Content - Volume 75, Issue 2

Sodium hydroxide-induced irritation was studied in 34 volunteers, by means of 24-h patch testing at different concentrations, and by a 10-min testing procedure employing 0.1 mol/l NaOH. As a supplement to subjective evaluation of skin changes, assessments of test areas by TEWL measurement and sonography were performed at 24, 48 and 72 h. After 24-h patch testing, instrumental evaluations showed an ...

Monoclonal antibodies were used to demonstrate proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67 antigen of dermal fibroblasts in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of keloids, hypertrophic scars and normal skin. PCNA-stained fibroblasts were more pronounced than Ki-67, which showed only scanty Ki-67-positive fibroblasts. The mean density of dermal fibroblasts was significantly hi ...

The lipophilic yeast Malassezia furfur belongs to the resident skin flora but has been implicated in various skin diseases. While topical oily preparations may support its growth, their formulation may be altered by yeast-dependent enzymatic degradation. Different synthetic fatty acid (mono-)esters used as refatting agents were mixed with 10(4), 10(5) and 5 x 10(5) yeasts/microliters, respectively ...

We have assessed the distribution pattern of a new epidermal elastase inhibitor, skin-derived antileukoproteinase (SKALP) and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in a patient with annular pustular psoriasis, using immunohistochemical methods. In clinically uninvolved skin SKALP was not expressed and only occasionally a few PMN could be identified. In the erythematous distal margin of the lesion, ex ...

Skin absorption under intermittent exposure of guinea pigs to n-butanol, toluene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane was studied. Groups of guinea pigs were exposed to test organic solvents for 1 min at 30-min intervals during 4 h, in all 8 exposures. Skin absorption of solvent was assessed by following the concentration of solvent in the blood. This intermittent exposure was compared to continuous exposure ov ...

Although leg oedema is believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of lipodermatosclerosis and leg ulcer, little is known about the cutaneous distribution of water in lipodermatosclerosis. In lipodermatosclerosis accompanied by leg ulceration, a subepidermal low echogenic band is seen in the high-frequency echograms of the skin at the boundary of the wound. Since skin echogenicity is inversely rela ...

Significant cutaneous vascular IgA deposits are common in Henoch-Schönlein purpura but not in other vasculitides. The specificity for IgA vascular deposits for Henoch-Schönlein purpura is not well defined. To examine the specificity of IgA vascular deposits for this disease, we compared clinicopathologic features of 92 cases with IgA vascular deposits and a direct immunofluorescence impression o ...

An increased prevalence of raised autoantibodies, including rheumatoid factor, has been reported in patients with gluten sensitivity. However, rheumatoid factor has only been measured in small groups of patients and the findings have been conflicting. In this study IgM, IgG and IgA rheumatoid factor was measured in 89 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis and 22 patients with coeliac disease and ...

In a Swedish survey, leg ulcer disease has been found to have a prevalence of around 1%. The multifactorial etiology requires a multidisciplinary approach. Forty-three patients with leg ulcers have been examined clinically and by pathophysiological and roentgenological investigations. Proper conservative treatment was instituted in 25 of the patients, and the remaining were treated by venous surge ...

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disease with an extremely wide range of manifestations. As yet, the individual course of NF1 cannot be predicted, and it is uncertain to what extent the disorder is associated with increased mortality. In order to gain insights into these aspects, we have conducted a 12-year follow-up study of 70 adult NF1 patients in the city of Göteborg, Sweden, where ...

We report here a 14-year-old girl with diffuse partial woolly hair. The patient presented mild hair loss associated with the presence of fine, short and kinky hairs closely interspersed with the normal hair throughout the scalp. The pathology of the scalp revealed the presence of intermediate-sized hair follicles regularly intermingled with normal follicles in each follicular unit. The possibility ...

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita may be associated with various systemic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus. We describe the clinical and immunological findings in a 38-year-old women with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita and systemic lupus erythematosus. The epidermolysis bullosa acquisita preceded a dramatic flare of systemic lupus erythematosus and fatal cerebral vasculitis. If sero ...

In order to examine the efficacy of cetirizine in cholinergic urticaria, we studied 24 patients in a double-blind crossover design during 3-week treatment periods, with either 10 or 20 mg/d cetirizine or placebo. The placebo period was always placed in between the two verum treatments to allow for a washout of the drug. Evaluation of the patients' daily symptom scores based on itching, erythema an ...

Glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agents can induce remission in most patients with pemphigus, but mortality remains at 5 to 15% due to complications from these drugs. We reviewed the adjunctive effect of long-term plasmapheresis in 8 patients with pemphigus. Four cases had been resistant to conventional therapy. One or two large-volume plasmapheresis treatments were given monthly for 5 to 73 ...

We describe a 37-year-old woman with secondary syphilis, in whom the prozone phenomenon (false-negative test in undiluted specimens) occurred. The patient had been maintained on cyclosporine and prednisolone after renal transplantation. B-cell dysfunction induced by continuous immunosuppression may lead to higher non-treponemal serological titers. Non-treponemal testing should be repeated using se ...