Content - Volume 72, Issue 2

Biopsies of normal and diseased skin were immunohistochemically investigated for the presence of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTH-rp). In normal skin and several skin disorders a monoclonal antibody against the 34-68 sequence of PTH-rp was found to be exclusively located in the granular layer. PTH-rp could not be detected in untreated psoriatic plaque lesions even when a granular layer was ...

The purpose of the present study was to determine the concentrations of acitretin and its main metabolite, 13-cis acitretin, in epidermis, subcutis and plasma in twelve psoriatic patients treated with 30 mg acitretin orally daily for 6 months. In addition, endogenous concentrations of vitamin A were monitored. Blood samples and biopsies from normal appearing skin were obtained prior to therapy, af ...

The histamine concentration was measured from suction blister fluid obtained from normal and lesional skin of 8 patients with fixed drug eruption (FDE) caused by phenazone salicylate and from that of 2 healthy control subjects. In blister fluid samples obtained before peroral challenge with phenazone salicylate, the histamine concentrations were below 5 nmol/l both in uninvolved skin and in sites ...

We compared the number of mast cells in erythema multiforme lesions, in clinically healthy mucosa between the EM attacks and in healthy mucosa from healthy volunteers. The mast cell count in patients with erythema multiforme was numerically higher than in healthy controls, but the differences were not statistically significant. In erythema multiforme lesions the mast cell count was low in the inte ...

In recent years there have been several reports on concomitant patch test reactions to palladium and nickel, which belong to the same group in the periodic table. Exposure to palladium mainly takes place via dental alloys and jewelry. However, the clinical relevance of simultaneous reactivity to these metals is unknown. To elucidate the question of cross-reactivity, guinea pigs were induced with p ...

We developed a simple system for the irradiation of cultured cells with ultraviolet-A (UVA) light, and used it to study the colony-forming ability of fibroblasts in culture after UVA treatment. The system requires an ordinary clean bench, and the other materials and devices needed, such as dishes with a 35-mm diameter, plate glass, and 15-W UVA lamps, are easy to obtain and assemble. Neither stirr ...

Most chronic renal failure patients suffer from generalized pruritus. An involvement of cutaneous nerve terminals in the pathogenesis of uremic pruritus has been suggested. Skin specimens from 24 uremic patients and 10 healthy subjects were processed with an indirect immunofluorescence method to investigate the presence and distribution of a number of neuronal markers and neuropeptides. No differe ...

Sweating responses to methacholine and adrenaline were compared with an evaporimeter in normal-looking back and forearm skin from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and from non-atopic controls (NA). With both stimulants, the sweat rates were higher in forearm than in back skin in both groups, and between the two sites the rates showed positive correlations which were statistically significant i ...

Chemotaxis, phagocytic and intracellular killing activities of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) were investigated in vitro in 7 patients suffering from the acute phase of Sweet's syndrome. A moderate but consistent impairment of neutrophilic chemotactic activity (NCA) was revealed in all patients. Intracellular killing of blastospores of Candida albicans was diminished in 5/7 patients. Phagocyt ...

Parameters of thyroid metabolism, and the presence of anti-thyroid antibodies were investigated in 43 patients with systemic sclerosis. Anti-thyroid antibodies were detected in 14 cases. Elevated levels of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies were determined in 4 cases, anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies in 11, and anti-microsomal antibodies in 5. The detection of anti-TPO antibodies gave the most ...

In 167 unselected patients with renal allografts, after a lag of 3.5 years the prevalence of dysplastic keratotic lesions increased linearly by 6.8%/yr and number of lesions also increased. There was no relationship to sun exposure or skin type. Malignancies occurred in 5 patients after 9 years. Viral warts occurred in 42% but prevalence and extent were not related to time after transplantation or ...

Palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK) type Unna-Thost is known to be the most common form of a hereditary disorder of keratinization of palms and soles. The disease is clinically identical with PPK type Vörner which is histologically characterized by epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. By reinvestigation of the family originally seen by Thost in 1880, the features of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis were found hi ...

The role of exposure to ultraviolet light in the formation of melanocytic naevi was analysed by investigating the regional naevus distribution in 310 subjects (30-50 years) from a Swedish census file. The lateral aspect of the arms and the back had the largest concentration of naevi. The mean naevus count per unit surface area was higher in intermittently exposed than in rarely exposed skin (p les ...

Groups A, B, C and G streptococci were cultured from 63 consecutive in-patients recruited between November 1987 and April 1988 and monitored until the end of July 1988. Chronic leg ulcers were present in 34 patients. Group G was found in 34 patients, 25 of whom had pyoderma and 3 had sepsis. Six of the patients had no signs of clinical infection, and treatment with antibiotics was therefore withhe ...

To test our hypothesis that, by laying down a fungicidal barrier in the growing nail, a short course of antifungal therapy should be effective against onychomycosis, we treated 8 subjects with Trichophyton rubrum nail infection with terbinafine 125 mg b.d. for 14 days. All but one patient showed marked improvement, and 80% of fingernails and 37% of toenails were clinically cured after 6 months. Al ...

In a double-blind controlled study, superficial radiotherapy (SRT) was given to psoriatic fingernails as three fractionated doses of 150 cGy (90 kV, 5 mA, 1.00 mm aluminium filter). The treated nails demonstrated a significant fall in scoring on a clinical rating scale 10 and 15 weeks after therapy (mean scores = 4.4 and 4.6 respectively) when compared with a mean pretreatment score of 5.5 at week ...

Urinary epithelial cell counts were determined in 102 patients with active plaque psoriasis. Cell counts were significantly higher in psoriatic patients than in the controls. A significant fall in the cell counts was observed after regression of psoriasis.

Significantly lower lysozyme concentrations were found in saliva of 15 psoriatic patients compared with controls, whereas in serum, lysozyme activity, was significantly higher than in controls. The concentrations of IgA in serum of psoriatic patients were significantly higher than in controls, whereas in patients' saliva IgA concentrations were not significantly different from the controls. The fi ...

Several reports suggest that a localized effluvium of scalp hair may occur in patients with psoriasis. The percentages of telogen and catagen hair have been claimed to be normal or increased in isolated cases. In the present study the anagen/telogen ratio was quantified under standardized conditions in psoriatic plaques and uninvolved areas of the scalp in 22 patients and the scalp of 22 normal co ...

In 3 patients, the diagnosis of folliculitis decalvans was based on clinical, histopathological and laboratory criteria. All patients responded to a combination therapy consisting of oral and topical fusidic acid and oral zinc sulphate. The follow-up period exceeded more than one year.

The authors report the third case of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF) associated with a non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The dermatosis occurred after an autologous bone marrow transplantation performed as treatment for the lymphoproliferative disorder. Although EPF was initially described as an idiopathic disease, the association of some cases with immunologic alterations or diseases, such as immuno ...

In the present study, the development of acne lesions was studied in boys deemed to be too tall, for which they were treated with injections of androgens. In a retrospective and a prospective group of pubertal boys, an increased incidence of acne was observed as a consequence of treatment with androgens.

The objective of this double-blind study was to compare the therapeutic effects of acitretin with those of etretinate in patients with Darier's disease. Twenty-six patients (10 males and 16 females) were included in the study. Patients were treated with 30 mg daily for the first 4 weeks and with an individually adjusted dose (10-50 mg/day) for the subsequent 12 weeks. Remission or marked improveme ...

Twenty patients with cutaneous sarcoidosis and 21 patients carrying isolated skin sarcoids were studied. (We use the term 'sarcoid' to emphasize that exclusively skin was altered.) Both groups were compared by clinical and histological patterns and certain data concerning the state of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). It was found that skin lesions in sarcoids and sarcoidosis do not differ r ...

We present a case of linear reversible non-inflammatory alopecia mucinosa in a 25-year-old Nigerian patient. The patient exhibited an arciform bald patch on the scalp and follicular mucinosis in both lesions. The possible relationships between the unusual linear arrangement of alopecia mucinosa along Blaschko's lines and lichen striatus are discussed.