Content - Volume 69, Issue 4

Collagen was studied by biochemical and immunohistochemical means in 5 patients with granuloma annulare (GA) and 3 with cutaneous sarcoidosis (SA). The solubility of collagen from the lesional skin in acetic acid was higher than that of collagen from unaffected skin from both patients and control subjects. Collagen concentration in the skin lesions, measured in terms of hydroxyproline content, was ...

Creatine kinase (CK) isoenzyme, CK-BB, known as the brain fraction, is not normally present in serum but predominates in several normal and malignant tissues and body fluids. We recently reported increased CK-BB levels in suction blister fluid. In the present study the cellular origin of the enzyme in skin was studied from homogenates of blister top epidermis and blister base dermis as well as fro ...

The effects of the alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) (10(-7)-10(-5) M) and the beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline (10(-9)-10(-4) M) on adenylate cyclase (AC) activity were investigated in homogenates of the human IGR 1 melanoma cells with or without additional GTP. Basal AC activity was increased by the administration of 10 microM GTP. Alpha-MSH had no effect on cyclic AMP (cAMP ...

The expression of lymphocyte activation markers (IL2 receptors, transferrin receptors and HLA-DR) was examined in cutaneous lymphoid infiltrates of 12 patients with lichen ruber planus (LP) and 10 individuals with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). The cell infiltrates in both conditions were generally of considerable size. The vast majority of the infiltrating cells were T cells. The reactivity o ...

Systemic effects of ultraviolet irradiation B (UVB) and ultraviolet irradiation A (UVA) on non-immunologic immediate contact reactions (NIICRs) induced by benzoic acid (BA) and methyl nicotinate (MN) were studied in healthy volunteers. NIICR tests with four concentrations of BA and MN in white petrolatum were performed on the skin of the upper back on exposed and non-exposed areas, before and at i ...

Guinea pig maximization tests (GPMT) were performed with cinnamon substances. There was a certain degree of cross-reactivity between cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and cinnamic acid as animals sensitized to cinnamaldehyde reacted to the challenge with the three substances. Animals sensitized to cinnamyl alcohol reacted to cinnamyl alcohol and cinnamaldehyde, but not to cinnamic acid. Cinnamic ac ...

Two cases of autoimmune progesterone dermatitis are reported. The patients developed recurrent pruritic erythematous and edematous eruptions on the extremities, trunk or face, with occasional vesicles on the palms and soles. The eruptions appeared 7 to 10 days prior to their menstruation and persisted for several days. They showed immediately positive skin tests with 0.1 mg/ml and 0.2 mg/ml of aqu ...

A common finding in patients with atopic dermatitis is the occurrence of ´dry´ skin on non-eczematous regions. ´Dry´ skin is here defined as a clinical condition meaning a rough, finely scaling non-inflamed skin surface. The frequency and extension of ´dry´ skin were examined in 50 patients with atopic dermatitis and were compared with those in 50 non-atopics. A discrepancy was found in both ...

In patients with atopic dermatitis, the skin is often ´dry´ on non-eczematous areas, and feels rough to the touch. In the scanning electron microscope (SEM) this roughness corresponds to a change in the skin surface, from regular major and minor furrows into a coarse and irregular pattern. In the present study the topography of normal skin and ´dry´ atopic skin was quantitatively recorded usin ...

A randomized, double-blind study was carried out to assess the prophylactic value of ultraviolet irradiation in the autumn as a means of preventing the development of chilblains on the toes and fingers during the course of the winter. Placebo irradiation was achieved by means of an optical filter which absorbed all ultraviolet radiation from the lamps but allowed the visible light component to be ...

Serum from actively repigmenting human vitiligo subjects had maximum mitogenic effect on the growth of melanocytes in culture, followed by the serum from normal donors, and from untreated vitiligo subjects in that order. Based on these findings, a new hypothesis is suggested for the etiology of vitiligo.

Effects of single application of an oil in water emulsion were studied on the forearm skin of 12 healthy volunteers . Five different non-invasive methods were used. Values were followed for 360 min after application of the emulsion, with the contralateral forearm as untreated control. The evaporation of emulsion water from the skin surface immediately rose to high values, but within 15 min return ...

Recently, synthetic retinoids have been implicated as causing a rise in the incidence of staphylococcal infections in patients orally treated with these compounds for various disorders of keratinization. Since the adherence of bacteria to epithelia is an important early event in the development of bacterial infections, in the present study we investigated the in vitro effects of acitretin on the a ...

Seborrhoeic dermatitis is associated with Pityrosporum ovale, but the exact role of the organism is not clarified. In order to study this connection we have investigated 30 patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis with quantitative culture for P. ovale, serum IgG antibodies against P. ovale and lipid measurements. We compared the patients with 60 healthy individuals and found no significant difference ...

Protection against topical PUVA with broad-spectrum sunscreens was investigated. A protection factor against topical PUVA was established for broad-spectrum sunscreens against topical PUVA-induced erythema.

A patient with progressive longitudinal ridging, diffuse pigmentation and narrowing of the finger nails as the only signs of lichen planus was treated with intramuscular injections of triamcinolone for 2 years. Her nails healed, with the appearance of normal proximal nails after 6 months. After one year, longitudinal bands of melanonychia appeared on the thumbs and still persist.

Peculiar nail-changes in a 70-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis occurring after approximately 1 year of penicillamine treatment are described. After cessation of treatment there was a gradual resolution with regain of normal nails after 7 months. Reinstitution of penicillamine treatment caused a recurrence thus proving a causal relationship between penicillamine and the described nail-chang ...

Two new cases of the rare, nonmucosal and nonscarring localized variety of pemphigoid are described. With reference to the data in the recent literature, the disease was classified as Localized Bullous Pemphigoid (LBP). The ultrastructural and immunologic findings are described and are briefly discussed in the context of the possible mechanisms leading to local subepidermal tissue injury in LBP. A ...

In a patient affected with acrodermatitis continua Hallopeau, acitretin (Ro 10-1670) monotherapy resulted in a complete clearance of pustulation at a dosage of 45 mg per day. At this dosage the leukotriene B4-induced intraepidermal accumulation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes was markedly inhibited.

In a randomised, double-blind, controlled clinical trial of the effect of treatment with tap water iontophoresis, 11 patients with palmar hyperhidrosis were treated actively on one hand and with placebo on the other. The patients´ sweat production was 100% higher (median) than measured in control subjects of the same age and sex. Prior to iontophoresis, the patient´s sweat production was the sam ...

This open clinical study was designed to evaluate and compare the efficacy and side effects of lindane (1% and 0.3%), benzyl benzoate (20% and 10%) and permethrin (5% and 2.5%) after two, three, and one application at bedtime, in the treatment of scabies in 114 adults and 80 children aged between 0 and 5 years. Treatment failures were registered after lindane in 3 adults and 2 children, whereas be ...

Previous studies have shown that when butantrone and dithranol were used in equimolar gradually increasing concentrations in short-contact therapy for psoriasis the efficacy of butantrone was somewhat lower compared to dithranol. To see whether the efficacy of butantrone in short-contact therapy could be increased by starting with a single high-concentration directly, 20 psoriatic patients were tr ...

Lotions of five different corticosteroids were applied on 3 X 4 cm areas of large infiltrated chronic psoriatic plaque in eight patients, and left occluded with a hydrocolloid dressing (Actiderm) for one week. Area treated with clobetasol, betamethasone and triamcinolone were clinically healed within one week in four patients, but slight residual erythema was observed in the other four. Hydrocorti ...

Twenty-nine patients with psoriasis took part in a study which compared the therapeutic effect of Philips TL12 with a new narrow-band UVB lamp (Philips TL01). The patients were treated on an out-patient basis and treatment were given 3-5 times weekly for a maximum of 8 weeks. The study was conducted in a randomized left-right double-blind fashion. The total score on the TL01-side decreased rather ...

Reduced concentrations of selenium in whole blood, plasma and white cells and reduced activity of selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in red cells have been found in atopic dermatitis. To determine the effect of selenium supplementation on this disease, the normal daily diet of 60 adults with atopic dermatitis was supplemented with selenium-enriched yeast for 12 weeks in a randomised double- ...

The analgesic efficacy of a lidocaine/prilocaine cream (EMLA) for the cautery of genital warts was evaluated in an open study. Fifty-two women aged 18 to 28 with at least two condylomata on the vulval mucosa took part. In a pilot study (n = 10) the time of onset of anaesthesia after the application of EMLA to the mucosa was established by pinching with a forceps. All ten patients were anaesthetize ...

A 30-year-old homosexual man developed multiple skin umbilicated lesions resembling molluscum contagiosum. Initially the lesions were on his face but they rapidly spread. Histopathology and mycologic cultures of a skin biopsy revealed cryptococcus neoformans which was also identified in cerebrospinal fluid and in bronchoalveolar washings. The patient had fever, weight loss, generalized lymph node ...