Biologic therapy for psoriasis - still searching for the best target.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that results from the complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Over the last few decades, scientific evidence has redirected the focus of therapeutic studies to the immunologic pathways underlying its pathogenesis. This led to the biologic boom that we are currently experiencing, with the development and approval of targeted progressively more selective biological therapies and ongoing clinical trials of increasingly specific drugs, given their important implications for long-term efficacy and safety.

Cutaneous lesions and finger clubbing uncovering hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis and hepatitis C with mixed cryoglobulinemia.

Urticarial vasculitis is a rare clinicopathologic entity characterized by urticarial lesions that persist for more than 24 hours and histologic features of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Patients can be divided into normocomplementemic or hypocomplementemic. The authors report the case of a healthy 49-year-old woman with a 1-year history of highly pruritic generalized cutaneous lesions and finger clubbing.

Congenital multiple clustered dermatofibroma and multiple eruptive dermatofibromas--unusual presentations of a common entity.

Dermatofibroma is one of the most common entities seen in dermatology clinical practice. Several clinical subtypes have nevertheless been described, all of them of uncommon occurrence. The authors present two rare clinical variants of dermatofibromas: congenital multiple clustered dermatofibroma (the presented case is the 4th congenital case to be reported so far) and multiple eruptive dermatofibromas developing in the setting of a Sjögren's syndrome.

Cutaneous manifestations of antiphospholipid syndrome: a review of the clinical features, diagnosis and management.

Antiphospholipid syndrome is a relatively recent systemic autoimmune disorder defined by thrombotic events and/or obstetric complications in the presence of persistent elevated antiphospholipid antibodies. It\'s characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and virtually any organ system or tissue may be affected by the consequences of vascular occlusion. Diagnosis is sometimes difficult and although classification criteria have been published and revised there remain ongoing issues regarding nomenclature, expanding clinical features, laboratory tests and management and much still has to be done.

A dramatic case of Behçet disease successfully treated with infliximab.

Behçet disease is a chronic relapsing systemic disease with possible life-threatening presentations. Management of this disease can be challenging and reports of the off-label use of anti-TNFα agents for the treatment of severe manifestations are increasing, with good results. The authors report a case of Behçet disease with a sudden and severe multi-systemic onset successfully treated with infliximab.

Unknown: Bluish-gray macules on the hands of a healthy 34 year-old man.

A 34 year-old man presented with asymptomatic bluish-gray macules on his hands that had developed over the previous 2 years. He was otherwise healthy and was on no regular medication. A detailed clinical history and histologic examination allowed the diagnosis.

Exuberant cutaneous ulcers on the buttocks caused by multi-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Cutaneous infection develops because of environmental and local factors, host immunity, and organism adherence and virulence. The authors report a case of exuberant cutaneous ulcers on the buttocks of a diabetic patient. Microbiologic examination allowed the identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae and complete resolution was achieved with the appropriate antibiotic.

Vesico-bullous subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus--an uncommon entity successfully treated with dapsone and hydroxychloroquine.

Vesico-bullous subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus is an uncommon and severe presentation. The authors report an exuberant case of vesico-bullous subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus successfully treated with dapsone and hydroxychloroquine.

Do you know this syndrome?

Lipomas are among the most common tumors seen in the soft body parts and usually are solitary lesions. The authors report a case of a male patient that presented for evaluation of multiple subcutaneous nodules that caused important functional and cosmetic impairment. The diagnosis of familial multiple lipomatosis was made.

Letter: Pellagra as the initial presentation of Crohn disease.

Pellagra is a nutritional disease caused by the deficiency of niacin. We describe a case of pellagra as the initial presentation of Crohn disease, which has been rarely described in the literature.

Giant cutaneous horn on the lower lip.

Cutaneous horn is a conical hyperkeratotic projection of the skin composed of compact keratin. A wide range of pathologic conditions may be found at its base, including a significant proportion of malignant tumors. A notable, giant cutaneous horn uncovering a keratoacanthoma/well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma is presented, highlighting the importance of histopathological examination to rule out malignancy because clinical features cannot assure a correct diagnosis.

Treatment of recalcitrant generalized granuloma annulare with adalimumab.

Granuloma annulare is a benign, usually self-limited, dermatosis of unknown cause. Generalized lesions occur in approximately 15 percent of patients with GA and may cause mild to severe cosmetic disfigurement. The treatment of generalized granuloma annulare can be challenging.

Letter: Penile Kaposi sarcoma: A case of complete resolution with highly active antiretroviral therapy alone.

Kaposi sarcoma remains an important cause of morbidity in HIV-infected patients. Regardless of the recent pharmacological progress, treatment of this malignancy is still disappointing. We report the case of a patient with Kaposi sarcoma in an unusual localization, the penis, which completely resolved with highly active antiretroviral therapy alone.