Assessment of bullous pemphigoid disease area index during treatment: a prospective study of 30 patients.

Background: Recently, a consensus Bullous Pemphigoid Disease Area Index (BPDAI) was proposed to measure therapeutic outcomes in bullous pemphigoid (BP).

Objective: To compare BPDAI with other clinical parameters of disease activity at baseline and to describe the variations of BPDAI during the initial phase of treatment.

Methods: Thirty BP patients were included and followed for 1 year.

[Transition from pemphigus vulgaris to pemphigus foliaceus: a case report].

Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF) are the two main subtypes of auto-immune pemphigus, each having different clinical, histological and immunopathological features. We report the case of a patient initially with typical PV who relapsed within 2years, presenting clinically, histologically and immunologically typical PF.

Patients And Methods: A 47-year old man presented in March 2008 with clinically, histologically and serologically typical PV and treated with systemic corticosteroids alone (prednisone: 1mg/kg per day) then combined with a cycle of rituximab, which resulted in complete remission.

[Erosive pustular dermatosis of the legs: retrospective study of 16 cases].

Background: Erosive pustular dermatosis of the leg (EPDL) is a chronic clinical entity comprising combined erosion, pustules and crusts on the legs. There is still some discussion of the independent existence of this condition in the absence of specific diagnostic criteria. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical and laboratory characteristics of EPDL based on a series of patients presenting a clinical picture consistent with this diagnosis.

Second malignant neoplasm occurring years after hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion for melanoma.

Background: Hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion (HILP) is a useful therapeutic option in patients with locally advanced melanoma of the extremities. Because HILP allows very high doses of cytotoxic agents to be administered without systemic leakage, the theoretical risk of a secondary malignant neoplasm is real, particularly in the treated limb. Such an event has never been reported to our knowledge, however, possibly in part because survival in these patients is often too short to permit the development of chemo-induced cancers.

T-cell receptor gamma gene rearrangement in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: comparative study of polymerase chain reaction with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and GeneScan analysis.

Background: The usefulness of T-cell receptor gene rearrangement (TCR-GR) analyses for differentiating cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) from benign inflammatory disorders (BID) has been insufficiently studied to date.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic value of TCR-GR analyses, comparing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis and BIOMED-2 standardized protocol PCR with GeneScan analysis (BIOMED-2-GS).

Methods: Both types of PCR were performed in 157 patients evaluated for initial features suggestive of CTCL between 1996 and 2007.