RNA polymerase III autoantibodies may indicate renal and more severe skin involvement in systemic sclerosis.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multiorgan autoimmune disorder characterized by sclerosis of the skin and organs as well as the presence of antinuclear autoantibodies. Several types of antinuclear autoantibodies have been described in SSc, associated with distinct disease entities and differences in prognosis.

Methods: The aim of this study was to screen for the presence of antibodies reacting with RNA polymerase III (anti-RNAP3) in a large cohort of patients with SSc treated at a tertiary referral center and to evaluate correlations with disease severity.

UV-A1 phototherapy vs clobetasol propionate, 0.05%, in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Topical corticosteroids are the current first-line therapy for vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS). UV-A1 phototherapy may be a promising alternative treatment option, but controlled studies are lacking.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of high-potent topical corticosteroids with UV-A1 phototherapy in the treatment of VLS.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with aggressive primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma - a case series of the ADF working group "cutaneous lymphomas".

Background: Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) is a treatment option for primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas that may induce long-lasting complete remissions. Little information is available on safety and efficacy.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data from patients with primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma treated in the Departments of Dermatology of the Universities of Bochum, Mannheim and Cologne who received subsequent alloSCT between 2005 and 2012.

Immunohistochemical analysis of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells in healthy human skin and autoimmune dermatoses.

Background: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play an important role in autoimmune diseases. In skin, the presence of Tregs is thought to be mandatory for suppression of autoreactive T cells. Here, we assess the number of Tregs in skin of healthy subjects and patients with an autoimmune dermatosis.

Treatment regimens, protocols, dosage, and indications for UVA1 phototherapy: facts and controversies.

During the last three decades, ultraviolet A1 (UVA1) phototherapy has emerged as a specific phototherapeutic modality with distinct modes of action and some well established indications. Atopic dermatitis, localized scleroderma, and systemic lupus erythematosus seem to be the conditions with the best evidence regarding efficacy and safety of UVA1 phototherapy. Further indications for UVA1 include subacute prurigo, lichen sclerosus, dyshidrotic dermatitis, cutaneous T cell lymphoma, urticaria pigmentosa, and pityriasis rosea; nevertheless, there are some unknowns, uncertainties, and controversies concerning short- and long-term side effects, efficacy and dosage regimens of UVA1 phototherapy in some conditions.

Association of autoimmune diseases with lichen sclerosus in 532 male and female patients.

Lichen sclerosus is a relatively common chronic inflammatory skin disease that predominantly affects the anogenital area. Accumulating evidence indicates that lichen sclerosus in women may be associated with other autoimmune disease, whereas this association seems to lack in male patients. We retrospectively evaluated the prevalence of autoimmune diseases and serological parameters indicative for autoimmunity in male and female patients with lichen sclerosus.

Cytokine and chemokine ligand expression in cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

There is increasing evidence that cytokines as well as chemokines are important players in the pathogenesis of lupus erythematosus (LE). We aimed to compare cytokine and chemokine profiles in different types of cutaneous LE. We investigated lesional mRNA and protein expression of various cytokines and chemokines in patients with chronic discoid LE (CDLE, n=15), subacute cutaneous LE (SCLE, n=11), and lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET, n=21).

Coexistence of lichen sclerosus and morphea: a retrospective analysis of 472 patients with localized scleroderma from a German tertiary referral center.

Background: The coexistence of lichen sclerosus (LiS) and localized scleroderma (LoS) has sporadically been reported in the literature. Recently, a prospective multicenter study demonstrated a surprisingly high percentage of genital LiS in patients with morphea.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of LiS in a cohort of patients with LoS who presented at a tertiary referral medical center for connective tissue diseases in Germany.

Optical coherence tomography in dermatology: technical and clinical aspects.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a fairly new non-invasive optical real-time imaging modality, is an emergent in vivo technique, based on the interference (Michelson interferometry) of infrared radiation and living tissues, that allows high-resolution, 2- or 3-dimensional, cross-sectional visualisation of microstructural morphology of tissues. OCT provides depth-resolved images of tissues with resolution up to a few micrometers and depth up to several millimetres depending on tissue type. The investigations using OCT to assess skin structure in clinical settings started in the past decade and consequently proved that this imaging method is useful in visualizing subsurface structures of normal skin, including the epidermis, dermoepidermal junction, dermis, hair follicles, blood vessels and sweat ducts.