bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hydrocortisone 17‐butyrate topical emulsion (Locoid Crelo®) in psoriasis
Authors: Pieérard G.E. , Lachapelle J.M. , Frentz G. , Schopf E. , Stolz E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAim To compare the efficacy of a new application form of hydrocortisone 17‐butyrate (H17‐B), 0.1% topical emulsion (Locoid Crelo®) with that of betamelhasone 17‐valerate (BMV) 0.1% scalp lotion (Betnovate ® lotion).Methods Erythema, induration, scaling, pruritus and overall severity of the disease were assessed in 136 patients with moderately severe psoriasis of the scalp at the start and after two and four weeks of therapy. In addition, the effect of the Crelo® steroid‐free vehicle was assessed in 12 other patients by dry dermoscopy and squumometry.Results Although both treatments induced a prominent overall improvement, this improvement was significantly better in the H17‐B‐treated group. H17‐B emulsion was superior in the reduction of scaling and overall severity after two weeks, and reduction of scaling, induration, overall severity and total symptom score after four weeks. Cosmetic acceptability also favoured H17‐B emulsion. This is probably related to the emollient effect which was shown after a one‐week treatment with the steroid free emulsion alone.Conclusion The innovative H17‐B emuslion is an efficient addition to topical corticosteroid therapy of psoriasis; it is especially suitable for the treatment of the scalp and other hairy parts of the body.
Presentation of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma as a sole cutaneous lesion in a patient with human acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
Authors: Gaddoni Giuseppe , Aldi Mirella , Albertini Francesco 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground High‐grade non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma is a clinical criterion for the diagnosis of AIDS. Extranodal involvement is not infrequent, but the observation of skin as the only site affected is rare.Patient A 29‐year‐old female, CDC stage 4A: history of drug use. AIDS diagnosed clinically and historically on the observation of a non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma of B‐cell origin from a single cutaneous lesion.Treatment and results There was no evidence of lymphoma in other locations apart from skin. Therapy with local radiation alone resulted in clearance at I year follow‐up.
Drug‐induced bullous pemphigoid with dermal fluorescence on salt‐split skin
Authors: Wakelin S.H. , Allen J. , Wojnarowska F. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe immunological features of drug‐induced bullous pemphigoid appear to be similar to those of idiopathic bullous pemphigoid (BP), with presence of circulating and tissue‐bound antibodies showing anti‐basement membrane zone specificity. We describe a 28‐year‐old woman who developed a widespread blistering eruption with marked involvement of the mucous membranes shortly after commencing treatment with oral flucloxacillin. The eruption gradually cleared following drug withdrawal and treatment with oral corticosteroids. Indirect immunofluorescence showed circulating IgG anti‐basement membrane zone (BMZ) antibody and C3 which bound to the dermal aspect of salt‐split skin, and direct immunofluorescence (IMF) of perilesional skin showed a linear band of C3 at the BMZ. Western immunoblotting of the patient's serum showed positive reactivity with a 180 kDa antigen in epidermal extracts and no reactivity with dermal extracts. The dermal‐binding pattern on indirect IMF with salt‐split skin only occurs in a minority of patients with BP and has not been described previously in a drug‐induced case.
Long‐term remission of stage IVa mycosis fungoides following treatment with I‐131 for concomitant thyroid carcinoma
Authors: Barrio José , Bueno Celso , Lázaro Pablo , Alonso Juan C. , Bittini Angel 
Published: July 2006

Abstract Background Treatment in advanced stage mycosis fungoides is often palliative. New approaches, like radioimmunotherapy, are necessary. However, only partial responses or short‐term remissions are ohtained with all these methods. Case report: A 37‐year‐old female had a tumor stage mycosis fungoides and a thyroid carcinoma with lymph node involvement. Both tumors are now in complete remission 9 years after following a combined treatment with I‐131 (total dose 250 mCi). Conclusion: Further studies are needed to assess the role of I‐131 in the treatment of mycosis fungoides.
Leucocytoclastic vasculitis following nodular scabies
Authors: Mazzatenta Carlo , Fimiani Michele , Flori Laura , Andreassi Lucio 
Published: July 2006

AbstractWe describe the case of an 80‐year‐old man who came to our observation with a widespread form of nodular scabies. During therapy purpuric dermatitis developed and was diagnosed as leucocytoclastic vasculitis based on histological findings. Blood chemistry revealed raised levels of circulating immunocomplexes. We report this case because of the association of an unusual form of scabies with a complication only rarely associated with this disease.
Systemic treatment modalities in the management of AIDS‐related Kaposi's sarcoma
Authors: Hernàndez Dimas E. , Pérez José R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common neoplasm in patients with AIDS: in some cohorts of homosexual men with AIDS, the lifetime risk of KS approaches 50%. Prognosis is either ‘good risk’ or ‘poor risk’ according to recommended staging criteria.Objective In the present study we treated a good risk AIDS‐KS group of patients with low dose of alpha‐2 interferon (alpha‐21FN) plus AZT, and a poor risk AIDS‐KS group of patients with chemotherapy.Study design Prospective, non‐randomized trial.Subjects Forty‐four homosexual or bisexual male patients between 21 and 45 years old with positive ELISA for HIV, and KS, were included in the study.Intervention Ten patients received alpha‐2 1FN plus AZT, 12 bleomycin, 12 doxorubicin‐bleomycin‐vincristine (ABV), and ten patients did not receive treatment.Results One patient achieved complete remission, two partial remission (PR), six stable disease (SD) and one progression (P) during alpha‐2 IFN plus AZT treatment. Seven patients showed SD and five P during bleomycin treatment; and four patients achieved PR and eight SD during ABV treatment.Outcome Despite the fact that the different systemic treatment modalities employed allowed us to achieve clinical responses, there was no significant improvement in survival.
Lichen planus pemphigoides: another paraneoplastic bullous disease?
Authors: Stavropoulos P.O. , Leonforte J.F. , Gollnick H. , Bruckner‐Tuderman L. , Zouboulis Ch.C. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground Despite a long‐standing controversy regarding the classification of lichen planus associated with blistering, it seems likely today that bullous lichen planus and lichen planus pemphigoides are separate entities.Patients In this presentation two patients are described: a 56‐year‐old female with bullous lichen planus developed on persisting lesions over a period of I year and an 83‐year‐old female who developed lichen planus pemphigoides during the course of thyroid‐gland carcinoma.Conclusion Each of these two entities has its own clinical, histological. immunohistological, and immunobiochemical features. Also, the outcomes seem to be different since lesions of bullous lichen planus usually resolve after a rather short period of time: persistent lesions may possibly develop into squamous cell carcinoma. In contrast, lichen planus pemphigoides is likely to be a paraneoplastic disorder.
A survey of reactive oxygen species and their role in dermatology
Authors: Maccarrone Mauro , Catani Maria Valeria , Iraci Stefano , Melino Gerry , Agrò Alessandro Finazzi 
Published: July 2006

AbstractGeneral description It this paper we present a survey of the main reactive oxygen species (ROS). their biological sources and the array of antioxidant enzymes and antiradical molecules which constitutes the cellular detent; against ROS toxicity. We outline also the fundamentals of ROS biochemistry, in relation to the role of ROS in several human pathologies. Finally, we discuss with particular emphasis the involvement of ROS in dermatological diseases, highlighting the possible therapeutic application of antioxidants in skin care.Learning objective The reader will learn what ROS are, the identity of the anti‐ROS defensive system in human cells and the many fold roles of ROS in human physiopathology, and thus the potential application of antioxidants in clinical therapy.
Should all patients with dermatitis herpetiformis follow a gluten‐free diet?
Authors: Buckley D.A. , McDermott R. , O'Donoghue D. , Rogers S. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAim To assess the effect of a gluten‐free diet in Irish patients with dermatitis herpetiformis, and whether treatment with a gluten‐free diet is as important for patients with a normal small bowel biopsy us for those with villous atrophy.Background Though a gluten‐free diet is recommended in the management of dermatitis herpetiformis, many patients find it intolerably restrictive. To date we have recommended it only to patients with abnormal small bowel histology.Methods Forty patients with dermatitis herpetiformis who attended our clinic between 1979 and 1994 were studied retrospectively. Villous atrophy was present in 20 (64%) of 31 initial small bowel biopsies in patients not on a gluten‐free diet.Results The median time to a 50% reduction in dapsone requirements was 6 months in patients who followed a gluten‐free diet. (n = 14). 10.5 months in those who had a gluten‐reduced diet (n = 4) and 10.5 months in those who took a normal diet (n = 22). Four of 14 patients (29%) on a gluten‐free diet were able to discontinue medication in 1–5 years compared with 2 of 22 (9%) on a normal diet. The mean time to a 50% reduction in dapsone requirements was similar in patients with and without villous atrophy. 9.3 versus 9.0 months in patients on a gluten‐free diet and 12.0 versus 15.3 months in patients on a normal diet.Conclusion We conclude that a gluten‐free diet should be strongly encouraged in all dermatitis herpetiformis patients, since those with normal small bowel biopsy findings benefit equally from the diet as do those with villous atrophy.
Occult genital herpes presenting as an endometrial infection detected at delivery: a report of two cases
Authors: Aghazarian Saro , Nikkels Arjen , Grodos Jacques , Billet Paul , Thiry Albert , Piérard Gérald , Boniver Jacques , Delvenne Philippe 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground The prevalence and clinical implications of asymptomatic genital herpes remain elusive.Objective/aim We report two cases of clinically asymptomatic intracterine herpes simplex virus II (HSV‐II) infection in order in discuss their pathological significance and demonstrate the potential utility of specific DNA probes and antibodies.Methods Standard histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) were applied in formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissue sections of curettage specimens from women presenting decidualised fragments retention after normal delivery.Results Histological analysis revealed a focal clearing of endometrial epithelial cell nuclei, suggesting a viral etiology. ISH and IMC with different DNA probes or antibodies confirmed the diagnosis of HSV‐II infection at the lime of specimen collection. Clinical signs of muco‐cutancous involvement in the mothers and of neonatal HSV infection were not observed.Conclusion These findings suggest that intrauterine HSV‐II infection is not always associated with disease. The IHC and ISH methods can be helpful lo assess the diagnosis of HSV‐Il intrauterine infections in the presence of optically clear endometrial nuclei. Whether or not such HSV‐II occult infection may he associated with viral shedding and risk of sexual transmission was not evaluated in the present study.
A Materialist Theory of Women's Status
Authors: Flax Jane 
Published: July 2006

Women's position in society is determined by three interrelated factors: production, reproduction, and psychodynamics. A change in one area without changes in the others will not necessarily benefit women. It is important to develop a theory of how women's inferior status is maintained, so that the desired result can be obtained from a program or action. This paper is a contribution to such a theory. It offers a materialist explanation of women's status and explores the principles that should inform feminist theory and practice in relation to the restructuring of work. Due to the interrelated sources of women's status, feminist demands in relation to work must go beyond equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work. A Utopian future in which feminist values are fully integrated into social relations and institutions will be projected. The analysis, while informed by ideal principles, has practical implications and political consequences.
Eumelanin Causes DNA Strand Breaks and Kills Cells
Authors: HILL HELENE Z. , HILL GEORGE J. 
Published: July 2006

Synthetic eumelanin prepared by autooxidation of D,L‐DOPA causes DNA strand breaks, as determined by alkaline elution after cell lysis with detergent and proteolysis, in B16CL4 mouse melanoma cells. The melanin is toxic to the cells in the range of doses that causes strand breaks. When the melanin was incubated with the cells at 37°C in tissue culture medium, it was maximally effective after 15 to 20 min at causing strand breaks in the DNA. The extent of damage is concentration dependent, but the effect plateaus at 1 mg/ml. The nature of the interaction of the cellular DNA with melanin is consistent with strand breaks, not DNA‐DNA crosslinks. The strand break damage is repaired, even in the continued presence of melanin, but repair is more rapid if the cells are washed and the melanin is removed. The form of the melanin is important for obtaining the effect. Sonication for 3 min abrogates the effect to a considerable extent, and repeated cycles of sonication can completely destroy the activity. Lost activity returns slowly with storage at 4°C. Melanin is more effective at damaging DNA in a protein‐free medium. It is also DNA‐damaging at 4°C, but less so than at 37°C. Preliminary studies indicate that the strand breaks caused by melanin are additive with those caused by ionizing radiation.The extent of DNA strand breaks and alkali‐labile sites caused by several other melanins was also determined. Some melanins did not cause frank strand breaks, but were active in causing alkali‐labile sites. It is concluded that eumelanins are potentially genotoxic, and their protective effects in vivo must be possible by virtue of their chemical and physical relationships with other molecules and structures within the cell.
Ultraviolet Radiation Acts as an Independent Mitogen for Normal Human Melanocytes in Culture
Authors: LIBOW LESTER F. , SCHEIDE SARA , DeLeo VINCENT A. 
Published: July 2006

Identification of growth factors for normal human melanocytes has been significantly aided by the recent development of in vitro culture systems for this cell. Utilizing such a system, we studied the effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on both melanocyte growth and melanization by incorporation of 3H‐thymidine and 3H‐L‐dihydroxyphenyl‐alanine (3H‐DOPA), respectively. H‐thymidine incorporation was found to be significantly stimulated during the first 24 h following a single irradiation. 3H‐DOPA incorporation was stimulated after a delay of 2 days postirradiation.Whereas UVR has long been known to induce melanocyte proliferation in vivo, these studies show that UVR can act as a mitogenic stimulus for this cell independent of the cutaneous environment. UVR can thus be added to a growing list of growth factors for epidermal pigment cells and is the only physical agent conclusively shown to act as a mitogen. Included in this list are substances that act via stimulation of the CAMP‐kinase or protein kinase systems such as cholera toxin and phorbol esters. UVR is postulated to induce melanocyte proliferation by modulation of these second messenger pathways. With recent evidence linking growth factors, oncogenes and malignant transformation, this study supports the association between UVR exposure and the development of malignant melanoma, and suggests mechanisms whereby UVR may contribute to malignant transformation of this cell.
Regulation of Melanogenesis in Melanocytes
Authors: MOELLMANN GISELA , SLOMINSKI ANDRZEJ , KUKLINSKA ELIZABETH , LERNER AARON B. 
Published: July 2006

Melanogenesis refers to the biosynthesis of melanin pigment in pigment cells called melanocytes. Melanins are mixed biopolymers formed during a series of oxidation/reduction reactions that are initiated by the enzymatic hydroxylation of L‐tyrosine to L‐dopa. In living cells, melanogenesis is limited to melanosomes, the membrane bounded microscopic secretory granules of melanocytes. Melanosomes may be secreted into the environment as, for example, from the squid's ink gland; or be transferred to neighboring cells, such as the keratinocytes in human skin and hair; or they may remain within the pigment cell and change only their subcellular localization, as in the rapidly color‐changing dermis of lower vertebrates.Regulation of the melanocytic phenotype involves synthesis of the biosynthetically active subcellular apparatus of melanogenesis, premelanosomes and tyrosinase, and the utilization of the final product, melanized melanosomes, in the translocation and secretory processes mentioned above. Genetic information for this regulation is stored in the nuclear genome whose expression is controlled by the intra‐ and extracellular environment.As premelanosomes become biosynthetically active, they mature into melanosomes by fusing with vesicles derived from the trans‐Golgi network and the plasmalemma, thereby internalizing and incorporating contents and membrane components from inside the cell and the cell surface. In the process, melanosomes become acidified. The thesis pursued in this review explores the importance of the melanosome as the final common pathway of regulation of melanin biosynthesis.
The BULT Melanoma: A Spontaneous Transplantable Tumor in Mice
Authors: QUEVEDO WALTER C. , DYCKMAN JACOB , HALABAN RUTH , MOELLMANN GISELA E. , COWAN JANET M. , HOLSTEIN THOMAS J. 
Published: July 2006

The BULT melanoma originated at Brown University as a spontaneous, small black nodule on the tail of an adult female mouse of the LT/Ch strain. Histological examination of a portion of the tumor indicated that it was intradermal and consisted predominantly of heavily melanized, ovoid to fusiform cells with melanin‐laden macrophages scattered among them. The BULT melanoma has been maintained in LT/Ch mice for approximately 5 years by periodic transplantation, at first subcutaneously on the flanks and, more recently, intramuscularly in the hind legs. The shift in transplantation site was made following a marked decline in the growth of subcutaneous grafts.The transplants have retained the uniform deep‐black melanization and general histology of the primary melanoma. Numerous melanosomes at all stages of development are found within the melanoma cells. DOPA‐positive cytoplasmic vesicles are abundant. Occasional autophagic vacuoles containing clusters of melanosomes are also present. A few metastases from the transplanted melanoma have been observed in lymph nodes and on one occasion in the lungs. When grown in vitro, BULT melanoma cells do not require special growth promoting agents (e.g., TPA; cAMP) in order to proliferate. The BULT melanoma differs in one or more respects from each of the other three transplantable spontaneous mouse melanomas widely used in cancer research. In addition, it arose in a strain of mice characterized by the spontaneous death of melanocytes while the latter are engaged in synthesizing eumelanin within hair follicles.Karyotypic analysis of cultured cells showed a modal chromosome number of 68 with a range of 58–72 chromosomes.
Paradox of ras Oncogenes in Malignant Melanoma
Authors: ALBINO ANTHONY P. 
Published: July 2006

Our studies over the past several years have concentrated on the role of oncogenes in the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma. Our objectives have been i) to determine the status of oncogene and proto‐oncogene activation and expression during specific clinically defined stages of melanoma; ii) to determine if these genes are involved in the induction, maintenance, and/or metastatic potential of melanoma cells; iii) to decipher the relationship of neoplastic transformation to differentiation in this disease; and iv) to determine the nature and timing of specific events which disrupt the normal functioning of the melanocyte. The experiments are intended to test the concept that multiple, cooperating, independently activated oncogenes are involved in the evolution of malignant melanoma. The range of data we have accumulated to date suggests a definite, but complex, role for oncogenes in the development of melanoma and points to a probable interrelatedness of melanocyte‐melanoma cellular differentiation programs and the process of malignant transformation. Further, our research has detailed a specific sequence of transformation‐related biological and biochemical events occurring in vitro in the human melanocyte in response to ras oncogenes, and has generated information suggesting the presence of, as yet, undefined genetic elements in melanoma.Our work has evolved along a broad front, and we have analyzed the status of a large series of oncogenes in a range of melanomas and related tissues. However, in this brief review we will limit our focus to the ras gene family and discuss the data from my group and others which suggests not only a complex role for ras oncogenes in the etiology of melanoma but also a paradoxical one.
Antioxidant Enzymatic Systems in Pigment Tissue of Amphibia
Authors: GEREMIA ERNESTO , CORSARO CONCETTA , BARATTA DANIELA , SANTORO CARMEN , SCALIA MARINA , SICHEL GIOVANNI 
Published: July 2006

Superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activities in pigmented and unpigmented liver tissues of frog and albino rat, respectively, were studied.Our results show that pigmented tissue is lacking in manganese superoxide dismutase activity and that the main enzymatic activity utilized in the cytosol by pigmented cells to reduce the hydrogen peroxide to water is represented by catalase; on the contrary, for the same reaction, the cells of albino rat liver primarily utilize the glutathione peroxidase activity. Both a low glutathione peroxidase activity and a low glutathione reductase activity were found in pigmented tissue of frog liver when compared with unpigmented tissue of rat liver.In light of our results, we also report a hypothetical interrelationship between melanin and reduced glutathione: We believe that in pigmented cells the melanin could act as a reducing physiological agent replacing the glutathione in the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. This reducing action of melanin could cause a diminished need for GSH and therefore could provoke the low glutathione peroxidase and reductase activities in pigmented tissue.
NMR Studies of Melanins: Characterization of a Soluble Melanin Free Acid From Sepia Ink
Authors: AIME SILVIO , FASANO MAURO , TERRENO ENZO , GROOMBRIDGE CHRISTOPHER J. 
Published: July 2006

This paper deals with the nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of a soluble derivative (melanin free acid) of Sepia melanin obtained by a peroxidative treatment of the parent (insoluble) species. High resolution 13C and 15N solid state NMR spectroscopies allow the assessment of the chemical changes occurring in the macromolecule upon solubilization. 1H and 13C NMR solution spectra are discussed in light of the results obtained from the solid state spectra.Furthermore, the coordination properties of melanin have been investigated through 27Al NMR spectroscopy and proton relaxation enhancement studies of the paramagnetic gadolinium complex of melanin free acid. Through these experiments it has been possible to evaluate the molecular reorientational time τR (and from it an estimated molecular weight close to 20 KDa) and the strength of the metal‐macromolecule interaction.