Content - Volume 69, Issue 5

A transient epidermal hyperplasia was induced in guinea pig epidermis by a single application of n-hexadecane. The epidermal response was analysed by light microscopy and by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX). The epidermal hyperplasia reached a maximum between 96 and 192 h after the application. The hyperplastic response was associated with a depressed sodium-potassium ratio (increased p ...

The cytokeratin composition of palmo-plantar epidermis from sites with different degrees of mechanically induced thickening of the stratum corneum was analysed. The urea-soluble proteins of the stratum corneum were analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Viable epidermal layers were analysed by immunofluorescence microscopy with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. A mouse monoclonal antibod ...

Melanoma tissues produce not only 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5-S-CD), a pheomelanin precursor, but also 5,6-dihydroxyindoles, eumelanin precursors. We compared 5-S-CD and eumelanin-related metabolites regarding the correlation of their production in melanoma and excretion in urine, versus the weight of B16 mouse melanoma. It was found that B16 melanoma tissues produce 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid ...

Skin biopsies from 5 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis were examined to test the effect of topical treatment with a new synthetic vitamin D3 analogue, MC 903, on epidermal interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). Skin biopsies, taken before therapy and after one and 2 weeks of therapy were examined immunohistologically. IL-6 was visualized using a partially purified ...

An ELISA for tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) was developed and used to measure the concentration of t-PA in plasma from 15 healthy donors and 23 psoriasis patients. The mean value for the healthy donors was 2.4 +/- 1.3 ng/ml (SD) of t-PA in plasma. The mean value for the psoriasis patients was 4.4 +/- 3.2 ng/ml of t-PA. The psoriasis patients were divided into two groups: patients with mi ...

Twenty female patients suffering from androgenetic alopecia were treated during one year with 50 micrograms ethinyloestradiol plus 2 mg cyproterone acetate and additional 20 mg cyproterone acetate on days 5-20 of the menstrual cycle. The control group consisted of eight untreated female patients with androgenetic alopecia. The parameters used to evaluate therapeutic results were trichogram, hair s ...

Monoclonal antibodies, specific for each of human types I, III, IV and V collagens, were produced and shown to be suitable for immunofluorescent studies of human skin. The antibodies showed that types I and III collagens were abundant and distributed throughout the dermis. The distribution of type III collagen appeared different in the papillary compared with the reticular dermis, although an incr ...

The expression of the CD36 (OKM5) antigen was studied with the PAP technique on sections of skin from healthy subjects and of normal and diseased skin from patients with various skin diseases. In specimens from healthy subjects the antigen was found on vascular and perivascular structures and in some cases it was seen on cells of the acrosyringium. A net-like pattern of CD36 was observed in the up ...

Mild dithranol irritation of healthy human skin has a stronger effect on the fine structure of Langerhans´ cells (LC) than on that of other epidermal cells, causing mitochondrial enlargement and disruption of the cristae of LCs. With a stronger dithranol irritation, LCs were even more affected resulting in circular and branched Birbeck granules (BG) and blebbing of the LC cytomembrane. More often ...

Itch was assessed both continuously using a computerized method, Pain-Track, and retrospectively using visual analogue scales (VAS) by 28 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis and suffering from uremic pruritus. Measurements were performed during 7 consecutive days including three dialysis sessions. Pain-Track recordings showed that itch intensity was greater during dialysis than on days fo ...

Two cases with recurrent annular lesions of similar clinical appearance and course are described. The histopathological investigations showed in both cases dense and diffuse infiltrates mainly of polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leucocytes in the mid dermis. No fever, leucocytosis or elevated ESR were observed. Systemic corticosteroid treatment controlled symptoms but recurrence after treatment was ...

In a non-selected population of 809 office employees (454 women and 355 men) 81 persons were diagnosed as having rosacea, giving a prevalence of 10% (women 14%, men 5%). The rosacea group was compared with the rest of the study population. Most of the cases were rather mild. The rosacea was of an erythematotelangiectatic type in 81% of the cases and of a papulopustular type in 19%. Unilateral lesi ...

Biopsies obtained from both the perilesional areas and clinically uninvolved skin of patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) were studied for antigen-presenting cell and lymphocyte phenotype and/or activation phenotype using monoclonal antibodies in avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex staining. Perilesional PV skin contained CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes as the predominant cell type, but cells with a pot ...

We have demonstrated a high-affinity binding site for leukotriene B4 (LTB4) on human epidermal keratinocytes in vitro. In substrate saturation studies, one population of binding sites with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 1.03 +/- 0.3 nM and a maximal binding capacity (Bmax) of 148.2 +/- 45.3 fmol/mg protein could be demonstrated. On average 5,500 binding sites were found on individual keratinocyte ...

The influence of female sex hormones on mechanical properties of the skin has been assessed in an in vivo extensometric study. Twenty young (20 +/- 4 years) and 12 middle-aged healthy women (42 +/- 3 years) entered the study. Measurements were carried out on the volar surface of the left forearm on the 10th and 25th day of the menstrual cycle. A significantly decreased skin extensibility time in t ...

In an attempt to demonstrate the effect of tetracycline or heparin therapy on the dermo-epidermal junction, the suction blister time was measured at the beginning and at the end of the study in 18 female Sprague-Dawley hairless rats, using the suction blister method. Suction blister time was defined as the time taken for the first sign of a vesicle to appear in the hole in the diaphragm of a sucti ...

Topical anesthesia with ethyl chloride spraying generates some remarkable reactive events in the human Langerhans´ cell (LC) system. Many LC retract their dendrites and a considerable number move to the innermost layers of the epidermis within 15 minutes. This rapid motility supports the view that the interstices between cells in living epidermis are large. The LC cytomembrane is very susceptible ...

Retinoids have effects on the metabolism of keratinization and on the metabolism of connective tissue. Recent results have indicated that they may be helpful for treating dermatological diseases which involve marked connective tissue changes such as scleroderma, keloids and actinic skin damage. In addition, retinoids have been shown to reduce the clinical and histological alterations occurring in ...

A unique case of Lipodystrophia centrifugalis sacralis infantilis in a caucasian is reported. This case fulfils all the clinical requirements of the centrifugalis lipodystrophy described in Oriental children by Imamura et al. (1) and usually localized on the abdomen. The 15-year follow-up of this case clearly demonstrates the tendency toward spontaneous remission of the disease after puberty.

The first known case involving an association of Sweet´s syndrome with Crohn´s disease is described. A 36-year-old woman developed a diarrhea, fever, and infiltrated erythematous cutaneous plaques on neck and limbs, consistent with a presumptive diagnosis of Sweet´s syndrome. This was confirmed by a skin biopsy showing a dense dermal infiltrate of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Crohn´s disease, ...

Transient acantholytic dermatosis is a papulovesicular cutaneous eruption first described in 1970. There have been subsequent reports of similar disorders occurring in patients with malignancy. Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia is a disorder characterized by an acute onset of generalized lymphadenopathy associated with fever, malaise, pruritus, night sweats, and hepatosplenome ...

Short-contact therapy with dithranol has become an important possibility for the treatment of psoriasis on an outpatient basis. Two groups of patients with chronic stable plaque psoriasis were treated on an outpatient basis with a short-contact regime using dithranol in a stiffened paraffin base. In one group the concentrations were adjusted once a week and in the other group 3 times a week. Clini ...

A controlled trial of the anti-inflammatory effect of a steroid cream (clobetasol propionate) in 11 patients with moderate acne was assessed over a 3 week period. The placebo cream was the base of the steroid cream. Therapeutic effect was assessed by the number of active and less actively inflamed papules and pustules present at the beginning and end of the 3 week trial period. No significant chan ...

A variety of dressings have been used following skin planing. Compresses are difficult to apply and simple bandages stick tight and are hard to remove. The Department of Dermatology has for several years used Collagen film, but this film is no longer commercially available. After 12 patients with acne scars underwent skin planing, synthetic polyurethanefilm (Omiderm) was applied for 7 days, with g ...

Forty-eight women with external genital warts, all with normal cervical cytological PAP smears, were examined by means of colposcopy. One cervical biopsy for histological evaluation was taken from each woman, irrespective of the colposcopic findings. Koilocytosis was detected in 18/48 (38%) and dysplasia (CIN-1) in 3/48 (6%) of the patients. The presence of aceto-white lesions on the cervix was si ...

Epidermal hydration following repeated application of an oil in water emulsion was studied on the forearm skin of 16 healthy females by non-invasive methods. The lotion was applied twice daily for 7 days, and values were followed 7 days after cessation of treatment. The opposite forearm served as an untreated control. Electrical conductance and capacitance showed similar results, i.e. increased va ...