Content - Volume 62, Issue 5

The formation of 5-OH-dopa on incubation of tyrosine or dopa with mushroom tyrosinase was studied. Dopa oxidase activity was defined by measuring the formation of 5-S- and 2-S-cysteinyldopa from dopa in the presence of excess amounts of cysteine. This procedure quantitating the immediate nucleophilic reaction products of dopaquinone constitutes a new method for assessing tyrosinase activity. The r ...

Mononuclear cells were liberated from superficial skin inflammations by a suction blister method which yielded a sufficient number of cells for histochemical and immunocytochemical analysis. The cell population consisted mainly of T cells which were identified as sheep red blood cell rosettes. Very few B cells were found as rosettes with immunobeads. Macrophages and eosinophils were found in varyi ...

The tactile hair disks in the oronasal area of the rabbit registered positive for specific and nonspecific cholinesterase. In the cat, the tactile hair disks were positive for alkaline phosphatase in the same region. The hederiform Merkel-Ranvier ending in the epidermis of the palate was positive for cholinesterase in the rabbit and positive for alkaline phosphatase in the cat. In the rabbit, 4-me ...

The reaction in epidermal keratinocytes in sensitized and non-sensitized, normal guinea pigs after dichromate exposure has been investigated by electron microscopy. The results of the investigation show that the morphological alterations in keratinocytes in irritant and contact allergic reactions to dichromate are of a nonspecific nature. This underlines the fact that morphological reactions in th ...

Replicas of the skin below the cubital fossa were made in 29 SLS patients with an age range of 8 days to 69 years. The skin surface patterns differed from those in healthy controls. The papillomatosis observed in most SLS replicas seemed to appear during the first year or years of life and to increase in some patients with increasing age, but seemed to diminish again in middle-aged and older SLS p ...

Ultrastructural localization of bound IgA in the skin of a patient suffering from dermatitis herpetiformis with linear IgA deposition at the dermo-epidermal junction was studied using the horseradish peroxidase labelled antibody method. The reaction products were observed as electron-dense materials, not only immediately below the cytomembrane of the basal cells but also in the uppermost dermis ju ...

Biopsies for electron microscopy were obtained from syphilitic chancres of 7 patients, 6 males and one female. In 4 of the patients, Treponemata pallida were seen gathering around peripheral nerves and invading the spaces between Schwann cells and their basal lamina. No definite degenerative changes were seen in the axons. In all patients, Treponemata pallida were gathering around the small blood ...

The practical results of day-care centre treatment of psoriasis have been studied. Patients referred to the centre are generally those where the skin disease covers substantial body areas. The main treatment has been UVB. UVB plus dithranol or PUVA has been used on patients who have failed to respond to UVB alone. With UVB therapy alone, 263/328 patients healed with a median to healing time of 8 w ...

The rate of reinfection after treatment was studied in four groups of patients. The first group of 100 patients were evaluated retrospectively after treatment with 1.0 g ampicillin twice followed by two re-examinations over a 2-week period during which time intercourse was prohibited. The second and third prospectively groups consisted of 100 and 200 patients respectively, treated with 1 g ampicil ...

The labelling index of endothelial cells of the dermal microvessels was studied by in vitro autoradiography with [3H] thymidine. 14 patients with PSS were compared with 7 control subjects, by sampling the upper-third of the forearm skin. One patient had a second biopsy in this area, on a telangiectasis. Microvessels from patients showed a significant increase in endothelial cell labelling. Within ...

The present study was designed to assess whether 5% aluminium chloride hexahydrate in absolute alcohol exerted any effect on sebaceous gland excretory activity. Eleven acne patients controlled with long-term antibiotics applied active and placebo solutions in a double-blind trial. The sebum excretion rate was measured on two control visits and thereafter at fortnightly intervals for a further 6 we ...

This paper compares standard metachromatic methods with Leder´s chloroacetate esterase reaction on mast cells in paraffin wax-embedded tissue of urticaria pigmentosa and a variety of inflammatory and benign neoplastic cutaneous conditions. Our conclusions are that Leder´s method allows easier identification of mast cells and can be a useful adjunct to conventional metachromatic methods. The tech ...

Chemotactic, phagocytic and intracellular killing activities of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) were investigated in vitro in 49 patients suffering from recurrent bouts of herpes simplex. A slight impairment of chemotactic activity and a markedly reduced capacity of killing Candida albicans blastospores were revealed. Phagocytic capacity and NADH-dependent oxidase activity of PMNL proved to be ...

Photocontact allergy to psoralens in Heracleum laciniatum occurred in two persons volunteering for investigations into phototoxicity of plant homogenates and purified psoralens. Photoallergy was noted following the fifth exposure in case 1, and the sixth in case 2. Testing with diluted solutions demonstrated allergy to sphondin, isobergapten and pimpinellin.

65Zinc absorption in patients suffering from generalized scleroderma was studied by means of whole-body counting technique following a single dose of 65Zn. In 4 untreated patients the mean 65Zn absorption was calculated to 35% (range 20-59%). Five patients receiving oral D-penicillamine had a numerically higher mean absorption value of 55% (range 37-74%). The results corroborate earlier studies on ...

No abstract available.

Five patients with a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of pityriasis lichenoides were treated with PUVA or irradiated with a light source emitting UVB and UVA, without prior intake of psoralens. All patients showed a good response to treatment. Long-term follow up showed that patients remained free of lesions during a period of 20 to 36 months; 3 patients had a recurrence of the disease, tho ...

Studies in guinea pigs have shown formation of cataract when they are treated with 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) and UVA irradiation. 96 patients treated with PUVA between 1975 and 1980 were examined to observe if cataract formation had occurred more frequently in these patients. No patient developed cataract during the PUVA treatment period and these findings were found to correspond to those in a "s ...

Studies on thirty-six psoriatics revealed no differences in acute liver toxicity of four different intermittent dosage schedules of methotrexate with or without addition of leucovorin, as judged by daily determinations of SGOT for one week. Three patients with psoriatic erythroderma receiving high-dosage methotrexate (100 mg i.v.) with leucovorin rescue responded extremely well to treatment and di ...

A total of 151 galactose tolerance tests (GTT) and liver biopsies were performed in a consecutive study of 45 psoriatic patients with methotrexate-induced liver fibrosis; of these, 23 had cirrhosis. Most patients with an abnormal liver histology had a normal GTT. We conclude that an oral GTT is not sensitive enough to reveal methotrexate-induced liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. The results indicate th ...

No abstract available.

A 67-year-old male patient, with a history of palmar psoriasis for 8 years, developed a rosacea-like eruption during Tigason (Ro-10-9359) treatment. Strict relationship between Tigason intake and skin symptoms was proved by double introduction of the drug and the patient´s previous history. This retinoid side effect is very unusual and we are unable to give any explanation for it.

A patient affected by rheumatoid arthritis developed pemphigus erythematosus after 14 months of treatment with thiopronine. The lesions healed spontaneously after 4 weeks´ withdrawal of the drug. Whereas the pemphigus erythematosus induced by D-penicillamine is a quite rare but well documented side effect, we believe our case to be the first one reported as being due to thiopronine. It is very in ...

A study was made of 20 cilia and sebum from 20 nasal follicles from each of 86 persons. In a normomaterial aged 20-30 years. Demodex folliculorum was present in the nasal follicles in 25% and in the cilia in 29% of the subjects. This is consistent with the very high incidence we found 10 years ago. Systemic erythromycin treatment did not erradicate the mite, but the incidence decreased in both reg ...

Lichen aureus (LA) is a distinctive, rare disease occurring predominantly in males, characterized by solitary rust- or copper-coloured patches of lichenoid micropapules, often present on fingers and calves. A case of LA in a 41-year-old male is presented. Biopsy revealed the characteristic pattern of LA, including a dense dermal infiltrate of lymphocytes and histiocytes containing haemosiderin. No ...

A prospective study of 445 patients using benzoyl peroxide, observed regularly over a 12-month period, uncovered only a very low incidence of moderate or severe local reaction. There was, however, a significant level of mild primary irritant dermatitis which settled with continued use. In only 6 patients was there severe local reaction; one patient was lost to follow-up but in the 5 patients patch ...

Auto-inoculation from a genital ulcer suspected of being ulcus molle gave redness after 24 hours and after 48 hours vesicles and pustules appeared. Cultivation from the auto-inoculation after the 48 hours was positive for herpes simplex virus type 2. Our observation underlines two points: auto-inoculation for the diagnosing of Haemophilus ducreyi infection may be mimicked by herpes simplex infecti ...

No abstract available.