TUR-PSO: A cross-sectional, study investigating quality of life and treatment status of psoriasis patients in Turkey.

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory disease that has a severe impact on quality of life. There is lack of data regarding epidemiological and clinical features of psoriasis patients in Turkey, a country with a population of 76 million. The aim of this study was to define the demographic and clinical characteristics, quality of life and treatment patterns of psoriasis patients in Turkey.

Allergic contact cheilitis from a lipstick misdiagnosed as herpes labialis: Subsequent worsening due to Zovirax contact allergy.

A 29-year-old Turkish woman with allergic contact cheilitis from a lipstick was misdiagnosed as herpes labialis and subsequently worsened with the application of Zovirax cream. Patch tests were positive to Zovirax cream, propylene glycol, the patient's favourite lipstick and propyl gallate. No reaction was seen with Zovirax ophthalmic ointment and Zovirax tablet.

Hyper-IgE syndrome with widespread premalign oral papillomas treated with interferon alpha2b.

We report a case of a 7-year-old girl with hyperimmunoglobulin-E syndrome presenting with widespread oral papillomas which were tested for human papilloma virus DNA and had shown to be at high/intermediate risk group for malignancy. She had elevated levels of IgE, recurrent sinopulmonary infections, atopic-like dermatitis, peripheral eosinophilia and defective neutrophil chemotaxis. Interferon alfa 2b therapy and chemoprophylaxis with sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim was given.

Sexually transmitted infections in Turkey.

Turkey is a Moslem country where lay knowledge regarding sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is poor. Surveillance arrangements are limited, and frequently ignored, with the result that the true incidence of STIs is unknown. The prevalence of syphilis is definitely increasing, and probably that of the other infections is too.

HLA in alopecia areata.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) characteristics of Turkish alopecia areata patients, and the correlation of the HLA profile with age of onset, severity and duration of the disease, presence of ophiasis, and family history.

Methods: A total of 88 patients with alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, or alopecia universalis were compared with 100 healthy controls. HLA typing was performed by the Terasaki microlymphocytotoxicity method.

Drug related clinical pattern in fixed drug eruption.

Fixed drug eruption (FDE) represents a frequent type of drug eruption in Turkey. The aim of this open study is to analyze the clinical features with special emphasize on drug related pattern in our case series. Sixty-four cases with established FDE by oral provocation were clinically evaluated.

Topical provocation in 27 cases of cotrimoxazole-induced fixed drug eruption.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of topical provocation in the diagnosis of cotrimoxazole-induced fixed-drug eruption (FDE). 27 patients with established cotrimoxazole-induced FDE by oral provocation and 20 healthy controls were tested with drugs at increasing concentrations in white petrolatum and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) both on previously involved and uninvolved skin sites. Tape-stripping occlusive patch testing in petrolatum remained negative in 19 tested patients.

Intermittent use of topical dimethyl sulfoxide in macular and papular amyloidosis.

Background: Severe and therapy-resistant pruritus is the most prominent feature of macular (MA) and lichen (LA) amyloidosis that leads to further amyloid deposition by recurrent frictional trauma to the epidermis. Of the various therapeutic modalities with variable success, the most encouraging and beneficial effect has been observed with topical dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) therapy. In a previous study, we achieved marked clinical improvement in nine of 10 patients in a daily treatment regimen over 6-20 weeks, but relapses occurred in the post-treatment follow-up period.

Surgical treatment of granuloma inguinale.

Granuloma inguinale is an indolent, progressive, ulcerative and granulomatous skin disease caused by Calymmatobacterium granulomatosis. It is generally treated with antibiotics. However, long-standing and complicated disease requires surgical treatment.

Screening of sex workers in Turkey for Chlamydia trachomatis.

Background: Increasing migration of sex workers across East European borders into Turkey has resulted in increased arrests of unregistered sex workers. There is concern regarding the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) such as C. trachomatis in this unregulated group.

[Oral DMSO therapy in 3 patients with lipoidproteinosis. Results of long-term therapy].

Lipoid proteinosis is a rare autosomal recessive disorder with a chronic, benign course. There is no generally accepted systemic therapy apart from the experimental oral use of dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and etretinate in two single cases. We treated two sisters and an unrelated man with lipoid proteinosis with longterm oral DMSO (60 mg/kg/d).

Refractory ulcerative lupus vulgaris associated with CD4 lymphocytopenia, inversion of chromosome 14, primary amenorrhoea and mental retardation.

A case of ulcerative lupus vulgaris, confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is reported. The initial lesion of our case was a papule on the nose, which progressed during antituberculous treatment and caused cartilage destruction and ectropion. Immunological analysis revealed CD4 lymphocytopenia, and the possibility of idiopathic CD4 lymphocyte deficiency was considered.

Efficacy and safety of oral fluconazole in the treatment of patients with tinea corporis, cruris or pedis or cutaneous candidosis : a multicentre, open, noncomparative study.

The efficacy, safety, required duration of treatment, and patient preference for oral fluconazole 150 mg/week in the treatment of 521 patients with cutaneous candidosis, tinea corporis, tinea cruris or tinea pedis were assessed in an open, multicentre, noncomparative trial. Patients received weekly doses of fluconazole 150mg for an average of 4.65 weeks.

A new kind of skin lesion in Behçet's disease: extragenital ulcerations.

A new skin lesion was encountered in 29 of 970 Behçet's patients. The lesions resembled oral aphthae clinically, were recurrent and left a scar tissue like genital ulcers but were located extragenitally. Skin biopsies could be done in only 4 cases and they all showed vasculitis.

Reticulate acropigmentation of Kitamura: a case report.

A Turkish female patient from Eastern Anatolia is described with the clinical and histopathological features of reticulate acropigmentation of Kitamura (RAK). The brother of the patient, who has similar clinical features, refuses to give a biopsy specimen. No similar lesions are noted on the other members of the patient's family.

Re-evaluation of the pathergy test in Behçet's disease.

A positive pathergy test in patients with Behçet's disease has been accepted as a diagnostic criterion by many authors, but in recent years it has been claimed that the test has a decreased positivity. We have examined the test in 92 proven cases of Behçet's disease, using 20G and 26G disposable needles and evaluated them after 48 h. Maximum positivity was found to be 65% when we used needles of size 0.

[Behçet disease in Turkey].

In the last 12 years, we treated 427 Turkish patients suffering from Behçet's disease. We report on the frequency of symptoms as well as the modes of therapy in Turkey.

The epidemiology of scabies in Turkey.

The epidemiology of scabies for the last twelve years has been studied in Turkey. Information was obtained from three regions (Istanbul, Ankara and Erzurum) having different climates. There has been an increase in scabies in the years following 1969 in Ankara and Erzurum and from 1967 on in Istanbul.