Psychological parameters of psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory scaling dermatosis. The marked visible appearance of the lesions have a negative impact on body image that leads to decreased self-esteem, hence seriously compromising the patient's quality of life. The clinical picture critically affects the social well-being of the patient since the disease is commonly misunderstood and feared by the social environment as being contagious.

Quality of life and psychosocial aspects in Greek patients with psoriasis: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Psoriasis is a common, long-term skin disease associated with high levels of psychological distress and a considerable adverse impact on life. The effects of psoriasis, beyond skin affliction, are seldom recognized and often undertreated.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the quality of life, anxiety and depression, self-esteem and loneliness in patients with psoriasis.

Assessment of Interleukins IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 in Acute Urticaria.

Background: Urticaria is a skin disease that affects approximately 5% of the general population and manifests itself, not only as an acute but also as a chronic disease. The etiology of the disease varies as well as its clinical manifestations which extend from the presence of urticarial hives to the potentially mortal angioedema. There is a great interest to the disease not only due to its special clinical manifestation but also due to its pathogenetic mechanism.

MRSA joint infection in a psoriatic patient with a coexisting respiratory infection.

In September 2011, a 52-year old patient suffering from psoriatic arthritis and being treated for an upper respiratory tract infection, presented to the emergency department of Argos General Hospital with fever and a painful, swollen right knee. He underwent clinical, laboratory and imaging examinations. Initially blood and synovial fluid cultures were negative.

Beclin-1 and LC3A expression in cutaneous malignant melanomas: a biphasic survival pattern for beclin-1.

Autophagy is an intracellular pathway for the degradation of long-lived proteins and damaged organelles. It is, in essence, a recycling process allowing cells to survive oxygen and nutrient depletion. The expression of two autophagy-related proteins, beclin 1 and light chain 3A (LC3A) was investigated in 79 nodular cutaneous melanomas.

LC3A-positive "stone-like" structures in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas.

This study was set to investigate the relation between autophagic activity and the aggressiveness of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), as indicated by tumor thickness and proliferative activity. The anti-LC3A antibody, recognizing both the soluble and the autophagosome-bound forms of the protein, and a standard immunohistochemical technique were applied to 75 cutaneous SCC of variable tumor thickness. The study was complemented by staining for MIB1.

Acquired reactive perforating collagenosis: current status.

Acquired reactive perforating collagenosis is a unique perforating dermatosis, characterized clinically by umbilicated hyperkeratotic papules or nodules and histologically by a focal hyperkeratosis in direct contact with transepidermal perforating dermal collagen. Several inflammatory or malignant systemic diseases may coexist with acquired reactive perforating collagenosis. The possible biochemical or immunological mechanisms of the systemic diseases, potentially responsible for the development and appearance of acquired reactive perforating collagenosis, are still under investigation.

Radiochemotherapy with cetuximab, cisplatin, and amifostine for locally advanced head and neck cancer: a feasibility study.

Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) combined with cisplatin or cetuximab is the standard of care for patients with locally advanced head/neck cancer (LA-HNC). The feasibility of radiochemotherapy with cisplatin and cetuximab, supported with amifostine, was herein investigated.

Methods And Materials: Forty-three patients with LA-HNC were recruited.

Iotandium-111 pentetreotide scintigraphy and CT scans after 3 years in the follow-up of patients with malignant melanoma.

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) has been used for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors. Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes, considered to derive from the neural crest. As the prognosis of melanoma is very poor, early detection of the disease, of recurrences and of distal metastases, is important.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma metastasis most probably due to fine needle aspiration biopsy. A case report.

Implantation of cancer cells from needle biopsy has been reported in a wide range of malignancies. Fine needle aspiration biopsy has become an accepted method for assessment of thyroid nodules. Local reappearance of thyroid cancer from needle track dissemination is a rare complication of thyroid aspiration.

Extensive cutaneous anthrax in an immunocompetent patient.

Bacillus anthracis disease constitutes an extremely important worldwide epidemiological problem. Interest in cutaneous anthrax resides in its skin manifestations, course, diagnostic methods and management. An extensive cutaneous anthrax of the whole left upper arm, accompanied by lymphadenopathy and high fever, in a 60 year-old male patient, a shepherd by profession, is reported.

Human embryonal tissues of all three germ layers can express the CD30 antigen. An immunohistochemical study of 30 fetuses coming after therapeutic abortions from week 8th to week 16th of gestation.

Originally, expression of the CD30 antigen was shown to be typical of the tumor cells of Hodgkin disease and of anaplastic large cell lymphomas. In reactive lymphoid tissue, CD30 is expressed only in a small population of activated lymphoid blasts. Since then, several reports have been published describing CD30 expression in non lymphoid tissues and neoplasms, such as embryonal carcinomas, seminomas, cultivated macrophages, histiocytic neoplastic cells, deciduals cells, and mesothelioma cells.

Calcipotriol monotherapy versus calcipotriol plus UVA1 versus calcipotriol plus narrow-band UVB in the treatment of psoriasis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of calcipotriol ointment as monotherapy versus calcipotriol in combination with narrow-band ultraviolet (UV)-B or UVA1 phototherapy and to determine whether calcipotriol in combination with UVA1 is an alternative to calcipotriol with narrow-band UVB phototherapy. Forty-five patients with plaque psoriasis were divided into three treatment groups with no significant differences in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores, mean age, sex or skin type. The total duration of the treatment was 3 months.

Evaluation of cytokine serum levels in patients with plaque-type psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic debilitating cutaneous disorder that affects both sexes and appears clinically as inflamed, edematous skin lesions covered with a silvery white scale. Strong evidence suggests that immune mechanisms are implicated in its pathogenesis, such as persistent activation of T-lymphocytes, excessive proliferation of keratinocytes and reactivation of proto-oncogenes and other elements. Additionally, several recent studies have demonstrated that cytokines play a significant role in the pathogenesis of the disease, as they can be found in the affected skin of psoriatic patients.

Oral administration of cyclosporin A in patients with severe alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is a chronic, nonscarring hair loss condition with an unpredictable course that may cause emotional stress in affected patients. Regarding its pathogenesis, the most accepted theory is that alopecia areata is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune condition that is most likely to occur in genetically predisposed individuals. Cyclosporin A is an immunosuppressive agent that has provided new approaches in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Identification of human papillomavirus DNA in melanoma biopsy specimens of Greek population.

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate melanoma biopsy specimens from the Greek population living in the prefecture of Larissa for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA and to determine the possible relationship between HPV and clinical outcome in these patients. Twenty-eight melanoma biopsy specimens, 20 from primary cutaneous melanoma and eight from melanoma metastasis were obtained from 28 patients. The biopsy samples were formalin-fixed and paraffin wax-embedded.

NCL-CD30 staining of epithelial cells in the basal germinative layer of the epidermis and epithelial buds during foetal skin development.

The fact that the CD30 molecule can mediate signals for cell proliferation or apoptosis prompted us to perform a systematic investigation of CD30 antigen expression in embryonal tissues during proliferation and differentiation stages. We first targeted the foetal human intestinal cryptae cells with positive results. The epidermis is a dynamic epithelium that is constantly renewed throughout life.

Ber-H2 (CD30) immunohistochemical staining of human fetal tissues.

Objective: CD30 antigen has long been considered to be restricted to the tumour cells of Hodgkin's disease and of anaplastic large cell lymphoma as well as to T and B activated lymphocytes. It is now apparent that the range of normal and neoplastic cells, which may express CD30 antigen, is much wider than was at first thought. In order to gain insight into the physiological function of CD30 antigen, we studied the distribution of its expression in the tissues of fetuses from week 8th to week 16th.

Successful treatment of genital and facial psoriasis with tacrolimus ointment 0.1%.

Tacrolimus is an immunomodulatory agent that inhibits the activation and maturation of T-cells and blocks transcriptional activation of several cytokine genes. It also interferes with the function of Langerhans cells, basophil cells and mast cells. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of topical tacrolimus in inflammatory skin disorders.

CD30 (Ki-1) molecule expression in human embryonal epithelial cells of the basal layer of the developing epidermis and epidermal buds and its potential significance for embryogenesis.

Objective: CD30 antigen has long been considered to be restricted to tumour cells of Hodgkin's disease, of anaplastic large cell lymphoma and T and B activated lymphocytes. Expression of CD30 antigen has been reported in the decidual stroma, cultivated macrophages, lipoblasts, myoepithelial cells, reactive and neoplastic vascular lesions, mesotheliomas, embryonal carcinoma and seminoma cells. The fact that the CD30 molecule can mediate signals for cell proliferation or apoptosis prompted us to perform a systematic investigation of CD30 antigen expression in embryonal tissues during the proliferation and differentiation stages.

Drug eruptions in children with ENT infections.

Objective: A common problem for the clinician in an outpatient clinic is to distinguish a drug eruption from a viral exanthem in a child. The aim of this study was to describe the common drug eruptions seen in children with ENT infections, suggesting an approach to this problem.

Methods: We studied the cases of ENT patients aged 15-years-old and below, with the clinical diagnosis of cutaneous adverse reactions.

ALK-positive neutrophil-rich variant of anaplastic large cell lymphoma diagnosed after head trauma.

Background: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) expression has not been described in neutrophil-rich anaplastic large cell lymphoma (NR-ALCL).

Case Report: A 12-year old female with a 4-weeks history of a non-resolving bump over the forehead resulting from injury, was diagnosed of stage IE cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and radiation was employed. Shortly after completion of therapy, there was progress of the disease on the soft tissue of the right hand, and bone marrow involvement was also found.

Pimecrolimus cream 1% can be an effective treatment for seborrheic dermatitis of the face and trunk.

The ascomycin macrolactam derivative pimecrolimus is a novel, nonsteroidal, cell-selective inhibitor of inflammatory cytokines specifically developed for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. Our objective was to assess the efficacy, tolerability and safety of pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis. Adults with seborrheic dermatitis of the face and upper trunk who were seen from October 2003 to April 2004 at the Dermatologic Outpatient Clinic of the University of Thrace were enrolled in this 9-week open-label uncontrolled study.