Epidemiology and clinical correlates of hidradenitis suppurativa in primary care in Italy.

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a persistent skin disorder that is characterized by painful lesions or pus-filled lumps, mostly occurring in areas where the skin flexes. It is a disfiguring condition that significantly reduces the quality of life of those affected. Developing new, effective treatments for HS is crucial, but it is important that it be recognized and diagnosed early, especially in primary care settings.

The psychological aspects in sexually transmitted infections.

Background: Over the last years the number of sexually transmitted diseases has greatly increased. This can be attributed mainly to less rigidity in the gender role and to the ever growing sexual liberalization. Sexuality today as in the past, represents an important and complex dimension of the human being.

Mycetomatoid infection of the penis by Candida albicans.

Background: Mycetoma is generally understood to be a chronic suppurative infection involving the skin and the underlying tissue. Mycetomas may be classified as those produced by true fungi (eumycetoma) versus those due to aerobic bacteria Actinomycetales (actinomycetoma).

Methods: We report the atypical case of a mycetomatoid infection of the penile shaft and glans in a 36-year-old man, originally from Senegal, affected by Takayasu's arteritis.

The CD40/CD40 ligand system in the skin of patients with subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To investigate whether CD40 and CD40 ligand (CD40L) is expressed in the skin of patients with subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE).

Methods: Six female patients with SCLE were studied. Skin biopsies were obtained from lesional and healthy sunprotected skin.

Ocular involvement in pemphigus.

Purpose: To report the occurrence of ocular involvement in the setting of pemphigus and discuss its relationship with disease activity and prognostic significance.

Design: Retrospective case reports.

Methods: Five patients, aged 38 to 65 years, diagnosed with pemphigus according to clinical, histopathologic, and immunopathologic criteria (n = 4 pemphigus vulgaris; n = 1 superficial pemphigus) developed ocular symptoms and signs consistent with the disease, ranging from mild conjunctivitis to blisters and prominent erosions of the bulbar/palpebral conjunctiva or at the eyelid margin.

Cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita and chronic autoimmune urticaria in a young man.

A 20-year-old man with mental impairment, was referred to us for evaluation of recurring idiopathic urticaria episodes, characterized by a diffuse spreading of wheals and severe itching lacking response to traditional antihistamines. Upon physical examination, he showed a persistent, generalized, reticular, red-bluish vascular skin pattern in association with diffuse arborizing telangiectasias. Such lesions were present from an early age.

A case of lichenoid drug eruption associated with sildenafil citratus.

A 53-year-old man developed lichenoid lesions on the upper chest, posterior surfaces of the trunk, and abdominal region about three months before his first visit. Physical examination and laboratory findings were normal; histopathology showed vacuolar degeneration of basal keratinocytes in association with a dense lympho-histioid infiltrate arranged in a lichenoid pattern with a few melanophages and eosinophils. The fact that our patient had been irregularly taking sildenafil citratus (Viagra) led to the hypothesis of a lichenoid drug-induced eruption.

Case study: periodic follow-up is necessary in morphea profunda to identify systemic evolution.

The term "morphea" includes a wide spectrum of clinical entities, varying from localized plaques of only cosmetic importance to deep lesions resulting in considerable morbidity for the patient. In fact, although survival rates are no different from that of the general population, localized scleroderma may be associated with development of substantial disability, as occurs in deep morphea and in pediatric patients (disabling pansclerotic morphea of children). We report a case of morphea profunda affecting a young man with severe, rapidly progressive, widespread skin involvement and focus on the eventual systemic evolution of such cases.

Chronic idiopathic urticaria: infiltrating cells and related cytokines in autologous serum-induced wheals.

The term chronic autoimmune urticaria (CAIU) is used for chronic urticaria in subjects who present a whealing response to the intradermal injection of autologous serum, suggesting the presence of pathogenic antibody activities. In this study, we examined 28 chronic urticaria subjects with positive autologous serum skin test (ASST), all of whom presented autologous serum-induced lesions at different evolutive stages. Punch biopsies were taken from lesional skin of six subjects at 10', eight subjects at 30', six subjects at 60', and four subjects each at 24 and 48 h.

Systemic lupus erythematosus with unusual maculopapular and erosive cutaneous lesions.

In 2002, a 38-year-old woman was referred to the department of dermatological sciences for the evaluation of erythematous-infiltrated lesions with prominent purpuric and erosive components distributed on her face, upper chest, and extensor surfaces of the limbs, which developed over a 3-month period. In 1997 the patient suffered from polyarthralgia (proximal interphalangeal,knee, wrist, and metacarpophalangeal joints) associated with morning stiffness. In 1999 she was admitted to a psychiatric unit for depression with episodes of lipothymia.

Chronic idiopathic and chronic autoimmune urticaria: clinical and immunopathological features of 68 subjects.

Skin tests with autologous serum elicit an immediate wheal-and-flare response in about 30-50% of chronic idiopathic urticaria subjects, suggesting that an autoimmune mechanism might be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. The aim of the present work, involving 68 subjects with chronic idiopathic urticaria, was to distinguish between the serum-positive and serum-negative cases and highlight the clinical differences between the two groups on the basis of the Breneman scale score. We also tried to correlate the finding of a positive response to the autologous serum skin test with other autoimmune diatheses or fully developed autoimmune disorders.

Systemic contact dermatitis from herbal and homeopathic preparations used for herpes virus treatment.

Systemic contact dermatitis may occur in contact-sensitized individuals when they are exposed to haptens orally, transcutaneously, intravenously or by inhalation. We report the case of a woman developing a diffuse skin eruption after the topical use of Rhus toxicodendron alcoholic extract and the oral introduction of a homeopathic preparation of the same substance for herpes treatment. An open test, performed with the Rhus toxicodendron tincture, showed an erythemato-oedematous response at 48 h and vesicular reaction at 96 h that was still present after 7 days.

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus: diagnosis and management.

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) includes a variety of lupus erythematosus (LE)-specific skin lesions that are subdivided into three categories - chronic CLE (CCLE), subacute CLE (SCLE) and acute CLE (ACLE) - based on clinical morphology, average duration of skin lesions and routine histopathologic examination. This paper describes our personal experience in the management of CLE over the last 30 years, with details on preferential therapeutic options related to clinical, histologic and immunopathologic aspects of each clinical subset of the disease. Effective sunscreening and sun protection are considered the first rule in the management of CLE because of the high degree of photosensitivity of the disease.

Vulvar lichen planus associated with ulcerative colitis. A case report.

Background: Lichen planus (LP) is a common inflammatory dermatosis the diagnosis of which can be very complex when it affects the female genital area exclusively. The condition should be managed by both dermatologists and gynecologists because the association between vulvar LP and other immune-mediated disorders occurs frequently.

Case: Vulvar LP was diagnosed in 37-year-old woman whose past history was significant for ulcerative colitis (UC) since the age of 21.