Therapeutic drug monitoring of mycophenolic acid in patients with psoriasis.

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of psoriasis. MMF is the morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active compound. Our objective was to characterize the pharmacokinetic profile of MPA in patients with psoriasis treated with MMF and to examine its correlation with effectiveness and toxicity.

Photorejuvenation using topical 5-methyl aminolevulinate and red light.

Background: Photodynamic therapy has been proved to be effective in skin rejuvenation.

Objective: To evaluate clinical efficacy and side effects of photodynamic therapy using topical 5-methyl aminolevulinate and red light for photorejuvenation.

Methods: A randomized, prospective, split-face comparison study of 10 white, adult patients with moderate photodamage, Fitzpatrick skin types 2 or 3, and no occurrence of actinic keratosis was performed.

Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma.

Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma (NXG) is an uncommon granulomatous disease involving the skin and extracutaneous tissues. In its typical clinical presentation, it consists of multiple indurate yellow-brownish plaques or nodules, usually located on the periorbital area. The lesions often are bilateral and symmetric and frequently show tendency to atrophy and ulceration.

Perforating neutrophilic and granulomatous dermatitis of the newborn--a clue to immunodeficiency.

We report two newborns with a widespread cutaneous eruption consisting of discrete papules which evolved into vesicles, pustules, crusts, and ulcers. These healed over a 2-week period with scarring. Histopathology showed three main features--histiocytic granulomas, neutrophilic infiltration, and transepidermal elimination of degenerated collagen and debris through hair follicles.

[Cutaneous large B-cell lymphoma of the leg].

Large B-cell lymphoma of the leg (LBCLL) accounts for 2 % of primary cutaneous lymphomas, and the EORTC considers it to be of intermediate prognosis. It usually presents in elderly patients, and manifests clinically as erythematous nodules or tumors, often unilateral, on the lower third of the legs. On rare occasions, it presents with extracutaneous dissemination.

[Cutaneous marginal zone B-cell lymphoma treated with rituximab].

Marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZL) is probably the most frequent of the primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas, which are entities with indolent behavior. Clinically, it appears in middle-aged patients as papules, nodules or erythematous plaques, solitary or multiple, on the trunk and proximal part of the limbs. The prognosis is excellent despite frequent cutaneous recurrences.