The hair collar sign.

We report on two children with congenital scalp lesions which were surrounded by a ring of dark hair known as a hair collar. A review of previously reported patients with hair collars revealed that most of the scalp lesions were single and located at the vertex or parietal areas. They were most commonly composed of heterotopic neural tissue.

Fibroblasts derived from chronic diabetic ulcers differ in their response to stimulation with EGF, IGF-I, bFGF and PDGF-AB compared to controls.

Patients with diabetes mellitus experience impaired wound healing, often resulting in chronic foot ulcers. Healing can be accelerated by application of growth factors like platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). We investigated the mitogenic responses, measured by 3[H]thymidine incorporation, of fibroblasts cultured from diabetic ulcers, non-diabetic ulcers, and non-lesional diabetic and age-matched controls, to recombinant human PDGF-AB, epidermal growth factor (EGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I).

Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy for children with Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Objective: To review the experience with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy in patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) in our institution.

Methods: All charts of patients with SJS admitted to Children's Hospital between November 1988 and June 1998 were reviewed.

Results: Twelve patients with SJS were detected.

Infantile Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura is a common cause of vasculitis in children. This condition is unusual in infants and children younger than 2 years. We describe a 4-month-old infant with infantile Henoch-Schönlein purpura and review the clinical spectrum, differential diagnoses, and the histopathologic features of the disease.