The importance of direct immunofluorescence in pemphigus herpetiformis diagnosis

Abstract Pemphigus herpetiformis is an autoimmune bullous disease, that combines clinical features of dermatitis herpetiformis and linear IgA bullous dermatosis and immunological characteristics of pemphigus, which makes this disease peculiar and this diagnosis rarely suspected in the first evaluation of the patient. The reported case is of a patient with clinically bullous disease similar to dermatitis herpetiformis, whose multiple biopsies were inconclusive, and only after direct immunofluorescence with a pemphigus pattern (intraepidermal intercellular pattern) the confirmation of the diagnosis was possible.

Multiple cutaneous melanomas associated with gastric and brain metastases

Abstract The occurrence of multiple primary melanomas in a single individual is rare. Most commonly, malignant melanocytic lesions subsequent to the initial diagnosis of melanoma are secondary cutaneous metastases. We report a patient with gastrointestinal bleeding from gastric metastasis of cutaneous melanoma. During clinical evaluation and staging, we discovered a brain metastasis associated with 3 synchronous primary cutaneous melanomas. We suggest the research on the mutation in the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) (INK4a) in such cases. We also emphasize the importance of clinical examination and dermoscopy of the entire tegument, even after a malignant melanocytic lesion is identified.

Histiocytoid Sweet's syndrome presenting with annular erythematous plaques

Abstract Histiocytoid Sweet's Syndrome is a rare inflammatory disease described in 2005 as a variant of the classical Sweet's Syndrome (SS). Histopathologically, the dermal inflammatory infiltrate is composed mainly of mononuclear cells that have a histiocytic appearance and represent immature myeloid cells. We describe a case of Histiocytoid Sweet's Syndrome in an 18-year-old man. Although this patient had clinical manifestations compatible with SS, the cutaneous lesions consisted of erythematous annular plaques, which are not typical for this entity and have not been described in histiocytic form so far. The histiocytic subtype was confirmed by histopathological analysis that showed positivity for myeloperoxidase in multiple cells with histiocytic appearance.

Contoured technique for lentigo maligna

The surgical approach to lentigo maligna is a challenge to dermatologists, given the difficulty of clinical delimitation of borders. We report here a case of a 69-year-old female patient presenting with brownish macules on her face, since 10 years ago, with histopathological diagnosis of lentigo maligna. The surgical management employed was excision of visible borders with the contoured technique and immediate submission of these borders for histopathological analysis before complete excision of the tumor. This technique is a variant of staged excision, with lower rates of recurrence and acceptable aesthetic results.

Primary systemic amyloidosis, acquired cutis laxa and cutaneous mucinosis in a patient with multiple myeloma / Amiloidose sistemica primaria, cutis laxa adquirida e mucinose cutanea em paciente com mieloma multiplo

A 57-year-old woman presented with periorbital ecchymoses, laxity in skin folds, polyneuropathy and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. A skin biopsy of the axillary lesion demonstrated fragmentation of elastic fibers, but with a negative von Kossa stain, consistent with cutis laxa. The diagnosis of primary systemic amyloidosis was made by the presence of amyloid material in the eyelid using histopathological techniques, besides this, the patient was also diagnosed with purpura, polyneuropathy, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and monoclonal gammopathy. She was diagnosed as suffering from multiple myeloma based on the finding of 40% plasma cells in the bone marrow, component M in the urine and anemia. The patient developed blisters with a clear content, confirmed as mucinosis by the histopathological exam. The final diagnoses were: primary systemic amyloidosis, acquired cutis laxa and mucinosis, all related to multiple myeloma.

Mulher de 57 anos, com equimose periorbitária, frouxidão cutânea nas dobras, polineuropatia e síndrome do túnel do carpo bilateral.O exame histopatológico da lesão axilar revelou fragmentação de fibras elásticas, porém a coloração de von Kossa foi negativa;o diagnóstico foi de cútis laxa. Amiloidose sistêmica primária foi confirmada pela presença de material amilóide no exame histopatológico da pálpebra, além de púrpura, polineuropatia, síndrome do túnel do carpo bilateral e gamopatia monoclonal. Foi diagnosticada como portadora de mieloma múltiplo por apresentar 40% de plasmócitos na medula óssea, componente M urinário e anemia. A paciente evoluiu com bolhas de conteúdo citrino, cujo exame histopatológico mostrou mucinose. Os diagnósticos finais foram: amiloidose sistêmica primária, cútis laxa adquirida e mucinose, todos vinculados ao mieloma múltiplo.

Genotyping of human parvovirus B19 in clinical samples from Brazil and Paraguay using heteroduplex mobility assay, single-stranded conformation polymorphism and nucleotide sequencing

Heteroduplex mobility assay, single-stranded conformation polymorphism and nucleotide sequencing were utilised to genotype human parvovirus B19 samples from Brazil and Paraguay. Ninety-seven serum samples were collected from individuals presenting with abortion or erythema infectiosum, arthropathies, severe anaemia and transient aplastic crisis; two additional skin samples were collected by biopsy. After the procedure, all clinical samples were classified as genotype 1.