Blemished noses in the art of three masters: Ghirlandaio, Rembrandt, and Warhol.

Blemished noses are portrayed in the paintings of such noted artists as Ghirlandaio, Rembrandt, and Andy Warhol. Sometimes, the deformity results from a skin disorder such as rhinophyma as in Ghirlandaio's An Old Man and his Grandson or a saddle nose deformity from congenital syphilis as in Rembrandt's Portrait of Gerard de Lairesse. Andy Warhol's Before and After portrays a large nose before and after cosmetic surgery. This contribution explores some of the lessons that can be learned, both artistically and medically, from these famous works of art.

Should hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa best be renamed as "dissecting terminal hair folliculitis"?

Hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa is a diverse, enigmatic and distressful disease that has aroused growing interest in specialists from different disciplines. Both names describe its classical manifestations in the intertriginous regions and reflect the historical view of the disease definition, but cause confusions in the understanding of its pathogenesis and classification. In the light of the advance in clinical, histopathological and pathophysiological findings, we propose the term "dissecting terminal hair folliculitis" (DTHF) to characterize its disease nature as folliculitis instead of acneiform disease or apocrine gland disorder. DTHF attacks exclusively the terminal hair follicles in an overwhelming majority of adults, initiating from the fragile acroinfundibulum leading to a non-infectious overreaction of innate immunity system with inflammation that may fiercely dissect and engulf all the surrounding tissues accompanied by secondary bacterial infections. Evidence indicates that perifolliculitis capitis abscedens et suffodiens and pilonidal disease are very likely regional variants of DTHF with the same pathogenesis. Treatment of DTHF remains frustrating. The benefit of biologics in targeting inflammation is so far non-specific, palliative and inconsistent. Hair epilation and photodynamic therapy in treatment of the disease is questionable in consideration of the pathogenesis. Genetic and translational research, especially on the Notch signalling pathways, will yield breakthrough in the development of novel treatment modalities.

Are Demodex mites principal, conspirator, accomplice, witness or bystander in the cause of rosacea?

As the only permanent human ectoparasite, the role of human Demodex mites in health and diseases remains largely unclarified. In view of the ecological interaction between organisms of two different species, a type of commensalism between Demodex mites and humans (the former benefit, the latter unaffected) is most likely, while parasitism occurs temporarily and spatially in the diseased state (the former benefit, the latter harmed). As part of normal skin microbiota, the causal role of Demodex mites in the initiation of rosacea can neither fulfill the classical Henle-Koch's principal nor the advanced criteria proposed by Fredericks and Relman for molecular detection of non-cultivatable microorganisms. Epidemiological analysis using Hill's criteria fails to support the causative role of Demodex mites in rosacea regarding the strength of association, specificity and temporality of association, biological gradient and plausibility as well as clinical coherence, therapeutic experimentation and medical analogy. In application of Rothman's sufficient cause model to evaluate the contribution of Demodex mites to rosacea on a population basis, Demodex mites can be regarded as a non-necessary, non-sufficient causal factor for certain forms of rosacea. Further strategies to dissect the association between Demodex mites and rosacea may include studying the possible existence of more virulent forms of mites with a higher pathogenicity, the endosymbiotic bacteria in certain life periods of mites, the interactions between mites and human hosts or between mites and environment, and to set up ex vivo culture models for Demodex mites.

Albrecht Scholz (1940-2013): German dermatologist and historian of dermatology.

Albrecht Scholz (Figure 1) was born in Görlitz (now Zgorzelec, a city located at the Polish-German border, covering both sides of the River Nysa) on September 6, 1940, the youngest of three children. His father was a laryngologist, specializing in voice and hearing impairment. Scholz attended school in his hometown and in 1958 passed his Matura examination, after which he studied medicine at both Humboldt University in Berlin and the "Carl Gustav Carus" Medical Academy in Dresden. Following successful completion of the state examination in 1964 and an internship at the Reichenbach Hospital the following year, he was granted the right to practice medicine. His 1964 doctoral dissertation was titled, "Evaluation of Astrand's Steps in Elderly Patients."

Erich Langer: the last Jewish dermatologist in Nazi Berlin. 532-41.

Nazi anti-Semitism had a considerable impact on dermatology during the period 1933 to 1945. Before World War II, dermatology in German-speaking lands was at the forefront of medicine, and about 25% of the dermatologists were Jewish. Many perished during the Holocaust; others emigrated from Germany and played a major role in advancing dermatology in their new homes, especially in the United States. Erich Langer (1891-1957) was almost unique, because he survived the entire period in Berlin. Langer had been chief of dermatology at Berlin-Britz, a large city hospital, before 1933 but was discharged almost immediately after the Nazi takeover because of his Jewish roots. In June 1945 he returned to his old department and resumed charge. He became one of the key figures in rebuilding German dermatology in the immediate postwar years. He served as first chair of dermatology at the new Free University in Berlin, started two journals, and wrote several books. Until recently, very little was known about Erich Langer's mysterious tale of survival and how he evaded Nazi roundups. Fortunately, we have discovered considerable archival material that has allowed us to piece together, for the first time, a detailed account of Langer's courageous and remarkable story as the last Jewish dermatologist inNazi Berlin.

Who described Civatte bodies?

Eosinophilic apoptotic (necrotic) keratinocytes in the lower epidermis and at the dermoepidermal junction are a feature of many interface dermatoses but are most reliably found in lichen planus. These structures are universally known as Civatte bodies. Nonetheless, they were first described by Raymond Sabouraud in 1912. Even after Achille Civatte discussed and beautifully illustrated them a decade later, it took until the late 1960s for the term Civatte body to win acceptance.

Acne: risk indicator for increased body mass index and insulin resistance.

Acne appears to represent a visible indicator disease of over-activated mTORC1 signalling, an unfavour-able metabolic deviation on the road to serious common Western diseases of civilisation associated with increased body mass index and insulin resistance. Exaggerated mTORC1 signalling by Western diet explains the association of acne with increased body mass index, insulin resistance, and early onset of menarche. Both, a high glycaemic load and increased consumption of milk and milk products, staples of Western diet, aggravate mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signalling. This review of the literature summarises present evidence for an association between acne, increased body mass index, insulin resistance and Western diet. By dietary intervention with a Palaeolithic-type diet, the dermatologist has the chance to attenuate patients' increased mTORC1 signalling by reducing glycaemic load and milk consumption, which may not only improve acne but may delay the march to more serious mTORC1-driven diseases of civilisation.