A Case of Flexural Psoriasis after Wearing a Diving Suit - Para-phenylenediamine-induced Psoriasis - / 대한피부과학회지

It has been postulated that environmental factors, such as mechanical and sun injury, psychological stress, drugs, and infection, may play an important part in the development of psoriasis. The clinical picture and course in certain psoriatic patients, particularly in the palmo-plantar psoriasis and inverse or flexural psoriasis, may suggest involvement of an underlying trigger in the form of an irritant or a contact allergen. We report a case of flexural psoriasis in a 15-year-old man who had whitish scaly patches on the erythematous base on the inner aspects of the thighs and the buttocks including the inguinal areas and the perianal areas. The skin lesions had developed two days after wearing a diving suit overnight. The histopathological features were typical for psoriasis. The positive material by Korean standard patch test was p-phenylenediamine, i.e the ingredients of a diving suit. Therefore, our case strongly suggests involvement of an underlying trigger in the form of a contact allergen.

Neonatal Lupus Erythematosus / 대한피부과학회지

Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is a transplacentally acquired autoimmune disorder, which is characterized by cutaneous lesions and/or congenital heart block and less commonly hepatic and hematologic abnormalities. Affected infants acquire anti-SSA/Ro antibody, anti-SSB/La antibody or less commonly anti-U1RNP antibody transplacentally from maternal circulation and it is generally thought that these antibodies are pathogenic. We report a case of NLE in a 40-day-old neonate who had erythematous annular patches on his face and extremities. Serological studies were reactive for antinuclear antibody of the speckled pattern and positive for anti-SSA/Ro antibodies and anti-SSB/La antibodies in both mother and infant. Addition to these findings, his mother had complained photosensitivity and arthralgia and showed hematological abnormalities including anemia and leukopenia, so we diagnosed his mother as systemic lupus erythematosus.

A Case of Lichen Nitidus Coexisted with Molluscum Contagiosum / 대한피부과학회지

Lichen nitidus is an uncommon chronic dermatosis characterized by its typical clinical and histopathologic findings and has rarely been described in association with other diseases. We observed a patient with an association of lichen nitidus and molluscum contagiosum, which to the best of our knowledge has not been previously reported in the literature. It remains to be further studied about a possible pathogenesis of lichen nitidus secondary to some viral infections such as molluscum contagiosum, etc.

Statistical Analysis of Herpes Zoster in Chuncheon and the Northern Kangwon province ( 1994-1996 ) / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Herpes zoster is a relatively common dermatological disease and there have been several reports on the epidemiological study of herpes zoster in Korea. However there has not been any report on the epidemiology of herpes zoster in Chuncheon and the Northern Kangwon Province. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the epidemiological characteristics of herpes zoster in Chuncheon and the Northern Kangwon Province. METHODS: The authors evaluated about 461 cases of herpes zoster with retrospective methods with regard to annual, monthly and seasonal incidences, age, sex ratio, associated conditions, anatomical distribution and complications at the department of dermatology in Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University during a 3-Year-Period from Jan. 1994 to Dec. 1996. RESULTS: The annual incidence of herpes zoster in new patients from our dermatology clinic ranged from 4.3% to 4.8%(mean 4.5%), and the ratio of male to female was 1:1.12. The peak incidence of monthly and seasonal analysis was in December and in the Fall. The majority of cases occurred most frequently over the 6th decade. The most common anatomical distribution of herpes zoster inpatients(211 cases) was thoracic dermatome(52.9%), followed by the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve(17.0%), cervical(13.6%), lumbar(6.3%), sacral(4.4%), maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve(3.9%) and two different dermatomes (2.8%). Associated conditions of herpes zoster inpatients(211 cases) were observed in 108 patients (51.2%); hypertension(31.9%), gastritis(15.1%), diabetes mellitus(11.8%), hepatitis(9.2%), malignancy (8.4%), tuberculosis(4.2%), and so on. The complications including postherpetic neuralgia were observed in 58 patients(27.5%) and were common after the age of 50 years. The rnost common complication of herpes zoster inpatients(211 cases) was postherpetic neuralgia(14.7%), followed by ophthalmologic complications(8.1%), secondary bacterial infections(1.4%), neurogenic bladder(1.4%), otologic complications(0.9%), and so on. CONCLUSION: Most of the other results of our study were similar in comparison with reports from other regions in Korea, except for a higher annual incidence and significant differences in the monthly incidence. These differences reflected the regional characteristics of medical service delivery systems in Chuncheon and the Northern Kangwon Province.

A Case of Multiple Lentigines Syndrome

The multiple lentigines syndrome or LEOPARD syndrome is an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder with a variety of abnormalities and a familial occurrence. This syndrome is characterized by the presence of numerous dark brown macules on the skin but not the mucous surface, and by a marked increase in the number of lentigines from birth to puberty. The eponym LEOPARD stands for lentigines, EKG abnormalities, ocular hypertelorism, pulmonary stenosis, abnormalities of the genitalia, retardation of growth and deafness. We report a case of multiple lentigines syndrome in 7-year-old boy. He had numerous pinhead to pea sized, dark brownish macules scattered on the entire body and also had pulmonary stenosis, EKG abnormality, ocular hypertelorism and right exotropia. Interestingly, he also had a labial melanotic macule on the lower lip, which is usually spared in the multiple lentigines syndrome. Histologically, the biopsy specimen taken from the macule revealed an elongation of rete ridges, an increase of melanin pigments in the basal layer and mild inflammatory infiltrates intermingled with the melanophages in the upper dermis.