Content - Volume 77, Issue 3

Epidemiological evidence implicates Streptococcus pyogenes (group A) infection as a common triggering stimulus for psoriasis. Unequivocal demonstration of streptococcal antigens in psoriatic skin has been difficult due to cross-reactive antigens in both normal human tissue and group A streptococci, which complicate immunohistological analysis. In this study cryostat sections of involved psoriatic ...

Livedo reticularis is associated with collagen vascular diseases and other vaso-occlusive disorders in a substantial number of cases. In the remaining cases the cause of livedo reticularis is still unknown. (i.e., idiopathic). We sought to determine a possible causal relationship between idiopathic livedo reticularis and autoimmune factors associated with the coagulation system, including antiendo ...

An infiltrate of T-cells is found in lesional dermatitis herpetiformis skin, but the role of these cells in the pathogenesis of the skin lesions is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine T-cell receptor V beta expression in skin biopsies taken from patients with dermatitis herpetiformis. Expression of eleven T-cell receptor V beta families in biopsies obtained from 10 patients was exami ...

We analyzed circulating antibodies in sera from patients with localized pemphigoid and pemphigoid nodularis, two variants of bullous pemphigoid, by means of western immunoblotting of human epidermal extracts and the recombinant protein of NC16a domain of the 180 kD bullous pemphigoid antigen. NC16a domain is now considered to be the most pathogenic site of bullous pemphigoid. Compared with the res ...

In lichen planus (LP), an inflammatory skin disease of unknown origin, adhesion molecules and their ligands combined with the local and systemic release of various cytokines are fundamental in regulating inflammation. Therefore, we investigated the expression of tumour necrosis factor alpha receptor (TNF-R) I and II in lesional skin of 15 patients suffering from acute eruptive LP by means of immun ...

The characteristics rash of herpes zoster begins as erythematous macules and papules, progressing to vesicles within 12-24 h. Patients with persistent papules without vesicular change are occasionally found. Our aim was to elucidate differences in vesicular and papular types of herpes zoster. Biopsy specimens from 21 patients were examined by an in situ hybridization method to observe viral distri ...

The aim of this study, was to observe the effects of KH-1060, a new vitamin D3 analogue, on the dermis of hairless mice by electron microscopy. KH-1060 (0.2 micrograms/ml in isopropanol) or KH-1060 following betamethasone 17-valerate (2 mg/ml in isopropanol) was applied topically to the backs of hairless mice for 4 weeks. KH-1060 increased the number of dermal fibroblasts, the cytoplasm of which w ...

Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) is produced as a biologically inactive 31 kD precursor, which is converted to the active 18 kD form by proteolytic processing. Keratinocytes express IL-1 beta but not the active form of the specific IL-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE). We have recently presented evidence that IL-1 beta activation in human epidermis occurs via an alternative mechanism involving hitherto ...

Porokeratosis of Mibelli is an uncommon dermatosis, which may be associated with immunosuppression and may undergo malignant transformation. Due to the wide range of clinical presentations, numerous classifications have evolved, resulting in some confusion. This article examines the classification and presentation of porokeratosis and, in particular, reviews the association with immunosuppression.

In the present study the onset, duration and efficacy of the analgesic effect of EMLA patch compared to EMLA cream were investigated on the skin of the forearms of 12 healthy adults. EMLA patch and cream were applied for 30, 60 and 120 min. The pain threshold was determined 5 min after removal of the test substance, using high-energy argon laser stimuli, and thereafter every 30 min for 4 h. After ...

Since 01.04.90 the Dokumentationszentrum schwerer Hautreaktionen (dZh) in Freiburg has registered cases of severe skin reactions like erythema exsudativum multiforme majus, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis in Germany. With the largest study so far of histological slides from patients included in this registry we were able to show that the epidermal type of erythema multiform ...

We measured skin pigmentation by skin reflectance monthly from May 1992 to April 1993 in 36 healthy Caucasians. Pigmentation was measured at four UV-exposed sites at the forehead, the upper chest, the inside of the upper arm, and at the upper back. The pigmentation and UV sensitivity were simultaneously measured at UV-protected buttock skin. The results showed a considerable seasonal variation for ...

Erythematous nodular and ulcerating skin lesions occurred in a 56-year-old woman treated with chemotherapy and glucocorticosteroids for metastatic breast cancer. Subsequent culture yielded Mycobacterium abscessus, a facultative pathogen which exists as a saprophyte in the environment and rarely produces clinical disease in humans. This organism is usually relatively resistant to antituberculous as ...

We report a 32-year-old man with an unusual combination of congenital ichthyosis, sclerosing palmoplantar keratoderma with pseudoainhum, and bizarre striate hyperkeratosis in the fixtures, but no systemic involvement. The condition, which improved on oral etretinate therapy, had not appeared previously in the family. On light microscopy the involved epidermis showed marked acanthosis with hypergra ...

Calcitriol and calcipotriol are effective treatments for psoriasis, although the two have never been directly compared. We compared the efficacy and toxicity of each agent in 24 patients with moderately extensive chronic plaque psoriasis, who were randomized in double-blind fashion to apply 90 g per week of either calcitriol (3 micrograms/g) ointment or calcipotriol (50 micrograms/g) ointment over ...

Subacute and chronic prurigo is notoriously resistant to usual therapies. Four of five patients with a subacute or chronic form of prurigo responded well to daily intravenous injections of recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma) (0.25-2 x 10(6) Japan Reference Unit (JRU; 1 JRU roughly corresponds to 4 NIH units) daily, for 10-14 days). In one patient examined, the dermal portion of lesional skin ...

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