Content - Volume 71, Issue 4

Human neutrophil elastase and cathepsin G at a concentration of 10(-6) M were found to attack various substrates when normal skin biopsy specimens were incubated at 37 degrees C for 1 h with either of these enzymes. Elastase damaged primarily hemidesmosomes, leading to the epidermal cleavage from the dermis, whereas cathepsin G damaged the membrane structures. Both these neutral proteinases were h ...

The presence of melanin macroglobules, and sometimes that of melanosome complexes also, in epidermal melanocytes has been considered a feature of various skin diseases. Opinions differ as to whether these structures can occur in normal skin. We have studied these melanin inclusions in normal Caucasian skin in the entire soma of 116 melanocytes and the occurrence of melanosomes in phagosomes of 77 ...

PIXE (proton-induced X-ray emission) analysis was used to determine the elemental distribution in normal-appearing skin of patients suffering from atopic eczema and in the skin of elderly people. With this technique, elements with atomic numbers greater than or equal to 14 can be detected simultaneously in cryosections of skin biopsies down to a concentration of 1 ppm. Compared with a control grou ...

Skin reactions and itch or burning pain sensations following intradermal injection of the neuropeptide substance P and topical application of the substance P releasing agent mustard oil were studied in 20 atopic dermatitis patients and 20 healthy controls. Changes in skin blood flow were measured with a Laser Doppler flowmeter. Areas of wheal and flare reactions were evaluated planimetrically. Sim ...

Basal transepidermal water loss, skin thickness, blood flow and skin colour were examined before and after exposure of 28 patients with atopic dermatitis and 28 healthy controls to sodium lauryl sulphate. Transepidermal water loss was measured with an evaporimeter, skin thickness by ultrasound A-scanning, blood flow by laser Doppler flowmetry and skin colour by a chroma meter using the L*, a* and ...

Patch tests with house dust mite allergens were performed in 21 atopic dermatitis patients with a positive prick test and RAST for house dust mite. Variables in methodology of patch testing, i.e. allergen concentration, application time, and intensity of tape stripping, were studied. Tests were performed with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus solutions containing 20X, 100X and 500X the prick test con ...

Serum samples from 43 patients with positive test for syphilis only in the FTA-Abs test, were evaluated. Three had primary or treated syphilis. Twenty-one (49%) had clinical and/or serological signs of Lyme borreliosis as assessed by whole-cell sonicate Borrelia burgdorferi ELISA and Western blot techniques. Seven (16%) had genital Herpes simplex infection and the remaining 12 patients, miscellane ...

Dermatomyositis is a disease of unknown etiology characterized by progressive, symmetrical, proximal muscle weakness with accompanying compatible cutaneous findings. Thirty-nine patients with dermatomyositis from the Louisville, Kentucky area were enrolled in this study. Patients were grouped into those with or without a malignancy. Ten patients (26%) either had or have had a malignancy. Twenty-fi ...

In the summer of 1989 a screening campaign for skin cancer was organized along part of the beach in the western region of The Netherlands, using a mobile trailer. On 4 consecutive Saturdays, 3,069 individuals were examined. A total of 65 individuals with a suspected lesion were found and referred to their general practitioner. The compliance with referral was 80%. Histological reports, obtained fr ...

We determined terbinafine levels in serum, stratum corneum, dermis-epidermis (without stratum corneum), hair, sebum and eccrine sweat before, during and after 250 mg doses orally to volunteers once daily. Terbinafine is concentrated rapidly in stratum corneum (up to 9.1 micrograms/g of tissue) primarily by diffusion from the vascular system through the dermisepidermis. It also reaches high concent ...

Previously we observed that systemic CyA induces hair growth in an experimental model of human scalp skin graft transplanted onto nude mice. In the present study we investigated the role of topical CyA in the murine transplantation model, using human split-thickness skin grafts (HSTSG). Ten mice grafted with 1-mm-thick skin and another 10 mice grafted with 0.4-mm-thick skin were treated topically ...

The pharmacokinetic behaviours of zinc oxide and zinc sulfate when applied as single doses to full-thickness excised rat skin wounds were studied. In the zinc oxide group, the wound fluid zinc concentration increased slightly over the 48-h postoperative period due to increased solubilization of zinc oxide, attributed to increased protein concentration of the wound fluid. When zinc sulfate was appl ...

Disseminated, miliarial type lymphocytoma cutis. A report of two cases The disseminated, miliarial type of lymphocytoma cutis (DMLC) is a clinicopathologic subtype of lymphocytoma, characterized by multiple, 1-2 mm translucent asymptomatic papules located in the exposed areas of the head and neck. DMLC represents a multifocal hyperplasia of B-lymphocytes with follicular differentiation and format ...

A retrospective review was made of 35 cases of Brown Recluse spider bites treated during a period of 21 years. The most common location of the bite was on the lower limbs, particularly the thigh. The main systemic manifestations were fever, malaise and maculopapular rash, but there were no cases of hemolysis, coagulopathy, or of renal or neurologic involvement. Signs indicating a poor prognosis ap ...

Serological features were investigated in 22 patients with polymorphous light eruption. The diagnosis was made from the history and clinical patterns and confirmed by phototesting and histological examinations. In 4 patients with polymorphous light eruption, anti-RNP antibodies were detected in the serum despite the fact that the antinuclear antibody tests were negative in all cases. The serum lev ...

Inflammatory Linear Verrucous Epidermal Nevus (ILVEN) has been suggested to be a separate disease entity. However, the distinction from linear psoriasis has been discussed in the literature over recent decades. The aim of the present study was to investigate, in addition to the clinical and histological criteria, the immunohistochemical aspects of inflammation, epidermal proliferation and keratini ...

Material adhering to the handpiece of the laser instrument was collected and analysed. Examination of semithin sections of the material by light microscopy revealed small clusters of clearly defined whole cells among the abundant debris. Electron microscopy of the cells revealed the presence of cell membranes, cytoplasm and organelles such as mitochondria. This could mean that infected cells or vi ...

We describe a Danish family of four generations suffering from hypotrichosis of the scalp. Age at onset was 6-17 years and almost total scalp alopecia was reached by the age of 14-21 years. No associated ectodermal defects were present. Nine of 22 persons covering four generations were affected. Growth of the scalp hair slowly decreased and was accompanied by a gradual, diffuse hair loss without r ...

Pityriasis amiantacea is not generally recognized as a cause of scarring alopecia. We describe 4 patients with scarring alopecia in the distribution of past or active pityriasis amiantacea and suggest that it is a not uncommon sequela.

Epidermis overlying dermatofibroma rarely displays basal cell epithelioma-like changes (BCE-like changes). Based on the histopathological findings, whether BCE-like changes are induced by dermal lesion or adnexal regression secondary to the solid fibrotic growth remains to be explored. From the standpoint of differentiation, we examined the BCE-like changes overlying dermatofibroma, normal epiderm ...

Twelve patients with chronic severe atopic dermatitis were treated with cyclosporin A (CsA) in a dose of 5.0 mg/kg/day. All patients except one showed a good therapeutic response. After week six, the CsA dose was reduced until an increased activity of atopic dermatitis was noticed (minimal effective dose). The minimal effective dose fluctuated with the severity of the atopic dermatitis. The mean m ...

We studied by immunohistochemistry the fate of factor XIIIa-positive dermal dendrocytes in Henoch-Schönlein purpura. We have observed apoptosis affecting most of the perivascular dendrocytes. Such an aspect of dendrocytoclasis has never previously been reported in inflammatory disorders in the absence of vasculitis.

A case of Crohn's disease complicated by Sweet's syndrome is presented. The main ultrastructural findings were the multiplication of basal lamina surrounding the venulea, interendothelial gaps and in perivascular locations mixed infiltrates of neutrophiles and erythrocytes. The changes indicate that the initial site of the reaction was the walls of the dermal vessels.

The dermal elastic fiber network was studied in specimens from five patients with lichen ruber planus, using a standard elastin staining procedure (orcein), results being compared with those for the elastin-associated microfibrillar network stained using anti-fibrillin antibodies in an immunofluorescence and an avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique. Additional specimens of healed apparently n ...