Background: Occupational exposure to metals can be associated with respiratory diseases which can adversely affect the individual's health, finances and employment. Despite this, little is known about the incidence of these respiratory conditions over prolonged periods of time.
Aims: This study aimed to investigate the trends in the incidence of work-related respiratory diseases attributed to nickel, chromium and cobalt in the UK.
After almost three-quarters of a century during which contact dermatologists have often struggled to comprehend the relationship between metal allergy and failure of metal-alloy containing implant, it is possible to say that a relationship does exist, particularly for cobalt and chromium, but also for nickel. There is still debate as to whether allergy develops as a consequent of failure but thenceforth contributes to it, or whether sensitisation starts first and induces failure secondarily-opinion probably favours the first. Metal-on-polypropylene articulations were associated with few metal allergic problems but now are less favoured by orthopaedists due to plastic wear products causing osteolysis and pseudotumour formation through local inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Occupational exposure to metals such as nickel, chromium and cobalt can be associated with contact dermatitis, which can adversely affect an individual's health, finances and employment. Despite this, little is known about the incidence of metal-related occupational contact dermatitis over prolonged periods of time.
Objectives: To investigate the medically reported trends in the incidence of work-related contact dermatitis attributed to nickel, chromium and cobalt in the UK.
Infectious diseases in the form of 'typhus' (74.2%) and 'fevers' (17.2%) were the commonest conditions accounting for entry to the Wakefield Workhouse Infirmary between 1826 and 1857, as recorded in the admissions book.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ R Coll Physicians Edinb
December 2022
In the Crimean War (1854-56), infamous for its high death rate from disease at 212 per thousand British troops annually - one third of which was due to cholera or dysentery - skin disease was common, accounting for 13% of all admissions and 4.2% of all deaths. Excluding typhus, skin disease caused 252 per thousand annual admissions and 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidermal melanocyte loss in vitiligo, triggered by stresses ranging from trauma to emotional stress, chemical exposure or metabolite imbalance, to the unknown, can stimulate oxidative stress in pigment cells, which secrete damage-associated molecular patterns that then initiate innate immune responses. Antigen presentation to melanocytes leads to stimulation of autoreactive T-cell responses, with further targeting of pigment cells. Studies show a pathogenic basis for cellular stress, innate immune responses and adaptive immunity in vitiligo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitiligo is an autoimmune disease in which depigmented skin results from the destruction of melanocytes, with epidemiological association with other autoimmune diseases. In previous linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWAS1 and GWAS2), we identified 27 vitiligo susceptibility loci in patients of European ancestry. We carried out a third GWAS (GWAS3) in European-ancestry subjects, with augmented GWAS1 and GWAS2 controls, genome-wide imputation, and meta-analysis of all three GWAS, followed by an independent replication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Essential oils are fragrance substances that are labelled on cosmetic products by their INCI names, potentially confusing consumers.
Objectives: To establish whether contact allergy to essential oils might be missed if not specifically tested for.
Methods: We tested 471 patients with 14 essential oils and 2104 patients with Melaleuca alternifolia oil between January 2008 and June 2014.
Nickel is used in coins because the metal has beneficial properties, including price, colour, weight, and corrosion resistance, and also because it is easy to stamp. It has often been claimed that the duration of skin contact with coins is too short to cause nickel release and dermatitis. However, it is well known by dermatologists specialized in occupational skin diseases, and by their nickel-allergic patients, that hand eczema in cashiers and other professionals who handle coins may be caused or aggravated by nickel release from coins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously reported a genome-wide association study (GWAS) identifying 14 susceptibility loci for generalized vitiligo. We report here a second GWAS (450 individuals with vitiligo (cases) and 3,182 controls), an independent replication study (1,440 cases and 1,316 controls) and a meta-analysis (3,187 cases and 6,723 controls) identifying 13 additional vitiligo-associated loci. These include OCA2-HERC2 (combined P = 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContact Dermatitis
July 2012
There are concerns about the induction of metal allergy with second-generation metal-on-metal prostheses, and the role that this may play in the development of complications such as 'pseudotumours' or failure of the implant. In this review, we attempt to set out the current knowledge on this subject. From a review of the literature, it is apparent that the first-generation metal-on-metal replacement hips did cause metal sensitization, and that joint failure was associated with this, although it is still not clear which one led to the other.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Allergic contact dermatitis in children is less recognized than in adults. However, recently, allergic contact dermatitis has started to attract more interest as a cause of or contributor to eczema in children, and patch testing has been gaining in recognition as a useful diagnostic tool in this group.
Objectives: The aim of this analysis was to investigate the results of patch testing of selected children with eczema of various types (mostly atopic dermatitis) attending the Sheffield Children's Hospital, and to assess potential allergens that might elicit allergic contact dermatitis.
Generalized vitiligo is a common autoimmune disease in which acquired patchy depigmentation of skin, hair, and mucous membranes results from loss of melanocytes from involved areas. Previous genetic analyses have focused on vitiligo susceptibility, and have identified a number of genes involved in disease risk. Age of onset of generalized vitiligo also involves a substantial genetic component, but has not previously been studied systematically.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKoebner's phenomenon (KP) has been observed in a number of skin diseases, including vitiligo. Its clinical significance in vitiligo with respect to disease activity and course is still debatable, while its relevance for surgical techniques has been demonstrated in some reports. We present a literature review on the currently known facts about KP in vitiligo, including details of clinical, experimental, and histopathological changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitiligo is an acquired idiopathic hypomelanotic skin disorder characterised by depigmented macules because of loss of cutaneous melanocytes. Although the exact cause of vitiligo remains obscure, evidence suggests that autoimmunity plays a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Previously, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was identified as a putative autoantigen in vitiligo using phage-display technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously carried out a genome-wide association study of generalized vitiligo (GV) in non-Hispanic whites, identifying 13 confirmed susceptibility loci. In this study, we re-analyzed the genome-wide data set (comprising 1,392 cases and 2,629 controls) to specifically test association of all 33 GV candidate genes that have previously been suggested for GV, followed by meta-analysis incorporating both current and previously published data. We detected association of three of the candidate genes tested: TSLP (rs764916, P=3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitiligo is a common disease that causes a great degree of psychological distress. In its classical forms it is easily recognised and diagnosed. This review provides an evidence based outline of the management of vitiligo, particularly with the non-specialist in mind.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a recent genome-wide association study of generalized vitiligo, we identified ten confirmed susceptibility loci. By testing additional loci that showed suggestive association in the genome-wide study, using two replication cohorts of European descent, we observed replicated association of generalized vitiligo with variants at 3p13 encompassing FOXP1 (rs17008723, combined P=1.04x10(-8)) and with variants at 6q27 encompassing CCR6 (rs6902119, combined P=3.
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