Lepra dimorfa lepromatosa conyugal / Lepromatous dimorphic leprosy in spouses

Leprosy is a contagious, chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The immune response of the host to this bacillus is variable, determining different clinical forms of the same disease. Between the Lepromatous and Tuberculoid spectra, both stable clinical forms, the Dimorfo type can be presented, with great immunological instability, determining clinical characteristics, according to the pole to which most approaches. Leproatous dimorphic leprosy is characterized by brwn and violet macules, large number of lesions and less definition at its edges, variable sizes and alteration of sensitivity. Conjugal leprosy occurs in very few cases, knowing that intimate contaqct for a long time is an important factor, but has also demonstrated the fundamental role of immunity and genetics to acquire and develop the disease. We present two cases of lepromatous dimorphic leprosy in spouses, with 20 years of cohabitation, in which the same clinical presentation was found. Ths is an infrequent fact, given the low infectivity of the pathogen and the multiple varieties that could occur.

Pénfigo paraneoplásico asociado a leucemia linfocítica crónica / PARANEOPLASTIC PENPHIGUS ASSOCIATED TO CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA

El pénfigo paraneoplásico es una dermatosis ampollar autoimmune asociada a un proceso neoplásico, conocido previamente o no. Se presenta con mayor frecuencia en hombres, entre los 45 y 70 años, pero también puede manifestarse en niños. La clínica es polimorfa. Existen 5 variantes posibles: pénfigo símil, penfigoide ampollar símil, eritema multiforme símil, enfermedad de injerto contra huésped símil y liquen plano símil. Todas ellas comparten una característica en común: la estomatitis severa, dolorosa, progresiva y refractaria a los tratamientos convencionales, que obliga a descartar esta enfermedad. Si bien los antígenos involucrados en su fisiopatogenia son múltiples, la detección de anticuerpos Ig G anti envoplaquina y anti periplaquina constituye el método de diagnóstico más específico. En la actualidad se utilizan los criterios de diagnóstico de Camisa y Helm, que se basan en hallazgos clínicos (erupción mucocutánea polimorfa), histológicos (acantolisis) e inmunohistoquímicos (inmunofluorescencia directa, indirecta e inmunoprecipitación positivas). El abordaje de esta enfermedad debe considerar dos aspectos: el tratamiento del pénfigo en sí y el de la neoplasia asociada, que puede ser benigna (raro) o maligna (con mayor frecuencia). El pronóstico es severo (mortalidad del 75-90%) y en la mayoría de los casos la causa de muerte depende de las complicaciones de la enfermedad, como sepsis y bronquiolitis obliterante. Se presenta un paciente varón de 67 años con PPN asociado a Leucemia Linfocítica Crónica que respondió satisfactoriamente al tratamiento instaurado (meprednisona + quimioterapia con fludarabina, ciclofosfamida y rituximab) y no presentó recidiva a más de 2 años de seguimiento interdisciplinario.

Paraneoplastic pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disease associated with neoplasms, previously known or not. It occurs most often in men, between 45-70 years, but can also manifest in children. The clinic is polymorphic. There are 5 possible variants: pemphigus-like, bullous pemphigoid-like, erythema multiforme-like, graft versus host disease-like and lichen planus-like. All of them share a common characteristic: a severe, painful, progressive and refractory to conventional treatments stomatitis, which forces us to rule out this disease. Although the antigens involved in its physiopathogenesis are multiple, the detection of anti-envoplakin and anti-periplakin IgG antibodies constitutes the most specific diagnostic method. At present, the diagnostic criteria of Camisa and Helm are used, which are based on clinical (polymorphic mucocutaneous eruption), histological (acantholysis) and immunohistochemical findings (direct and indirect immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation positive). The approach to this disease must consider two aspects: treatment of the pemphigus as well as the associated neoplasm, which can be benign (rare) or malignant (more frequently). The prognosis is severe (mortality of 75-90%) and in most cases the cause of death depends on the complications of the disease, such as sepsis and bronchiolitis obliterans. We present a 67-year-old male patient with PPN associated with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia who responded satisfactorily to the established therapy (meprednisone + chemotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab) and did not present recurrence after more than two years of interdisciplinary follow-up.