Tinea imbricata: autosomal dominant pattern of susceptibility in a polygamous indigenous family of the Nahuatl zone in Mexico.

We report on 9 confirmed cases of tinea imbricata (Tokelau, infection due to Trichophyton concentricum) out of 16 family members. They had a common mother with three different fathers. The genetic analysis of the family suggests an autosomal dominant pattern of susceptibility. Most cases (8/9) were presented as concentric and lamellar forms. One patient also had onychomycosis due to T. concentricum. Only two out of nine cases had a positive response to trichophytin.

Evaluation on the occurrence of Tsutsugamushi disease in Tottori Prefecture.

In Tottori Prefecture, we gathered the data of all patients known to have been infected with tsutsugamushi disease (TD) over a span of 49 years, from 1950 to 1998. The total number of patients reported so far has been 19, 16 of which occurred after 1988. Recently, it has been observed that the incidence tended to increase. Of the 13 laboratory confirmed patients, 7 came from Saji Village and Chizu Town, in the Yazu district, a place whereby, a body of water known as the Sendai River partly passes through, and is located in the eastern region of Tottori Prefecture. The remaining 6 came from Nichinan Town in the Hino district, a locality whereby the Hino River partly passes through; in the western part of the same prefecture. Both are mountainous areas, where corniferous trees such as Japanese cedars and pines grow. These results indicate that the occurrence or prevalence of TD in Tottori Prefecture was restricted only to particular places. Seasonal occurrence was during April and May in Nichinan, while October and November in Yazu, particularly in Saji, with one exceptional case in Chizu in which TD occurred during spring. It is likely that the causative chigger mite is the Leptotrombidium pallidum (L. pallidum). The causative agent in Yazu was the Gilliam strain only of Orientia tsutsugamushi (O. tsutsugamushi), while in the latter, it was the Karp, Kato or some unknown strains with antigen(s) common to the Gilliam, Karp and Kato strains. The seasonal difference in the occurrence among the three places may be caused by the difference in temperature because the average autumn/spring temperature difference in the 2 districts was 2-3 degrees C lower in Nichinan than in the Saji-Chizu areas. As a result, the activity of larval chigger mites may be temporarily halted or stopped by the relatively lower temperature in Nichinan during autumn.

Identificación de una nueva anomalía citogenética en el síndrome de duplicación 3q / Identification of a new cytogenetic rearrangement in the duplication 3q syndrome

Se presenta el caso de un paciente masculino con retraso psicomotor y características fenotípicas del síndrome dup (3q). El estudio citogenético reveló un rearreglo cromosómico de novo consistente en una inserción invertida de la región duplicada que resultó en un cariotipo 46,XY, der (3) (pter - q13.3::q27 - q26.1::q13.3 - qter). Esta aberración cromosómica no habria sido descrita previamente en este síndrome

Triphalangeal thumb and brachyectrodactyly syndrome: an uncommon entity with evidence of geographic distribution.

A new Mexican family with the triphalangeal thumb-brachyectrodactyly syndrome is described. The proposita, a 17-year-old female, showed the classic malformation pattern: triphalangeal thumb, brachysyndactyly in the hands and ectrodactyly in the feet. Several members of the family had similar malformations, and others presented minor manifestations of the disease (brachydactyly and nail dysplasia). This is the fourth familial case reported in the literature with the triphalangeal thumb and brachyectrodactyly complex and the third of Mexican origin, reflecting a geographical predominance in the occurrence of this uncommon pathology.