Patients with vitiligo have a distinct affective temperament profile: A cross-sectional study using Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Paris, and San Diego Auto-Questionnaire.

Background: Vitiligo is a skin disease associated with significant psychiatric comorbidities. Affective temperaments represent the inherited foundation of personality and represent the biologically stable part of emotional reactivity. Studies assessing the temperament profile of patients with vitiligo are still scarce. Method: This was a cross-sectional study enrolling 34 patients with vitiligo and 34 age and sex-matched healthy controls. Affective temperament profile was investigated using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Paris, and San Diego Auto-questionnaire. Dermatology life quality index was used to evaluate disease impact on patients' quality of life. Results: We found significant differences with vitiligo patients scoring higher in anxious (11.5 ± 4.76 vs. 9.06 ± 6.22; p = 0.036) and lower in hyperthymic (5.79 ± 3.82 vs. 7.5 ± 3.64; p = 0.027) temperaments. Vitiligo worsening reported by patients was associated with recent psychological stressors in 18 cases (52.9%) and Koebner phenomenon in 20 cases (58.8%). Koebner phenomenon was more frequently associated with the hyperthymic temperament (p = 0.035). Cyclothymic temperament was positively correlated with Dermatology life quality index (rho = 0.417, p = 0.014). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that patients with vitiligo have a distinct premorbid temperament profile. Having low hyperthymic and high anxious temperament traits seem to predispose patients to be less resilient to psychological stressors. A better understanding of the affective traits of vitiligo patients would be vital in personalising and adapting the management of this chronic skin disease.

Blastomycosis-like pyoderma in an immunocompetent patient.

Blastomycosis-like pyoderma is a rare skin disorder most commonly caused by bacterial infection. It is usually diagnosed in immunocompromised patients. We report a case of BLP in an immunocompetent woman, who presented with a 6-week history of verrucous cutaneous plaque of the left wrist.

Koilonychia in a Patient with Alopecia Areata.

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that affects the hair follicles and leads to nonscarring alopecia. Nails changes are a common manifestation in AA, with an average prevalence of 30 percent. Both nail changes and hair loss in AA are associated with lymphocytic inflammation and are thought to be a result of a loss of immune privilege in both hair follicle and nail apparatus. Koilonychia, or "spoon nails," is a nail dystrophy where the nail plate is depressed centrally and everted laterally. Causes of nail spooning are various, but koilonychia is usually associated with iron deficiency and inflammatory dermatoses, such as psoriasis and lichen planus. Koilonychia is very rarely reported in association with AA in the English literature and its prognostic significance is still unknown. We report a case of a 25-year-old female patient who presented with AA focalis and koilonychia that regressed almost completely after oral corticosteroids, with an accompanying discussion of the pathogenesis and prognostic value of koilonychia.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis of Onychomatricoma: A Case Report.

Onychomatricoma (OM) is a rare benign tumour of the nail matrix characterized by specific clinical and histologic features. The main clinical signs are thickening of the nail plate, xanthonychia, overcurvature of the nail plate, and multiple splinter haemorrhages. The diagnosis is based on clinical, radiological and histopathological findings. Histologically, the tumour is characterized by filiform epithelial projections. The objective of this study is to present the first reported Tunisian case of OM, focusing on the contribution of magnetic resonance imaging to the diagnosis of OM. A review on the subject is also presented.

[Retinal detachment due to macular hole: therapeutic problems]. / Décollement de rétine par trou maculaire: problèmes thérapeutiques.

UNLABELLED: To compare the success rate and the visual improvement of different surgical techniques for treating 21 retinal detachments due to macular hole in highly myopic eyes. METHODS: Twelve patients were treated by gas tamponade alone, 5 patients underwent vitrectomy with gas tamponade, 4 patients underwent vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane pealing and gas or oil silicone tamponade. RESULTS: Fifty eight % of patients were successfully treated after gas tamponade alone, and 75% after vitrectomy, epiretinal membrane pealing and gas or silicone oil tamponade. After retreatment in 7 patients, the final reattachment rate was 80%. Visual acuity was inchanged in 12 cases, improved to 1/20-1/10 in 8 case and reached 3/10 in 1 case. CONCLUSION: A therapeutic scheme is suggested according to the type of retinal detachment, macular vitreoretinal traction and pigment epithelium and chorioretinal degeneration condition.