Balanite plasmocitária de Zoon: relato de dois casos tratados com pimecrolimo / Zoon's plasma cell balanitis: a report of two cases treated with pimecrolimus

Inicialmente, denominada "Balanoposthite chronique circonscrite benigne a plasmocytes", a balanite plasmocitária de Zoon é uma dermatose inflamatória crônica da glande e prepúcio afetando homens não circuncisados. As diferentes opções de tratamento para esta afecção apresentam frequentemente resultados parciais. Relatos têm demonstrado sucesso terapêutico, com o uso de tacrolimo tópico. Relatamos o uso de pimecrolimus, um homólogo de tacrolimo, com boa resposta. Dois doentes do sexo masculino, com diagnóstico de Balanite de Zoon confirmado através de biópsia, foram submetidos a um tratamento diário com pimecrolimus tópico a 1 por cento, com importante melhora da doença após 6 semanas para o paciente, 1 e 8 semanas para o 2. Conclusão: O pimecrolimus em creme pode ser uma opção para o tratamento da doença.

Initially called (in French) "Balanoposthite chronique circonscrite benigne a plasmocytes", Zoon's plasma cell balanitis is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis affecting the glans and foreskin of uncircumcised men. The different treatment options for this condition often present partial results. Reports have shown therapeutic success using topical tacrolimus. We report the use of pimecrolimus, a homologue of tacrolimus, with good response. Two male patients diagnosed with Zoon's plasma cell balanitis, confirmed by biopsy, were subjected to daily treatment with topical pimecrolimus1 percent. Significant improvement was noted in patient 1 after 6 weeks and after 8 weeks in patient 2. Conclusion: Pimecrolimus cream may be an option for the treatment of this disease.

Familial benign chronic pemphigus (Hailey-Hailey Disease): use of topical immunomodulators as a modern treatment option / Pénfigo familiar crónico benigno: Informe de un caso

Benign chronic familial pemphigus (Hailey-Hailey disease) is a rare autosomal dominant blistering skin disorder characterized by suprabasal cell separation (acantholysis) of the epidermis. The Hailey brothers first described it in 1939. Hailey-Hailey disease usually appears in the third or fourth decade, although it can occur at any age. Heat, sweating and friction often exacerbates the disease, and most patients have worse symptoms during summer. It is characterized clinically by a recurrent eruption of vesicles and bullae at the sites of friction and intertriginous areas. We report a 51-year-old male presenting with grey-brown hyperkeratosis with partial papillomatosis and lichenification in the axillary and inguinal areas and infiltrated erythematous lesions in the infraorbitary region, on the side of the face. Biopsies obtained from inguinal and axillar areas revealed parakeratotic crusts overlying an acantholytic epidermis. A biopsy from one of the lesions from the infraorbital area showed a Jessner-Kanof lymphocytic infiltration. The patient was treated with antimicrobials and four days later, topical Pimecrolimus was started, leading to an improvement of the clinical picture. The efficacy of Pimecrolimus in our case suggests that cellular immunity couldplay a role in thepathogenesis of Hailey-Hailey disease.

Death switch for gene therapy: application to erythropoietin transgene expression

The effectiveness of the caspase-9-based artificial "death switch" as a safety measure for gene therapy based on the erythropoietin (Epo) hormone was tested in vitro and in vivo using the chemical inducer of dimerization, AP20187. Plasmids encoding the dimeric murine Epo, the tetracycline-controlled transactivator and inducible caspase 9 (ptet-mEpoD, ptet-tTAk and pSH1/Sn-E-Fv’-Fvls-casp9-E, respectively) were used in this study. AP20187 induced apoptosis of iCasp9-modified C2C12 myoblasts. In vivo, two groups of male C57BI/6 mice, 8-12 weeks old, were injected intramuscularly with 5 µg/50 g ptet-mEpoD and 0.5 µg/50 g ptet-tTAk. There were 20 animals in group 1 and 36 animals in group 2. Animals from group 2 were also injected with the 6 µg/50 g iCasp9 plasmid. Seventy percent of the animals showed an increase in hematocrit of more than 65 percent for more than 15 weeks. AP20187 administration significantly reduced hematocrit and plasma Epo levels in 30 percent of the animals belonging to group 2. TUNEL-positive cells were detected in the muscle of at least 50 percent of the animals treated with AP20187. Doxycycline administration was efficient in controlling Epo secretion in both groups. We conclude that inducible caspase 9 did not interfere with gene transfer, gene expression or tetracycline control and may be used as a safety mechanism for gene therapy. However, more studies are necessary to improve the efficacy of this technique, for example, the use of lentivirus vector.

Treatment of Facial Seborrheic Dermatitis with Pimecrolimus Cream 1%: An Open-Label Clinical Study in Korean Patients

Pimecrolimus cream 1% has shown to be effective in patients with a variety of inflammatory cutaneous disorders. And it might be a useful modality in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis. This prospective study was aimed at assessing the efficacy and tolerability of pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of facial seborrheic dermatitis. Twenty patients were instructed to apply pimecrolimus cream 1% for 4 consecutive weeks. Assessment of the disease severity was performed at baseline and at week 1, 2, and 4. Clinical assessments of erythema, scaling, and pruritus were measured using a 4-point scale (0-3). Global assessments of the disease severity by patients and investigators were performed at each visit. Mean clinical scores of erythema, scaling, and pruritus significantly improved by 87.4%, 91.9%, and 91.5% respectively at week 4 (p<0.001). Improvements in the global assessment of disease severity determined by patients and investigators also showed excellent results. No specific adverse events other than transient burning and tingling sensations were noted. The relapse of facial seborrheic dermatitis was mostly observed between 3 to 8 weeks after the discontinuation of pimecrolimus. We suggest that the topical application of pimecrolimus cream 1% can be an effective and safe alternative for treatment of facial seborrheic dermatitis.

Successful treatment of chronic persistant vesicular hand dermatitis with topical pimecrolimus

Hand dermatitis is a common chronic skin condition that has many clinical forms including contact, hyperkeratotic, frictional, nummular, atopic, pompholyx and chronic vesicular hand dermatitis. Topical steroids are the first line agents used. Here, we report the successful response to topical pimecrolimus 1% cream in a patient with steroid resistant chronic vesicular hand dermatitis

Induction of fibronectin gene expression by inhibitors of protein phosphatase type 2B in normal and transformed fibroblasts

Two intracellular signal pathways mediated by cAMP and protein kinase C (PKC) were involved in the regulation of FN gene expression (Lee et al., Exp. Mol. Med. 30: 240, 1998). In this study, a possible involvement of protein phosphatase-dependent pathways in the regulation of FN gene expression was investigated by using protein phosphatase type 2B (PP2B) inhibitors, cyclosporin A and ascomycin. Both cyclosporin A and ascomycin increased the levels of FN mRNA in WI-38 human lung fibroblasts and the SV40-transformed WI-38 cells but not in MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts. The expression of FN appears to increase from six hours up to 48 hours after treatment suggesting that it is not an immediate effect. In addition, this effect required a new protein synthesis. Neither cyclosporin A nor ascomycin affects the phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced stimulation of FN gene expression and the same result occurred in vice versa suggesting the mechanism of PMA and cyclosporin A/ascomycin in the regulation of FN gene expression may share a common downstream pathway. Taken together, this study suggests that PP2B is involved in the regulation of FN gene expression in normal and transformed fibroblasts but not in osteoblasts.