Eccrine sweat glands associate with the human hair follicle within a defined compartment of dermal white adipose tissue.

BACKGROUND: Eccrine sweat glands (ESGs) are critical for thermoregulation and are involved in wound healing. ESGs have traditionally been considered as separate skin appendages without connection to the pilosebaceous unit (PSU). However, recent preliminary evidence has encouraged the hypothesis that the PSU and ESG are more interconnected than previously thought. OBJECTIVES: To re-evaluate the morphology of human skin adnexa with an integrated three-dimensional (3D) perspective in order to explore the possible interconnections that the PSU and the ESG may form. METHODS: A systematic 3D reconstruction method of skin sections, direct visualization of human scalp follicular unit transplant grafts and a scalp strip ex vivo were used to validate and further explore the hypothesis. RESULTS: We demonstrate that the coiled portion of most ESGs is morphologically integrated into the PSU of human scalp skin and forms a structural unit that is embedded into a specific, hair follicle-associated region of dermal white adipose tissue (dWAT). This newly recognized unit is easily accessible and experimentally tractable by organ culture of follicular units and can be visualized intravitally. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a model of functional human skin anatomy in which ESGs are closely associated with the PSU and the dWAT to form a common homeostatic tissue environment, which may best be encapsulated in the term 'adnexal skin unit'. The challenge now is to dissect how each component of this superstructure of human skin functionally cooperates with and influences the other under physiological conditions, during regeneration and repair and in selected skin diseases.

[Pure neural leprosy. Diagnostic aspects of a clinical case]. / Lepra neural pura. Aspectos diagnosticos en un caso clinico.

INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It is particularly prone to affect the skin and the nerve trunks and, in fact, both are compromised in most infected patients. It is transmitted by exposure to those with the disease and sometimes by reactivation. One uncommon possibility is pure neural leprosy, which is characterised by neuropathy, but without skin lesions. We report the case of a patient with pure neural leprosy and review the diagnostic aspects. CASE REPORT: A 40-year-old male, an immigrant who was diagnosed and treated for leprosy 20 earlier. The patient visited due to painful paraesthesias and dysesthesias in the hands and legs without the presence of any skin lesions. Acute multiple mononeuritis with mainly ulnar involvement was observed. The disease, typified as paucibacillary/tuberculoid, was treated and in a few weeks there was a clear improvement. CONCLUSIONS: In this case of pure neural leprosy due to reactivation, early diagnosis allowed timely treatment to be established. Evaluation of neuropathy together with clinical, electrophysiological and ultrasound criteria is recommended. By so doing, a high degree of sensitivity is achieved as well as allowing early diagnosis and treatment, and therefore a better functional recovery.

TITLE: Lepra neural pura. Aspectos diagnosticos en un caso clinico.Introduccion. La lepra es una enfermedad infecciosa causada por la bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Presenta especial avidez por la piel y los troncos nerviosos, y, de hecho, ambos se afectan en la mayor parte de los infectados. Se trasmite por exposicion con enfermos y en ocasiones por reactivacion. Una posibilidad inhabitual es la lepra neural pura, caracterizada por neuropatia, pero sin lesiones en la piel. Se describe un paciente con lepra neural pura y se revisan los aspectos diagnosticos. Caso clinico. Varon de 40 años, inmigrante, diagnosticado y tratado de lepra 20 años antes. Acudio por parestesias y disestesias dolorosas en las manos y las piernas sin lesiones en la piel. Se demostro mononeuritis multiple aguda con principal afectacion de cubitales. La enfermedad, tipificada como tuberculoide paucibacilar, se trato y en pocas semanas la mejoria fue evidente. Conclusiones. En este caso de lepra neural pura por reactivacion, el diagnostico temprano permitio un rapido tratamiento. Es recomendable la evaluacion de la neuropatia integrada con criterios clinicos, electrofisiologicos y ecograficos. De este modo se consigue una alta sensibilidad y especialmente una precocidad en el diagnostico y la instauracion del tratamiento, y por consecuencia una mejor recuperacion funcional.