Original Method to Repigment Achromic Laser Tattoo Removal Scars.

Laser tattoo removal is expensive, painful, and time-consuming. Even with the use of the right laser equipment, it is often impossible to eliminate all pigments. Incomplete tattoo removal, one of the undesired effects of laser treatment, is widely disseminated in the media and accepted by most patients. However, few patients know that laser tattoo removal can cause permanent scars. Some patients who develop achromic scars can feel disappointed with the results of laser tattoo removal and take legal action against the physician responsible for the treatment. This paper describes our experience with a drug delivery treatment called MMP® ("Microinfusão de Medicamentos na Pele," Portuguese acronym for "Microinfusion of Drugs in the Skin") that repigments and improves the final esthetic results of achromic laser tattoo removal scars.

Acquired Lipodystrophy Associated With Nivolumab in a Patient With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma.

CONTEXT: Lipodystrophy syndromes are rare disorders characterized by the selective loss of adipose tissue. We aimed to report a case of acquired generalized lipodystrophy possibly associated with nivolumab. CASE DESCRIPTION: A woman was referred to our Endocrinology Department for uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. At 50 years of age, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after a routine laboratory test and her diabetes was well controlled with low doses of metformin. In 2010, she was diagnosed with clear cell renal carcinoma. The cancer progressed in the following years, leading to the initiation of treatment with nivolumab in 2017. Two months later she presented with facial lipoatrophy, with loss of the buccal fat pads and prominent zygomatic arch. Her neck, shoulders, arms, and buttocks were also affected. Her diabetes control worsened. She received maximal doses of metformin and pioglitazone and was administered 1.5 units/kg/d insulin. Subcutaneous biopsy of medial surface of the arm revealed chronic lobular panniculitis. Despite nivolumab's possible involvement in the onset of lipodystrophy, the maintenance of nivolumab therapy was justified by the observed reduction in the progression of the cancer, combined with the lack of an alternative chemotherapy. The therapy was withdrawn after 8 months of treatment because of grade 3 hepatitis. CONCLUSION: Anti-PD1 therapy has great potential. Early recognition of the onset of unusual collateral effects is important to improve decision making regarding the treatment of patients with tumors.

Nail Apparatus Melanoma: Experience of 10 Years in a Single Institution.

BACKGROUND: Nail apparatus melanoma (NAM) is rare. The higher mortality reported in the literature is most likely due to advanced disease associated with delayed diagnosis and treatment. OBJECTIVE: All patients diagnosed with NAM were followed at a single reference center during a period of 10 years, with emphasis on dermatological and histological findings. Clinical outcomes were included. METHODS: A retrospective review of medical records, photographs, and histopathological examination. RESULTS: 73.7% of the patients were female and their mean age was 47 years. Caucasian and African-American patients had a similar incidence (47.4%). There was only 1 Asian patient in this study (5.3%). All patients presented with nail plate pigmentation. The mean prediagnosis duration was 33 months. A total of 63.2% patients had in situ melanoma and an average Breslow index of 2.18 mm in invasive cases. Fifteen patients underwent conservative surgery and 3 underwent phalanx amputation. All patients survived, and 4 have had more than a 5-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: In situ lesions showed longitudinal bands or total melanonychia with no nail dystrophy. Invasive cases presented with dystrophic lesions (longitudinal splitting of the nail). Conservative surgery provides a good option without worsening the prognosis. All dermatologists should be aware of early signs of NAM, since prognosis depends on early treatment.

Immunofluorescence testing in the diagnosis of autoimmune blistering diseases: overview of 10-year experience

BACKGROUND: Immunofluorescence testing is an important tool for diagnosing blistering diseases. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the immunofluorescence findings in patients diagnosed with autoimmune blistering skin diseases. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed immunofluorescence results encompassing a 10-year period. RESULTS: 421 patients were included and divided into 2 groups: group 1- intraepidermal blistering diseases (n=277) and 2- subepidermal blistering diseases (n=144). For group 1, positive DIF findings demonstrated: predominance of IgG intercellular staining (ICS) and C3 for pemphigus foliaceus-PF (94% and 73% respectively), pemphigus vulgaris-PV (91.5%-79.5%) and paraneoplastic pemphigus-PNP (66%-33%); ICS IgA in 100% of IgA pemphigus cases, and IgG deposits in the basement membrane zone (BMZ) along with ICS in one Hailey-Hailey patient. The IIF findings revealed mean titers of 1:2.560 for PV and 1:1.280 for PF. For paraneoplastic pemphigus, IIF was positive in 2 out of 3 cases with rat bladder substrate. In group 2, positive DIF findings included multiple deposits at basement membrane zone for epidermolysis bullosa acquisita-EBA (C3-89%,IgG-79%,IgA-47%,IgM-21%) mucous membrane pemphigoid-MMP (C3,IgG,IgA,IgM-80%) and bullous pemphigoid-BP (C3-91%,IgG-39%,IgA-11%,IgM-6%), and IgA at basement membrane zone for IgA linear disease (99%) and dermatitis herpetiformis-DH (dermal papillae in 84.6%). For lichen planus pemphigoides, there was C3 (100%) and IgG (50%) deposition at basement membrane zone. indirect immunofluorescence positive findings revealed basement membrane zone IgG deposits in 46% of BP patients, 50% for EBA, 15% for IgA linear dermatosis and 50% for LPP. Indirect immunofluorescence positive results were higher for BP and EBA with Salt-Split skin substrate. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed the importance of immunofluorescence assays in diagnosing autoimmune blistering diseases, and higher sensitivity for indirect ...

Immunofluorescence testing in the diagnosis of autoimmune blistering diseases: overview of 10-year experience.

BACKGROUND: Immunofluorescence testing is an important tool for diagnosing blistering diseases. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the immunofluorescence findings in patients diagnosed with autoimmune blistering skin diseases. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed immunofluorescence results encompassing a 10-year period. RESULTS: 421 patients were included and divided into 2 groups: group 1- intraepidermal blistering diseases (n=277) and 2- subepidermal blistering diseases (n=144). For group 1, positive DIF findings demonstrated: predominance of IgG intercellular staining (ICS) and C3 for pemphigus foliaceus-PF (94% and 73% respectively), pemphigus vulgaris-PV (91.5%-79.5%) and paraneoplastic pemphigus-PNP (66%-33%); ICS IgA in 100% of IgA pemphigus cases, and IgG deposits in the basement membrane zone (BMZ) along with ICS in one Hailey-Hailey patient. The IIF findings revealed mean titers of 1:2.560 for PV and 1:1.280 for PF. For paraneoplastic pemphigus, IIF was positive in 2 out of 3 cases with rat bladder substrate. In group 2, positive DIF findings included multiple deposits at basement membrane zone for epidermolysis bullosa acquisita-EBA (C3-89%,IgG-79%,IgA-47%,IgM-21%) mucous membrane pemphigoid-MMP (C3,IgG,IgA,IgM-80%) and bullous pemphigoid-BP (C3-91%,IgG-39%,IgA-11%,IgM-6%), and IgA at basement membrane zone for IgA linear disease (99%) and dermatitis herpetiformis-DH (dermal papillae in 84.6%). For lichen planus pemphigoides, there was C3 (100%) and IgG (50%) deposition at basement membrane zone. indirect immunofluorescence positive findings revealed basement membrane zone IgG deposits in 46% of BP patients, 50% for EBA, 15% for IgA linear dermatosis and 50% for LPP. Indirect immunofluorescence positive results were higher for BP and EBA with Salt-Split skin substrate. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed the importance of immunofluorescence assays in diagnosing autoimmune blistering diseases, and higher sensitivity for indirect immunofluorescence when Salt-split skin technique is performed.