American experience with low-dose thalidomide therapy for severe cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Background: There is a renewed interest in thalidomide therapy after its surprising effectiveness in treating erythema nodosum leprosum was first published. Thalidomide has subsequently been reported to be effective in treating a number of dermatoses, including cutaneous lupus erythematosus. We examined the efficacy and adverse effects of low-dose, long-term thalidomide monotherapy in 7 patients with various forms of cutaneous lupus erythematosus that were unresponsive to traditional systemic treatments.

Striate palmoplantar keratoderma: a clinical and ultrastructural study.

Palmoplantar keratodermas are poorly understood heterogeneous disorders of cornification. Autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive keratodermas with a varied clinical presentation are recognized. Striate keratoderma is uncommon.

Erythema ab igne caused by a car heater.

Erythema ab igne is a reticulated erythematous hyperpigmented eruption that occurs after chronic exposure to heat. In the past, the shins were the most common area of involvement, but with the widespread availability of central climate control in most buildings the incidence has decreased dramatically. New causes of erythema ab igne have been noted that have been caused by such heat sources as therapeutic chairs with built-in heaters.

Squamous cell carcinoma secondary to recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. A report of 4 patients with 17 primary cutaneous malignancies.

Four patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and 17 invasive primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are presented. All skin cancers arose at the site of scarring due to recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Three of 17 (18%) primary cutaneous SCCs recurred locally following initial treatment with either surgical excision or wide surgical excision.