Histopathological analysis of skin biopsies in a tertiary care setting

Objective: To determine the spectrum and frequency of skin diseases on the basis of histopathology

Methods: 152 skin biopsy specimens were received during a period of one year. They were processed routinely and findings recorded. Relevant demographic data as well as clinical findings were also noted. After diagnosis, the cases were divided into seven groups, viz, eczema-dermatitis, papulosquamous disorders, infectious disorders, blistering disorders, neoplastic lesions, degenerative diseases and miscellaneous lesions. Results were analyzed using percentage frequencies, Fischer's exact test and student's t test as appropriate

Results: The age range of patients was 5-81 years with mean being 37.59 +/- 17 years. Majority of biopsies were from male patients [55.3%]. Papulosquamous disorders were the most common group with a frequency of 46.7%. Second most frequent skin disease groups were eczema -dermatitis and blistering disorders, each accounting for 12.5 % of all biopsies. Neoplastic lesions constituted 10.5% of the lesions, with benign and malignant lesions presenting at the average ages of 47 and 43 years respectively

Conclusion: The average age at presentation was close to that reported by other researchers from this region. The greater number of male patients is at variance from most other reported studies. The difference was statistically highly significant [p=0.0031]. The frequency of different diagnostic groups was unique in some respects and conformed to other studies in others. The most striking was the statistically significant difference in age of presentation of patients with malignant neoplasms. This highlights the need to raise awareness in public about the possible precautionary measures that need to be taken, in this region with high levels of exposure to sunlight

Shabbir syndrome: a case report and review of its genetic basis

Shabbir syndrome is a rare, progressive, multisystem disorder with an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. It mainly afflicts children from Punjabi Muslim families of Pakistan and India. The genetic anomaly has been mapped as a mutation in LAMA3 gene on chromosome 18q 11.2

A 17-year-old male presented to us with history of recurrent skin ulcers, nail dystrophy andlaryngeal obstruction. Fresh ulcers, older crusted ulcers and cicatrisation in his head and neck area were strikingly obvious. Skin biopsy was submitted and revealed characteristic exuberant granulation tissue with a mixed acute and chronic cell infiltrate. Other features are also described. LAMA3 gene is responsible for the production of laminin a3 which is one of the three components of laminin, a heterotrimeric. Laminin is an important part of the cell membrane and extends into the dermis. Its presence is a signal to the dermis that the basement membrane is intact and the production of granulation tissue is kept in check. Abnormal laminin fails to do it resulting in excessive, undesirable granulation tissue production. Understanding this feedback mechanism may enable us to control the production of granulation tissue in Shabbir syndrome as well as other diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and chronic venous ulcers

relative frequency and histopathological pattern of ovarian masses

Ovarian tumours are one of the major causes of gynaecological problems in females and present marked variation in their histological types. Relative frequency of these lesions is different for Western and Asian countries. This study was designed to find out frequency of various histological patterns of ovarian tumors in patients attending Pathology Department of a teaching institute in Lahore. A retrospective case - series study was conducted on 212 cases of ovarian masses, reported from January 2007 to December 2010. Mean age of the subjects was 35.6 years, ranging from 4 to 80 years. In a total of 212 cases of ovarian masses, 85 [40.09%] were non-neoplastic and 127 [59.91%] were neoplastic. Among neoplastic lesions, 64.57% [82/127] were benign and 35.43% [45/127] were malignant. The commonest non-neoplastic lesion was luteal cyst [38/85] followed by simple serous cyst [30/85]. The commonest benign tumour was dermoid cyst [31/82] followed by serous cystadenoms [20/82]. The commonest malignant tumour was serous cystadenocarcinoma [11/45] followed by mucinous cystadenocarcinomama [9/45]. Neoplastic lesions were more common than non-neoplastic lesions, while benign tumours outnumbered the malignant ones. The commonest benign tumour was dermoid cyst and malignant was serous cystadenocarcinoma. The commonest non-neoplastic lesion was luteal cyst. Among histological types of ovarian tumours, surface epithelial tumours dominated the other types