Topical acne treatment with acetylcysteine: clinical and experimental effects.

Among the large variety of effects of acetylcysteine, several of them relate to cutaneous function in general and to sebaceous activity in particular. Due to the latter, a study was undertaken to investigate a possible effect of this substance in grade I acne. An analysis of the data from 99 patients in a double-blind study demonstrated that 5% acetylcysteine topical gel is significantly superior to placebo (P = .

Value of histopathology in vitiligo.

Background: Histopathologic studies of vitiligo have been rather limited in number, thus the microscopic features of this common disorder are not very well known.

Subjects And Methods: Skin specimens from 20 human vitiligo patients and skin specimens from five equine vitiligo patients were studied by light and transmission electron microscopy.

Results And Discussion: Absence of melanocytes, increased number of Langerhans' cells, epidermal vacuolization, thickening of the basement membrane, T-cell inflammatory infiltrate, and neural alterations were noted in the vitiligo lesions.