Divided café-au-lait macule of the mouth.

We describe a 4-year-old, otherwise healthy boy with a congenital history of a perioral and labial segmental café-au-lait macule, who was noted to have unilateral localized gingival hyperpigmentation that aligned with the café-au-lait macule. This case is highly illustrative of the embryologic timing of the genetic event locally, which leads to café-au-lait type hyperpigmentation. Because the facial features and the ectoderm overlying the facial muscles develop around the third to fourth week of gestation, the distribution of this café-au-lait macule suggests development at the same time.

Common dermatologic disorders in skin of color: a comparative practice survey.

There is a paucity of data on the epidemiology of dermatologic disease in populations with skin of color. Our objective was to compare the most common diagnoses for which patients of various racial and ethnic groups were treated at a hospital-based dermatology faculty practice. We reviewed the diagnosis codes of 1412 patient visits from August 2004 through July 2005 at the Skin of Color Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, in New York. New York, in whom race and ethnicity were recorded. The most common diagnoses observed during dermatologic visits by black and white patients were compared. The leading diagnoses observed during the study period differed between black and white patients. During visits by black patients, the 5 most common diagnoses observed at our center were acne (ICD-9 [International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision] 706.1); dyschromia (ICD-9 709.09); contact dermatitis and other eczema, unspecified cause (ICD-9 692.9); alopecia (ICD-9 704.0); and seborrheic dermatitis (ICD-9 690.1). During visits by white patients, the 5 most common diagnoses recorded were acne (ICD-9 706.1); lesion of unspecified behavior (ICD-9 238.2); benign neoplasm of skin of trunk (ICD-9 216.5); contact dermatitis and other eczema, unspecified cause (ICD-9 692.9); and psoriasis (ICD-9 696. 1). Although similarities were seen in the frequency of acne and eczema, conditions such as dyschromia and alopecia were commonly seen during black patient visits but were not among the leading 10 diagnoses made during white patient visits.

Etanercept and psoriasis, from clinical studies to real life.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether etanercept therapy enables long-term psoriasis patients to discontinue systemic psoriatic therapy. METHODS: Charts from psoriatic patients on etanercept therapy seen at the Department of Dermatology and Dermatolgic Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA, between June 2002 and October 2003, were evaluated retrospectively. The duration of disease, adverse events to "standard" systemic psoriatic therapy, and current therapy were reviewed. IRB: 03/582C. RESULTS: A large proportion of patients (73.5%) were able to decrease or discontinue their traditional systemic agent while on etanercept. CONCLUSIONS: Etanercept is a safe and effective therapy in chronic moderate to severe psoriasis. In patients who are receiving systemic therapy for their disease and alternative therapy is warranted, etanercept can be added with the aim to discontinue the other systemic agents.