Pityriasis rosea: Viral complement fixation studies

Five patients received leukapheresis therapy for Sézary syndrome. All patients had erythroderma, lymphocytic band infiltration of the skin, and a normal white blood cell count with an absolute Sézary cell count of more than 1,000/mm³. Improvement in 3 to 6 months occurred, usually with the addition of a combined regimen of prednisone and low-dose chlorambucil therapy. One patient had sustained improvement with repeated leukapheresis for more than 2 years. The two patients who showed a major response were the youngest patients, who had normal karyotypes, normal delayed-hypersensitivity skin tests, and a quantitative response of the Sézary cells and the T and B cells to leukapheresis. These preliminary results suggest that there may be selected patients for whom leukapheresis is useful therapy and that it is possible to perform the procedure safely in patients with normal white blood cell counts.     

A double-blind study of the effectiveness of a 3% erythromycin and 5% benzoyl peroxide combination in the treatment of acne vulgaris

One hundred sixty-five subjects completed a 10-week, double-blind controlled study comparing the following: (1) a combination of 3% erythromycin and 5% benzoyl peroxide in a gel, (2) 5% benzoyl peroxide gel, (3) 3% erythromycin gel, and (4) the gel vehicle. The benzoyl peroxide gel and the erythromycin gel were superior to the control gel; however, the combination product was more effective than any of the others. This was true for both pustular and papular lesions, but the most dramatic effect was on combined inflammatory lesions, i.e., papules and pustules.     

Langerhans cells in normal human skin capillaries

Cells with Langerhans granules are reported for the first time in normal human skin capillaries.     

Nickel feeding in nickel-sensitive patients with hand eczema.

Ten women with vesicular hand eczema and delayed hypersensitivity to nickel were given 0.5 mg nickel supplements to their diets. The double-blind controlled supplements were given on Monday and Tuesday of each week for at least 1 month. The nickel supplement was lower than that used in previous studies, and only one subject had reproducible flaring of her vesicular dermatitis. We conclude that dietary restriction of nickel is not warranted based on nickel supplement studies, but nickel's role in hand eczema could be clarified by depleting nickel from body stores with chelating agents.     

Interferon: status in treatment of skin disease

Interferons, glycoproteins originally investigated as antiviral agents, are now known to be active as anticancer agents, immune system modulators, and growth control regulators. For these reasons, interferons have definite and documented relevance to dermatologists. In regard to viral diseases, therapeutic trials in humans have shown promising results in herpes simplex infections, vaccinia, laryngeal papillomas, and condyloma acuminatum, as well as in rabies and hepatitis B. Pilot studies with interferon treatment of melanoma have been so promising that the American Cancer Society has selected this area to receive additional research support. Also, the antiproliferative effects of interferons have potential application to proliferative diseases such as psoriasis.     

Comparison of stratum corneum thickness in children and adults

We compared the thickness of the stratum corneum from abdominal skin in infants less than 3 months of age, children between 3 months and 11 years, and adults. Measurements were made with a filar micrometer eyepiece on histologic sections obtained at autopsy. No significant differences were seen; therefore, a stratum corneum of different thickness cannot be used to explain differences in percutaneous absorption, supporting previous work which suggested that term infants and children have an efficient skin barrier. The greater toxicity from percutaneous absorption of topical compounds sometimes seen in children is more likely due to their increased surface to volume ratio and/or metabolic differences.     

Black and white human skin differences

This review of black and white human skin differences emphasizes the alleged importance of factors other than the obvious, i.e., skin color. Physicochemical differences and differences in susceptibility to irritants and allergens suggest a more resistant black than white skin. Differences appear to exist in the frequency of which several skin diseases occur among blacks and whites. A striking feature in this literature is the disagreement between authors. Common for much of this information is difficulty of interpretation, because of socioeconomic influences and other environmental factors.     

Percutaneous penetration of dipyrithione in man: Effect of skin color (race)

A single chemical dose of dipyrithione (2,2′-dithiobispyridine-l, 1′-dioxide), 4 or 12 μ/cm² (containing 1 μCi of 2–6-¹⁴C material), was applied to the ventral forearm (intact skin, methyl alcohol vehicle [MeOH]), forehead (intact and stripped skin; cosmetic cream and MeOH vehicle), and scalp (intact and stripped skin; shampoo and MeOH vehicle) of human (white and black) volunteers. The urinary excretion of ¹⁴C was measured over the 7-day study period. Percutaneous penetration data were corrected for incomplete urinary recovery using data from intravenous studies (Wedig et al¹). The results obtained in this study suggested: (1) means from the complete analysis indicated 34% less (p < 0.02) absorbed by blacks; (2) less was absorbed by blacks than whites when seven out of seven means were compared within groups (p < 0.02); (3) a difference (p < 0.03) in penetration, blacks 47% lower than whites, between a cosmetic cream vehicle vs MeOH on the forehead; (4) on the scalp (MeOH vs shampoo vehicle) more was absorbed using MeOH (p < 0.02); (5) no evidence of a significant difference in penetration was noted when (a) the various anatomic sites were compared or (b) intact skin was compared with stripped skin.     

The activity of interferon on ultraviolet light-induced squamous cell carcinomas in mice

The activity of interferons was tested in ultraviolet light-induced skin tumors in mice. After the tumors were well established, they were injected and measured daily for 19 days. Mouse virus type (IF-alpha + IF-beta) and immune (IF-gamma) interferons were injected intralesionally into three groups of test animals and compared with a fourth group which received mock interferon (control). When used separately, virus type and immune interferons did not affect tumor growth; however, we observed regression in tumor size when the two interferons were used in combination.     

Excision of melanoma after initial biopsy: An immunohistochemical study

An immunohistochemical method for the demonstration of S-100 protein was used to identify melanocytes in fourteen cases of malignant melanoma subsequently excised after initial punch biopsy. Although S-100 protein-containing cutaneous nerves and dermal dendritic cells could be identified within the area of dermal repair, there was no evidence of physical movement of atypical melanocytes or nevus cells downward into the scarified area. This study cannot confirm the concept that punch biopsy of melanoma physically seeds atypical cells into the dermis.