Relapsing Henoch-Schönlein purpura in an adult patient associated with hepatitis B virus infection.

Henoch-Schölein purpura is usually a disease of children presenting with arthralgia, abdominal pain, renal involvement, and palpable purpura. Viral and bacterial infections may have a role in its etiology. We present a 32-year-old male patient with recurrent Henoch-Schölein purpura in association with a chronic hepatitis B infection of ten years duration. The patient had received lamuvidine and interferon-alpha for the treatment of hepatitis B infection for a year. The skin lesions disappeared with the treatment of the hepatitis B infection. Four months after discontinuation of the therapy, the purpuric papules reappeared with reactivation of the hepatitis B infection. Although rarely reported, hepatitis B virus infection should be considered in patients with Henoch-Schölein purpura.

Skin tags and atherosclerotic risk factors.

An association between skin tags and insulin resistance, obesity, impaired carbohydrate and lipid metabolism has been suggested. However, there still is a need for comprehensive and controlled clinical studies. We aimed to evaluate the atherogenic risk factors in patients with skin tags. Thirty-six patients with skin tags who were admitted to the dermatology department and 22 healthy controls were included in this study. Possible subjects who were taking systemic drugs or who had a systemic disease that may be associated with lipid or carbohydrate metabolism abnormalities were excluded from the study. All the measurements were completed in 26 patients. Standard oral glucose tolerance tests were performed on the patient and control groups. Serum insulin, total cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol levels were measured. LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol ratios and HOMA-IR and body mass indices were calculated. The mean levels of body mass index, HOMA-IR, and total cholesterol were significantly higher in patients than in controls. In conclusion, skin tags may not be innocent tumoral proliferations; instead, follow-up of such patients with regard to the development of diseases associated with atherosclerosis may be beneficial.