Leukonychia punctata and pitted nails in alopecia areata.

A 36-year-old man with long-standing alopecia areata was noted to have both leukonychia punctata and pitted nails. Histopathologic evaluation of the leukonychia punctata revealed multiple discrete parakeratotic foci throughout the entire thickness of the nail plate, suggesting both proximal and distal matrix involvement. The finding of shallow pits lined with residual adherent parakeratotic cells suggests that the pathogenesis of nail pits in alopecia areata is similar to that of psoriasis; a result of shedding of parakeratotic cell aggregates from the nail plate.

Tinea versicolor: a light and electron microscopic study of hyperpigmented skin.

Hyperpigmentation in lesions of tinea versicolor has previously been reported to be a result of the effects of the fungus Pityrosporon orbiculare on melanosome formation and distribution. Examination of biopsy specimens from lesions of hyperpigmented tinea versicolor involving vitiliginous skin reveals an absence of melanosomes and melanocytes. Reddish-tan and fawn-colored hyperpigmentation in tinea versicolor of this type is not due to melanin pigment. The possible nature of the pigmentation that delineates hyperpigmented tinea versicolor from normal skin is discussed.

Anatomical mapping of epidermal Langerhans cell densities in adults.

The densities of T6 antigen-bearing Langerhans cells in 112 biopsies of human skin from sixteen surgical out-patients and four cadavers were determined for eight anatomical regions. The regional mean densities (+/- s.e.m.) of epidermal Langerhans cells per mm2 were: head and neck, 489 +/- 27; chest, 466 +/- 22; back, 466 +/- 11; upper extremities, 458 +/- 25; lower extremities, 431 +/- 30; buttocks, 411 +/- 11; genitalia, 298 +/- 45; soles, 58 +/- 12. No statistically significant differences were found between any of these Langerhans cell densities except for that of the soles which was lower than those of all other regions (P less than 0.002). No significant differences were detected between the mean densities of patients and cadavers, Caucasians and Hispanics or males and females.

Kaposi's sarcoma, chronic ulcerative herpes simplex, and acquired immunodeficiency.

Recently, increasing numbers of young homosexual men with a fulminant form of Kaposi's sarcoma have been described. We report herein a case of a young homosexual man with Kaposi's sarcoma, chronic perianal and nasolabial ulcerating herpes simplex infection, oral candidiasis, and immunodeficiency, presumably acquired.