Infestation from Lagochilascaris minor in Mexico.

An 11-year-old girl presented from Villa Azueta, Veracruz, a poor and small town on the Tesechoacan riverside. The Tesechoacan riverside is a tropical area in the south-east of Mexico, between 18 degrees, 04',32" latitude and 95 degrees, 42',23" longitude. Her family consisted of both parents and 12 brothers, all apparently healthy and living in a humble hut, with poor nutrition and hygiene. The main sign was a tumor on her neck that had developed during the previous 6 months. On clinical examination, the patient's temperature was normal and her weight was 27.5 kg. Below the right angle of the jaw a firm-to-hard tumor was noted measuring 5 x 3 cm, it was tender and lobulated (Fig. 1) with a central purulent fistula containing small worms with morphology of Lagochilascans minor (Fig. 2). Iron-deficiency anemia was found with no increase of blood eosinophils and a while blood count of 9000/mm3 with 72% of neutrophils. Roentgenograms of the head and chest were both normal. A stool was negative for parasites; glutamic oxalade and glutamic pyruvate transaminases were normal. Histopathologic examination revealed parakeratosis and mild acanthosis with exocytosis of eosinophils. The superficial dermis showed an inflammatory reaction, mainly composed of eosinophils, plasma cells, and histiocytes, and in the deep dermis an abscess containing different sections of the parasite was seen surrounded by a thin fibrous capsule (Fig. 3). There was no clinical improvement after medical treatment with two courses of thiabendazole (50 mg/kg orally, two 5-day pulses) and praziquantel (400 mg orally for 3 days). Therefore, the growth was extirpated under general anesthesia; however, the clinical condition of the patient did not improve. Eggs, larvae, and adult worms continued to be present in the pus after surgical excision. Finally, the patient asked for a discharge and did not return to the institute.

Pityriasis alba: a histologic study.

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis alba is a common dermatitis, but only a few histologic studies have been reported and most of these maintain that its microscopic features are those of a chronic nonspecific dermatitis. METHODS: A retrospective light microscopic study was performed on biopsy specimens taken from 39 patients with localized pityriasis alba on face, arms and forearms without signs of atopy. Thirty-two patients were girls or women and seven were boys or men, with ages ranging from 7 to 37 years. The duration of illness varied from 1 month to 10 years. The clinical picture was characterized by three clinical stages: papular erythematous, papular hypochromic, and smooth hypochromic. RESULTS: The histologic study revealed features that were suggestive, though not pathognomonic, of the diagnosis. The most remarkable changes involved the pilary apparatus, which showed horny plugs, spongiotic edema, and atrophic sebaceous glands. There was also a disturbance of melanization secondary to epithelial damage. The tissue reaction was more conspicuous in the skin lesions with follicular papules. CONCLUSIONS: A histopathologic diagnosis of pityriasis alba may be proposed when the following features are seen in a biopsy specimen taken from a skin lesion with follicular papules: (1) irregular pigmentation by melanin of the basal layer; (2) follicular plugging; (3) follicular spongiosis; and (4) atrophic sebaceous glands.

[Treatment of pityriasis alba with a combination of coal tar, diiodohydroxyquinolin and hydrocortisone]. / Tratammiento de la pityriasis alba con la asociación de alquitrán de hulla, diyodohidroxiquinoleina e hidrocortisona.

Pityriasis Alba, a dermatosis whose significance is basically cosmetic, is extremely common and so benign that the majority of patients-dark skinned children and young people do not consult a physician. Nevertheless due to its high incidence and chronicity a large number of patients eventually seek relief. The various treatments currently employed based on a mistaken concept of its etiology are ineffective, though the dermatosis disappears spontaneously after some time. The use of cream containing 2% coal tar., 1% diiodohydroxyquinolin and 0.5% hydrocortisone applied 3 times a day for one month on 29 patients in a double blind trial compared with on the contralateral region, proved to have acceptable results, with a highly significant difference compared with the placebo (P less than 0,0005).

[Polymorphous light eruption: aspects of special interest]. / Erupción polimorfa lumínica: algunos aspectos de interés.

The authors make the revision of all the characteristic aspects of various clinical pictures which they consider to belong to the group of the Polimorphous Light Eruption. In this revision they include epidemiological, clinical, histopathological, differential diagnosis, pathogenical and terapeutical data.