
though rarely. As for your trust in the website, that would be
somewhat subjective based on your overall trust of the medical
profession in general. The information provided here is from the
section called "Kid Zone" and is designed as educational material
which has been reviewed by Michael Lehrer, M.D., Department of
Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia,
PA. and the review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
http://www.mercydesmoines.org/ADAM/Encyclopedia/ency/article/001141.asp
- From the Website of Mercy Medical Center, Des Moines, Iowa
2 - "Liver Spot Removal" - This article from the online service of the
Knoxville News Sentinel gives a brief overview of what liver spots are
and a method for removal. "Sometimes liver spots need to be removed
either because they do pose a health risk or because the patient isn’t
comfortable with the way they look. If this is the case, a laser
surgery will likely be used." - Quote from the article. The page
includes the disclaimer that one should see one's own physician for
professional advice. As for your trust in the website, that would be
somewhat subjective based on your overall trust of the medical
profession in general and newspapers in particular.
http://web.knoxnews.com/health/dermatology/audio/conditions/liver.shtml
- From the website of the Knoxville News Sentinal
3 - "Dermatologic Surgery Procedures" - Here is a page provided by the
American Society for Dermatologic Surgery providing information as to
what liver spots are, how they come about, their scientific name,
whether or not they are dangerous (once again a mention that they may
mask skin cancers, though only rarely), whether or not they can be
prevented and treatments. As for your trust in the website, that
would be somewhat subjective based on your overall trust of the
medical profession in general.
http://www.asds-net.org/FactSheets/liver_spots.html - From the website
of American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
4 - "Advocate Health Care | Ask Advocate" - This page, in a question
and answer format, provides basic information about liver spots, their
cause and treatment. It also mentions that liver spots should not be
confused with melanomas. The article is by Dr. Catherine Dudley, a
dermatologist with Dreyer Medical Clinic and Advocate Health Care. As
for your trust in the website, that would be somewhat subjective based
on your overall trust of the medical profession in general.
http://www.advocatehealth.com/listen/20000607.html - From the website
of Advocate Health Care
5 - "Purebred Animal Genetic (DNA) Coat Color detection, the
Revolutionary ChromaGene™ - for Dalmation" - Your question did not
specifically limit liver spots to humans so here is information
dealing with genetic information and inheritance factors for dogs. In
this case for Dalmations. "VetGen has introduced a new DNA test for
Dalmatian Coat Color. DNA testing has identified the genotype
associated with the liver spot (b allele), and orange or lemon spot (e
allele) coloring. " You will also find statistical information for
mating pairs and this website also sells the genetic testing kit. -
Quote from website
http://www.vetgen.com/dalcolor.html - From website of VetGen.
6 - The following page answers the question as to whether liver spots
are a sign of liver disease. The answer is that they are not. "Liver
spots have nothing to do with the liver, and they are not an
indication of liver disease." - Quote from the website - Should the
provided link take you to the top of the page rather than directly to
the article, the information is in the fourth article down. As for
your trust in the website, that would be somewhat subjective based on
your overall trust of the medical profession in general.
http://www.skincarephysicians.com/agingskinnet/Q&A.html#liver - From
website of American Academy of Dermatology
7 - "Liver Spots - Pityriasis Versicolot - Tinea versicolor" - This
page identifies liver spots as a fungus or mould infection. Under the
question "What are liver spots": "Pityriasis versicolor is a surface
infection of the skin produced by a fungus or mould. It can affect any
part of the body but generally involves the trunk and arms. It starts
as either pale or dark patches on the skin which range from the size
of a pinhead to one centimetre across. The patches are flat but if
scratched, become slightly scaly. They cause no symptoms. When the
patches are pale they become more obvious after sun exposure. Normal
skin tans, but the affected areas remain pale." - quote from website.
The article goes on to discuss how they happen, why, and what
treatment options are.
http://www.surgerydoor.co.uk/tiscali/medcon/detail2.asp?level2=Liver%20Spots
- From website of surgerydoor.com
8 - "Freckles - Skin: health and medical information concerning skin
disorders" - This site identifies liver spots as freckles,
specifically lentigo-type freckles. It also speaks of liver spots as
sometimes being associated with seborrheic keratoses. LOL, I think I
have repeated the "trust" disclaimer enough, it is starting to get
boring. By now, you have started to get the idea.
http://www.medicinenet.com/Freckles/page1.htm - From website of
medicinenet.com
9 - "Aging Skin: Blemishes and Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers ---
HealthandAge" - Here information about liver spots is included along
with information about other skin conditions. Most of the material
about liver spots is found on the lower section of the page. The
material here was written and updated by experienced medical writers
and reviewed and edited by the in-house editors and a board of
physicians who have faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and
Massachusetts General Hospital.
http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gm=6!gid6=2006 - From website of
Novartis Foundation for Gerontology
10 - "InteliHealth: Solar lentigo" - An overview of Solar Lentigp
(liver spots} from Aetna InteliHealth. The site provides brief
statements ranging from "What is it?" to diagnosis and when to call a
professional.
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10770.html - From
website of Aetna InteliHealth
11 - Reticulated black solar lentigo ('ink spot' lentigo) - This page
deals with a dark colored lentigo which may be confused with and often
considered suspicious for melanoma. This brief page describes just
what this kind of liver spot is and establishes that it is usually
benign. As for your trust in the website, that would be somewhat
subjective based on your overall trust of the United States government
in general.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=92328538
From website of the Department of Health and Human Services, United
States government
12 - "Brown spots and freckles: patient information" - A page covering
a variety of discolorations ranging from freckles to liver spots.
Once again there is a mild warning about liver spots. "It is
important to distinguish the benign solar lentigo from an early
malignant melanoma, the lentigo maligna. If the freckle has arisen
recently, is made up of more than one colour or has irregular borders
or if you have any doubts, see your dermatologist for advice." - Quote
from website
http://www.dermnetnz.org/pre/dna.cosderm/spotmo.html - From website of
New Zealand Dermatological Society
13 - "Histopathology of solar lentigines of the face: a quantitative
study" - "Solar lentigines are acquired pigmented lesions on
sun-damaged skin that in general have both keratinocytic and
melanocytic hyperplasia, but no melanocytic atypia and no nests of
melanocytes. Most histopathologic studies of solar lentigines have
been limited to sites other than the face and have not included a
systematic and quantitative assessment of the diagnostic features."
Article from Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of
Medicine The previous quote from the site will give you an idea of
the tone of this brief article.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9091478&dopt=Abstract&itool=iconabstr
-
From From website of the Department of Health and Human Services,
United States government
14 - "Liver Spots" - This brief page, in a question and answer format,
defines what liver spots are and provides some information about
treatment. The author of this article is Dr. Rebekah Wang-Cheng who
is a former Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Her medical advice column, which answers health-related questions from
readers, also appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/908673035.html - From website of
Medical College of Wisconsin
15 - "Vitamin E for Liver Spots" - A very brief article on the
relation of vitamin E to liver spots and a suggestion that the vitamin
may prevent the future development of same. The author of this
article is Dr. Rebekah Wang-Cheng who is a former Professor of
Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her medical advice
column, which answers health-related questions from readers, also
appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. - Please note there is no
direct link between this web page and the previous one under "Find
related articles:" Each is a stand alone web page.
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/909338920.html - From website of
Medical College of Wisconsin
16 - "HealthCentral - General Encyclopedia - Liver spots" - While this
article repeats much of what has been covered before, it includes such
suggestions as a relationship between perfumes and after shaves and
the formation of liver spots. There is a small gallery of
click-to-enlarge photos.
http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/001141.cfm - From website of
HealthCentral.com
17 - "BestDoctors.com: Skin Conditions: What Are Liver Spots?" -
"Liver spots - the technical term is lentigo - have nothing to do with
your liver. Some people call them age spots. They are just flat spots,
usually light to medium brown, sometimes dark brown." You will find a
brief overview of the subject. - Quote from website.
http://www.bestdoctors.com/en/askadoctor/b/brandt/tpbrandt_062600_q5.htm
- From website of BestDoctors.com
18 - "NEJM -- Topical tretinoin (retinoic acid) treatment for liver
spots associated with photodamage" - "BACKGROUND. The hyperpigmented
lesions commonly called liver spots distress patients, in part because
such lesions are associated with aging. We investigated their
treatment with topical 0.1 percent tretinoin (retinoic acid). METHODS.
Fifty-eight patients completed a 10-month randomized, double-blind
study in which they applied either 0.1 percent tretinoin (n = 28) or
vehicle (n = 30) cream daily to the face, upper extremities, or both."
The article provides the results of the study and gives links to
related materials. - Quote from website.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/326/6/368 - From website
of New England Journal of Medicine
19 - "Lasers are an Effective Weapon Against Liver Spots" - This page,
in a question and answer format, defines liver spots and discusses
lasers as a treatment option. By John C. Wolf, D.O. Associate
Professor of Family Medicine Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine
http://www.fhradio.org/fm/archives/1997/2030(FM).html
20 - "What Causes Age Spots?" - This is a brief overview of liver
spots from WebMD
http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/41/1738_50046.htm?printing=true
Well, there you have it. As I mentioned earlier, whether or not a
website is "good" is largely subjective in a topic such as this. Much
of the information is repetitive and duplications abound. I have
tried to avoid the exact duplications here. Within the seemingly
limited scope of the topic, I must say that these websites would
classify as "good" as any out there.
I have no idea what your project is, but because of the redundancy of
the information, you may want to condense and eliminate the
repetitivness of much of the material
Search - google
Terms - liver spots, age spots, wisdom spots, lentigo, skin
discolorations, skin aging, solar lentigines
Just to end this on an up note - I ran into this little gem:
"A recent study has revealed old people have more liver spots than
younger people, raising the exciting possibility that adding liver
spots to younger people will cause them to live longer lives.
The study employed a sample of adults aged 25-90, all of whom had
their liver spots counted by researchers. This research found that old
people were four times as likely as younger people to not only have
liver spots, but also to be older. Thus providing conclusive proof
that liver spots cause people to live past the 25-35 age bracket that
has no liver spots." :)
If I may clarify anything, please ask.
Cheers
digsalot |
