LOCALIZED CUTANEOUS NON-TOXIC DIPHTHERIA (CASE REPORT).

The authors report on a clinical case of 91-year-old female patient presented with a two-year history of an enlarging forehead lesion with exudation and bleeding, suspicious of squamous cell carcinoma. Histology ruled out the suspected diagnosis, however the microbiology culture and polymerase chain reaction assay identified non-toxic Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Therefore the diagnosis of localized cutaneous diphtheria was confirmed. The patient was treated with penicillin regimen V 3 x 1 mio IU/ day for 10 days in complex with topical povidone-iodine. The chosen treatment achieved complete healing of the ulcer and no relapse has been reported during the 9-month follow-up. Cutaneous non-healing chronic ulcers can be caused by diphtheroid corynebacteria. Immediate diagnosis is important to exclude toxic variants, which need patient isolation and treatment of persons in close contact.

Distribution of von Willebrand factor in capillary endothelial cells of rat lungs with pulmonary fibrosis.

To determine the value of von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen as a marker of endothelial injury in radiation-induced fibrosis of rat lungs, we studied endothelial immunoreactivity to antibodies against vWF using the indirect immunoperoxidase technique combined with morphometric analysis. Using immunoelectron microscopy of LR White embedded lung samples to detect vWF, immunogold-labelled Weibel Palade bodies were found in endothelial cells of capillary endothelium. The irradiated lungs showed a statistically significant elevation of vWF expression, ie, vWF positive endothelia per unit area, and a significant increase of vWF expression per unit of parenchyma as well. The results suggest that vWF antigen expression and the number of vWF positive structures is modulated under condition of injury in radiation-induced fibrosis.