Content - Volume 71, Issue 3

Fifty-seven patients with systemic sclerosis were investigated for connective tissue turn-over related to type III collagen. Sera from 13 patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis and 44 patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis were analysed for aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP) by a radioimmunoassay based on human propeptide. Increased levels of PIIINP i ...

Three patients (a 71-year-old man and 2 women, 73 and 50 years, respectively) with recurrent panniculitis associated with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency are presented. Because the concept of chronic and exaggerated inflammatory response in the patients with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is based on the theory of protease-antiprotease imbalance, we suggest that tetracyclines will alleviate this co ...

Grafting of human cultured keratinocytes is a promising possibility for the treatment of large burned skin areas. However, during the preparation of cultures for grafting, a necessary step of detachment from culture substratum is performed by incubation with Dispase. In the present paper, we report studies performed to determine whether prolonged storage after detachment would have a detrimental e ...

Terfenadine is a safe non-sedative H1-receptor antagonist. This study aimed to quantify the relative reduction in weal and flare area, thickness and erythema at 4, 8, 12 and 24 h following a single but variable oral dose of terfenadine compared with pre-treatment measurements, in order to compare the dose-effect relationship and time course of the different dosages. In a double-blind randomized cr ...

In order to investigate whether any regional difference in itch perception exists in experimentally induced pruritus, various concentrations of histamine (1, 3.3, 10, 33 and 100 micrograms/ml) were injected intradermally in three different skin regions in 15 healthy subjects. The regions were 1) the volar aspect of the forearm, 2) the lateral aspect of the upper arm and 3) the upper back at scapul ...

A proper understanding of the function of Birbeck's granules requires that they should be counted under various conditions. We now present a simple quantification method which does not depend on specific assumptions concerning size, shape or location of the particles counted and can, moreover, be applied for counting other subcellular structures as well. A population of 69 serially sectioned human ...

Although minor disturbances of the circadian serum cortisol rhythm and diminished excretion of steroid metabolites have been reported in patients with atopic dermatitis, test assays regarding subtle neuroendocrine alterations have not been employed so far. We therefore studied the serum concentrations of cortisol, prolactin and adrenocorticotropin under baseline conditions, after 1 mg dexamethason ...

In atopic dermatitis the nature of potential sweating disturbances is still obscure. Using an evaporimeter, local sweating response to a supra-threshold concentration of methacholine and baseline water loss were measured from non-eczematous back skin of 167 young males in five main groups (pure atopic dermatitis, atopic dermatitis with rhinitis/asthma, rhinitis/asthma, non-atopic dermatosis, and n ...

Blood samples were collected from 48 atopic eczema patients and 33 normal subjects in Bristol, and from 434 normal individuals worldwide. In the plasma phospholipids in the atopic eczema patients, the concentrations of linoleic acid and the ratio of linoleic acid to its metabolites were significantly elevated as compared with both sets of controls. In the atopic eczema patients there were major ab ...

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that children with atopic dermatitis and short stature fail to release growth hormone after falling asleep. Peak serum growth hormone response to arginine was compared with peak growth hormone concentration during sleep in 6 children with atopic dermatitis and short stature (greater than 3 SD below the mean) aged 7 to 12 years, and 5 control children ...

In suction blister fluid from active psoriatic lesions we have previously found elevated concentrations of hyaluronan. The aim of this investigation was to study the localization of hyaluronan with a histochemical method, in biopsy specimens from lesions of 13 patients with progressive psoriasis. Ten normal subjects and seven patients with allergic contact dermatitis were also studied. In normal e ...

Exposure of human keratinocytes to UVB irradiation resulted in formation of conjugated double bonds and thiobarbituric acid reactive material. The activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, enzymes which protect cells against oxidative damage, were concomitantly reduced. The present study suggests that in keratinocytes, exposure to UVB irradiation leads to a chain of events resulting in lipi ...

Several large series of patients with lichen planus were reported some 30 years ago but no recent large surveys have been published. In this study, detailed enquiry was made into the natural history of the disease in 214 patients followed up 8 to 12 years after presentation to the Dermatology Department. The key findings from this study showed that the mean age of onset of lichen planus in males w ...

Thirty lightly pigmented hairless (Hr/Hr) mice were irradiated 5 days per week for 30 weeks to assess the photocarcinogenicity of a new Philips TL 01 narrow-band (311 nm +/- 2) UVB lamp. All mice were found to be tumour-bearing after 16 weeks and histologically, 83% of these had definite squamous cell carcinomas. Compared with our previous study where conventional broad-band Philips TL 12 UVB irra ...

A 15-year-old girl is presented with symmetric, hyperpigmented streaks and whorls on trunk and extremities. The pigmentation is located in the basal layer of the epidermis. The clinical and histopathological picture seems to be identical to the reticulate hyperpigmentation of Iijima, Naito and Uyeno, hitherto only described from Japan.

Crusted scabies, an unusual clinical variant of human scabies mite infestation, is usually reported in cases of gross debility, mental deficiency, or immunosuppression. We report here the occurrence of crusted scabies in a 40-year-old man with acquired selective IgA deficiency suspected to be caused by long-term medication with phenytoin for epilepsy.

In 37 (77%) of 48 patients with external genital warts, application of 5% acetic acid revealed areas of acetowhite epithelium. The lesions were not clinically apparent before acetic acid was applied but were easily detected without the use of a colposcope. In a control group of 20 patients with chlamydial urethritis and no history of genital warts, none had acetowhite genital lesions. Histological ...

A case of systematized keratotic nevus which is a peculiar form of epidermal nevus is reported. The present case is rare because of the dysfunction of incomplete flexion of fingers by systematized keratotic nevus. Furthermore, it involved mixed clinical and histological changes of epidermal nevus from fingers to elbow. An operation with full-thickness skin graft was undertaken.

Stucco keratoses are benign acquired papular warty lesions which usually occur on the distal parts of the lower limbs of elderly men. Their nature and pathogenesis are uncertain. Eight patients with multiple stucco keratoses who presented to the Cardiff Dermatology Department over an 18-month period were studied in an attempt to characterize these lesions. All subjects were male, with ages ranging ...

Eczema craquelé can be induced by repeated open application of a topical glucocorticoid, viz. 0.05% clobetasole 17-propionate cream. This might not be invariably due to the active component. Comparison of the skin surface roughness as assessed by profilometry and as expressed by RZDIN showed a decrease after repeated open application of 0.1% betamethasone 17-valerate cream and 0.25% prednicarbate ...

Forty children (0-5 years old), presented with immediate contact urticaria, rash and often atopic dermatitis (n = 34). Redness or urticaria around the mouth appearing after consuming cow's milk or egg, were the major complaints in all. These symptoms suggested a food-induced immediate contact reaction, which can be immune-mediated or irritative. To reinduce this reaction, a skin provocation test, ...

Curettage of skin lesions was not followed by bacteraemia in 22 patients. The risk of bacterial endocarditis after curettage and other minor skin surgery is small but should not be overlooked in those with a prosthetic heart valve, a history of other cardiac surgery, a previous episode of infective endocarditis, drug addiction, diabetes, alcoholism, immunosuppression, or renal failure--especially ...

We have used a histochemical technique to study mast cells (MC) in skin biopsies of 8 patients suffering from pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and from 4 control volunteers. The MC were stained for 30 min with 0.5% toluidine blue, pH 0.5, counted and then restained for 5 days under the same conditions. This staining method allows the identification of two groups of MC, one that stains promptly (30 min) and ...

A new method of staining the keratin filament matrix allowing a visualization of the filaments in cross section of hair fibres has been developed. It differs from previously published methods in that the hair fibres are neither fixed with OsO4 nor treated with sulfur bond breaking agents. High contrast is still obtainable in sections thicker than 60 nm.