Bullous pemphigoid and internal diseases - A case-control study.

To study associations of bullous pemphigoid (BP) with internal diseases, we conducted a retrospective case control study assessing the frequency of selected diseases - diabetes mellitus, neurological diseases, malignant tumors, benign prostate hyperplasia, hypertension and ischemic heart disease in patients with BP. 89 patients with BP, whose data were retrieved from the register of the Centre of bullous diseases from the period of 1991-2006, were matched with 89 controls of the same age and gender, recruited from patients treated for other skin diseases. The frequency of internal diseases at the time of the onset of BP was evaluated by unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age and gender and maximum likelihood test for contingency tables.

Study of T cell subsets in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The proportion of T lymphocyte populations was assessed using monoclonal antibodies (OKT3, OKT4, OKT8) and spontaneous E-rosette tests with SRBC (for total and active TE cells) in 36 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis subdivided according to the clinical variety. The T cell profile was normal in patients with simple cutaneous leishmaniasis of early ulcerative type whereas active TE cells and OKT4 positive cells were reduced in some cases of late ulcerative type. A significant reduction of active TE cells and of OKT4 positive cells (helper/inducer phenotype) and increase of OKT8 positive cells (suppressor/cytotoxic phenotype) was observed in peripheral blood of all patients with persistent active lesions and leishmaniasis recidivans.