We report two cases of “solitary lichen planus-like keratosis”. Case 1 was a 40 year old woman in whom a slightly raised reddish brown macula suddenly appeared on her left cheek. There had been no previous lesion. Case 2 was a 51 year old woman with senile lentigine on her face for the past 7-8 years. Recently she felt an itchiness in one lesion and one of the lesions turned reddish. We found no typical atypy on the epidermal cells and from the clinical and histological findings, this entity seems to include two different types of lesions.

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We report the clinical findings and cytological studies on Japanese siblings, 5 and 4 year old girls, with Bloom’s syndrome. The weight and height at birth were 1870g and 38cm in the older girl and 1805g and 42cm in the younger girl, respectively. Weight and height were 10.2kg and 92cm, and 8.2kg and 82cm (below the third percentile) but the girls were well proportioned. They had a mild telangiectatic erythema of the face, which had appeared at the age of 2.5 and 1.5 years, respectively. There were several café-au-lait spots on the trunk and extremities. They had a normal intelligence and no anomalies or malignant neoplasms. Laboratory findings were all within normal ranges, except for low level serum concentrations of IgA and IgM. Chromosomal studies revealed a high frequency of chromosomal aberrations and an abnormal high frequency in sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs); about 10 times higher than that in nomal blood lymphocytes, and about 7 times higher than that in normal fibroblasts. Sensitivities of fibroblasts derived from them to ultraviolet light (254nm) were studied for the colonyforming ability and findings were much the same as in the case of normal fibroblasts. Both cells showed normal levels of unscheduled DNA synthesis activity.

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A 27-year-old woman had had numerous depigmented freckles and pigmented freckles on her back, legs and arms since childhood. These freckles did not appear on her hands and feet. Her sister has the same disorder, but she looks normal and has two children. The literature includes reports that there are no other differences than in distribution of lesions between dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria and dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria, however, in our patient, there were various differences from dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria.

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A 47-year-old woman with well controlled pemphigus vulgaris of 6 years duration vomited the entire esophageal mucosa. Histological and immunofluorescent examination of the esophageal mucosa and biopsied vaginal mucosa showed acantholysis devoid of the basal cells and the deposition of IgG and C3 between the epidermal cells. The normal skin showed only scant deposition of IgG alone, despite high titer of intercellular areas of stratum spinosum (IC) antibodies. We diagnosed this as “Pemphigus mucosa”.

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We treated a 53 year old man with multiple glomus tumor. An ultrastructural study revealed that irregularly dilated lumens were surrounded by a single layer of endothelial cells and which occasionally showed fenestration. Along the vessels, ramified smooth muscle cells (assumed to be glomus cells) were connected by cell processes, and were invested with a thick basal lamina. Between the endothelial and glomus cells, nerve endings, fine collagen fibers, elastic fibrils and flattened cell processes of veil cells were identified. In places, the glomus cells seemed to be encircled by the slender cell processes of veil cells.

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Using an infra-red thermographic apparatus and the deep body temperature (DBT) equipment, the skin temperature of the chest region and the deep body temperature were measured in 52 healthy persons, and a comparative study of the two devices was carried out. With an experimental apparatus using a simulator, it was confirmed that the deep body temperature equipment can measure the temperature at a depth of 1cm below the body surface within an error of 0.1°C. The mean ages of the 26 men and 26 women were 30.8 and 22.7 years, respectively, and no difference in the chest skin temperature and the deep body temperature was noted. The mean value of the temperature difference between the high and low temperature regions for the chest skin temperature in all 52 cases was 1.8±0.6°C, while in the case of the deep body temperature, it was 0.5±0.4°C. The deep body temperature may be stable because the skin is a poor conductor of heat, and temperature in the deeper body parts is regulated by blood flow. The high temperature region observed in chest thermograms may be a region in which superficial small veins and capillary nets are densely distributed. The deep body temperature in the forehead was isothermic to the axillary temperature, and as such, it is suitable for the monitoring of the body temperature, over a long period of time.

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Using an infra-red thermographic apparatus and deep body temperature equipment, the skin temperature and the deep body temperature of the lesion (diseased side) and the control (healthy side) were measured in 40 patients with skin diseases. A comparative study of the two devices was carried out. Because of the structure of the transducer used to measure deep body temperature, diseases with prominent protuberances were excluded from the study. The deep body temperature on both the diseased and the healthy sides of the 40 cases with skin diseases was higher than the corresponding skin temperature. Furthermore, in almost all patients, both the skin temperature and the deep body temperature of the diseased side were higher than those of healthy side. The average value of the temperature difference (ΔTs) between the skin temperature of the diseased and healthy sides was about twice the mean value of the temperature difference for the deep body temperature (ΔTd). The temperature in the diseased region is considered to be regulated by the blood flow. When the diseased region reaches a high temperature, it is difficult to determine whether such is related to inflammation or malignant changes. Even in case of the same disease, the skin temperature varies greatly, depending on the symptoms and progress, and correlates well with the status of the disease. On the other hand, changes in the deep body temperature are slight, and hence, thermography is considered to be more useful in evaluating the disease status.

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Seventy-five patients with non-infectious inflammatory dermatosis were treated with Sinomin (sulfisomezole). A remarkable effect for itchiness and skin eruption was obtained in 26 patients with dermatosis, prurigo pigmentosa, purpura annularis telangiectodes of Majocchi, Schamberg’s disease, polymorphous light eruption, bullous pemphigoid, lichen planus, lichen striatus and lichen amyloidosus. The effect was slight in 11 patients. Histopathological examination of 21 skin lesions obtained from patients with remarkable effects and 11 with skin lesions for whom the treatment was slightly effective showed a marked infiltration of inflammatory cells at the upper portion of the dermis in case of 29 skin and vascular lesions in 15 skin lesions. The marked infiltration in the 25 with skin lesions proved to be lymphocytes. With regard to anti-inflammatory mechanism of Sinomin, this drug may interfere with function of lymphocytes.

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Serum levels of etretinate (ET) and the active metabolite (AM) were monitored during and after the administration to 12 patients with disorders of keratinization and who were treated with ET. There were differences in serum levels of ET and AM among the patients at the point of the appearance or disappearance of side effects of the drug. However, the serum levels of ET and AM were always lower at the point of disappearance than at the point of appearance of the side effects. The drug and the active metabolite were slowly eliminated into the serum after cessation of the administration, and the maximal durations of the elimination of ET and AM were about 3 and 6 months, respectively.

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[in Japanese]

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A statistical survey on 100 cases of sporotrichosis at the Dermatological Clinic of Kurume University Hospital from February, 1962 to July, 1980 was done. The proportion of sporotrichosis to the total number of outpatients was 0.13%. A higher percentage was noted in patients under 10 and in those over 40. Females were more often affected. 39 cases had a history of injury. The sporotrichin test was positive in 90/93. The causative organism was detected in 62/93 in the histology.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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