Irritant dermatitis and postinflammatory depigmentation following application of 'sexual massage oils' - a case report

There has been a new hard selling product in the Southeast Asian market - the so called 'sex massage oil'. A variety of such preparations are available freely and are claimed to have sexaugmenting properties. Various effects are claimed upon usage, ranging from enlargement of the male organ to substantial increases in intercourse time. Also is claimed, that, these products being 'herbal' have no side effects. These attractively packaged oils are sold over the counter in large volumes to the unsuspecting public. We present here a case of a young man who suffered from chronic irritant dermatitis from usage of the same. We believe this to be the first case report where irritant dermatitis had resulted from usage of such 'sex massage oils'

Segmental neurofibromatosis: report of two cases of this rare entity and brief review of the literature

Neurofibromatosis [NF] is a group of rare genetic disorder of neural crest derived cells of which neurofibromatosis type-1 is the most common. Riccardi classified NF into eight subtypes [NF-I to NF-VIII], of which NF-V is segmental neurofibromatosis [SNF]. SNF is rare and facial involvement is even rarer. A 52-year-old man presented with complaints of numerous swellings on the right side of his face for the last 20 years. On examination, there were many papules and papulo-nodules only on the right cheek. The swellings were non-tender, firm on palpation and measured from 3 mm to 12 mm in diameter. A biopsy was taken from one of the nodules; the slide revealed non-encapsulated but well circumscribed proliferation of spindle cells with wavy, buckled nuclei arranged in wavy fascicles in myxoid background. This case of facial SNF is described not only for its extreme rarity, but also as an important differential diagnosis for facial tumor-like papules. We have also reviewed the literature briefly

Leucocytosis in a case of Lung Cancer: Infection or Paraneoplastic Syndrome? - Dilemma in Diagnosis and Treatment

A 65 year old male smoker was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of upper lobe of the right lung complicated with Horner’s syndrome and gradually increasing leucocytosis. Alhough the inflammatory biomarker level in serum was low, there was no definite way to determine the cause of the leucocytosis (whether infection or hematologic paraneoplastic syndrome). After empirical antibiotic therapy, his fever subsided but the leucocytosis persisted. It was difficult for us to take a decision regarding the priority of the treatment of infection or the lung cancer. Only after the first cycle chemotherapy, did the leucocytosis rapidly drop down. Normal serum procalcitonin level and quick response to chemotherapy indicated that leucocytosis was a manifestation of paraneoplastic syndrome. Treating the underlying cancer is the first step.