Erythema multiforme associated with autoreactivity to 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone.

We report a case of a 23-year-old woman who was afflicted with disseminated skin erythema multiforme-like eruptions that started at the menarche, relapsed at the premenstrual periods, dramatically spread during two pregnancies and cleared after abortion; the skin lesions responded dramatically to thalidomide treatment. A high-affinity binding factor to 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) was found in the serum of this patient. Her lymphocytes did not proliferate in vitro after exposure to exogenous 17-OHP but showed significant chromatin activation. There was a decreased expression of HLA antigens at the surface of the patient's blood lymphocytes. This is a unique well-documented case of erythema multiforme most possibly due to autoreactivity to 17-OHP; the precise mechanism(s) of this autoreactivity has not been established.

[An in-vitro system study of the immunomodulating activity of taktivin in atopic dermatitis]. / Izuchenie v sisteme in vitro immunomoduliruiushchei aktivnosti taktivina pri atopicheskom dermatite.

In vitro effect of tactivin on E-rosette forming capacity of peripheral blood T lymphocytes of atopic dermatitis patients permits more accurate diagnosis of immunodeficiency degree, evaluation of the relations between T-cell immunity affection and immunomodulation results. Individual sensitivity of ERF cells to tactivin in vitro may be utilized for selection of patients in need for immunocorrection and the latter substantiation.