Publications by authors named "Elemir M Souza"

Leprosy reactions are an acute inflammatory phenomenon that can arise before diagnosis, during treatment, or after cure of leprosy. These reactions are considered one of the main diseases that cause physical disabilities. Immunosuppressive treatment for these immune responses makes these patients susceptible to coinfections, which can trigger new leprosy reactions.

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Background: Only a fraction of patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) will eventually progress toward systemic disease (SLE).

Objective: To find inflammatory biomarkers which could predict the progression of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using immunohistochemical (IHC) assays.

Methods: Immunohistochemical markers for cytotoxic, inflammatory, and anti-inflammatory responses and morphometric methods were applied to routine paraffin sections of skin biopsies, taken from lesions of 59 patients with discoid lupus, subacute lupus, and lupus tumidus.

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  • * This study aimed to check for the presence of Bartonella spp. in patients with tough-to-treat chronic ulcers diagnosed as primary LV using questionnaires, molecular tests, and blood cultures.
  • * Although 25% of LV patients had Bartonella henselae DNA, results weren't statistically significant compared to controls, highlighting the need for further research on Bartonella in primary LV cases.
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  • Congenital and self-healing Hashimoto-Pritzker reticulohistiocytosis is a benign variant of Langerhans cell histiocytosis, characterized by multiple skin lesions that emerge at birth or shortly after, which typically resolves on its own within weeks.
  • A case study highlighted a boy with a rare single skin lesion on his leg, showing specific immune markers through histopathological analysis; the lesion resolved spontaneously just seven days after a biopsy.
  • Favorable prognosis indicators include monolesional disease, a distal limb lesion, and a low percentage of Langerhans cells with Birbeck granules, although the child will be monitored for at least two years as a precaution.
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Background: The number of bariatric surgeries performed worldwide is growing. Among the main short, medium or long-term complications after surgery are nutritional deficiencies. Many of these, such as those of Zn, Cu and vitamins A, B1, B3, B6 and B12, are manifested by dermatological lesions before potentially fatal systemic disorders occur.

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  • * A 51-year-old man with lepromatous leprosy experienced chronic type 2 reactions despite receiving a 24-month multidrug therapy, and Bartonella henselae DNA was detected in a skin biopsy taken before retreatment.
  • * Following targeted treatment for the Bartonella infection, the patient's leprosy reactions improved, and he remained stable for 60 months without any signs of leprosy or further reactions after completing the therapy.
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Background: Although the development of lesions in skin areas that have undergone injury has long been known, understanding of its pathogenesis is limited. Depending on their peculiarities, those events have been described as isomorphic, reverse isomorphic, pseudoisomorphic, isotopic, and isopathic phenomena. Ruocco's immunocompromised cutaneous district (ICD) concept was proposed to include all those phenomena.

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Background: The main risk factor associated with basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) is believed to be exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). In the case of lower limb BCC, the frequency is higher in women, possibly because of greater exposure of the leg to UVR. Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), also more common in women, may have some association with leg BCCs.

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The goal was to characterize the clinical-epidemiological profile of patients with mucocutaneous tumoural herpes simplex virus (MCT HSV) lesions across the world. Two researchers extracted and independently reviewed data from the literature search engine PubMed/MEDLINE through October 2018. From 110 reported patients, the following data were available: the patients' ages ranged from 7 to 76 years; the majority was male (62.

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Topical use of immune response modifiers, such as imiquimod, has increased in dermatology. Although its topical use is well tolerated, it may be associated with exacerbations of generalized cutaneous inflammatory diseases, possibly through the systemic circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This report describes a case of development of pityriasis rubra pilaris, a rare erythematous-papulosquamous dermatosis, in a woman aged 60 years during treatment with imiquimod 5% cream for actinic keratosis.

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Sarcoidosis and tuberculoid leprosy (TL) are prototypes of granulomatous inflammation in dermatology, which embody one of the histopathology limitations in distinguishing some diseases. Recent advances in the use of nonlinear optical microscopy in skin have enabled techniques, such as second-harmonic generation (SHG), to become powerful tools to study the physical and biochemical properties of skin. We use SHG images to analyze the collagen network, to distinguish differences between sarcoidosis and TL granulomas.

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Background: More than 200 000 new cases of leprosy are detected worldwide annually. Physicians commonly have difficulty in differentiating tuberculoid form of leprosy (TL) from sarcoidosis' cutaneous manifestation.

Methods: Skin biopsies of 33 patients with TL and 24 with sarcoidosis were reviewed on hematoxylin and eosin- and Gomori-stained sections, in order to find reliable criteria for distinguishing one disease from another.

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Objective: To report the clinical evolution and handling of a Spitz nevus, from its initial flat feature to becoming an irregular, nodular, reddish lesion.

Case Description: Female child, phototype II, with a small congenital nevus on the left lower limb and other sustained small nevi. The patient went through annual clinical and dermoscopic evaluations between the ages of three and seven, period during which the nevi located on the left thigh grew rapidly.

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Background: Eosinophilic angiocentric fibrosis (EAF) and granuloma faciale (GF) share several histopathologic features, including eosinophil-rich inflammation, microangiitis, and progressive fibrosis. Concurrent presentation of EAF and GF suggests a pathogenetic link between them.

Objectives: To identify histologic findings that tell them apart and construe the pathogenetic mechanisms behind each morphologic variable, 14 immunohistochemical markers were used to study the cells subpopulations in 14 cases of GF and 3 cases of EAF.

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Multistep carcinogenesis involves loss of function of tumor suppressor proteins such as p53 and induction of angiogenesis. Such mechanisms contribute to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression and may be interconnected. We aimed to explore p53 immunoexpression in spectral stages of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and correlate expression to both neovascularization and cellular proliferation.

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Introduction: Lichenoid drug eruption (LDE) shares similar features with lichen planus (LP), that could reflect the same pathogenesis. In LP, an autoimmune attack is accepted and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD8+) predominate, especially in late lesions. Apoptosis of keratinocytes may be mediated by CD8+ T and NK cells in two distinct ways: by the release of cytotoxic molecules such as perforin and granzyme B or by the Fas/FasL system.

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Tungiasis is a zoophilic and anthropophilic infestation caused by Tunga penetrans. It is endemic in Latin America and in the Caribbean. It occurs mainly in impoverished communities that have no access to basic sanitation and in individuals that visit contaminated areas.

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Background: Although cutaneous and oral lichen planus (LP) share similar histopathological features, oral LP often follows a recalcitrant course while LP skin lesions tend to be self-limiting. Apoptosis, mediated by cytotoxic T-cells in LP, may be triggered by the release of molecules such as perforin and granzyme B. As variation in clinical behavior can reflect differences in LP immune expression, we studied the role of those cytotoxic molecules in oral and cutaneous LP.

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Rhinosporidiosis is an infectious mucocutaneous disease caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi. It is characterized by sessile or pedunculated polyps which are erythematous, moriform and friable and which mainly affect the ocular and nasal mucosa. The occurrence of skin lesions is occasional and due to dissemination from the adjacent mucosa, direct inoculation or hematogenous dissemination.

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Infantile hemangioma or hamangioma of infancy is the most common tumor in children, with great variability of presentation. Most cases resolve spontaneously and treatment is usually indicated for specific cases where injury has a high rate of morbidity or disfigurement after regression. The treatment is based on the use of systemic corticosteroids, which can also be used topically or by intralesional injections.

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Objective: To demonstrate the role of angiogenesis in the progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Angiogenesis is a pivotal phenomenon in carcinogenesis. Its time course in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma has not yet been fully established.

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