A 41-year-old female was referred to our dermatology department with generalized erythema, which had occurred after she had started to take oral carbamazepine. She had also developed a fever and cervical lymphadenopathy. As drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS) was suspected, she was given high-dose oral prednisolone (60mg/day). Despite corticosteroid treatment, she continued to exhibit clinical symptoms, including eruptions, hypogammaglobulinemia, and abnormal serum levels of amylase and lipase. A skin patch test with carbamazepine produced a positive result, whereas a drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test with carbamazepine only produced a positive result in the early phase of the disease. In this case, cytomegalovirus (CMV) might have been responsible for the patient's persistent clinical symptoms because we did not detect the reactivation of human herpesvirus-6 during the patient's hospitalization, while she exhibited a continuously high anti-CMV-IgM titer.Skin Research, 15: 327-331, 2016

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Case 1: A 44-year-old female was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis at around the age of 10 years. She experienced repeated episodes of remission and exacerbation. At the age of 41, she began to notice small papules on her limbs and back, which became progressively worse. Case 2: A 35-year-old female was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis and had been receiving treatment for it since childhood. She developed papules on both lower legs, which became progressively worse. These patients visited our clinic, and histological examinations revealed lichen amyloidosis. Treatment with cyclosporine was effective in both cases within a short period of time. However, neither patient responded to oral or topical steroids, or to oral antihistamines. There have only been a few case reports about the treatment of lichen amyloidosis with cyclosporine. Our experience of these two cases suggests that cyclosporine might be an effective treatment for lichen amyloidosis associated with atopic dermatitis.Skin Research, 15: 332-336, 2016

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We report a case of skin metastasis after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This case involved a 63-year-old female with HCC who underwent laparoscopic partial hepatectomy at our hospital. Two years later, RFA was performed for recurrent HCC (S3-S5). One month after the second round of RFA therapy, a subcutaneous mass was found at the RFA needle puncture site. Histologically, the tumor cells were similar to the HCC, so we diagnosed the patient with skin metastasis from HCC. Since percutaneous treatment for intraperitoneal tumors is becoming increasingly common, clinicians should keep in mind that skin metastasis can occur via the needle tract after RFA.Skin Research, 15: 337-340, 2016

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We treated a patient with a venous lake (diameter: 20mm) on their lower lip with a CO₂ laser and a pulsed-dye laser (PDL), which gradually reduced the size of the tumor without causing scarring or vesicle formation, and the patient was satisfied with the results. There is no general consensus as to the optimal laser modality for treating venous lakes, and various types of lasers have been used for this purpose. To establish standard protocols, randomized controlled trials comparing the results obtained with different types of laser treatments are needed.Skin Research, 15: 341-344, 2016

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Dermatomyositis is occasionally associated with dysphagia. Dysphagia occurs because of myositis spreading to the pharyngeal muscles or the presence of a malignant tumor near to the pharynx. Here, we report a case of dermatomyositis combined with dysphagia and early gastric cancer. A 79-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of facial erythema, muscle pain, muscle weakness, general malaise, and dysphagia in October 2015. A physical examination showed periorbital erythema, slight erythema in the regions surrounding the proximal interphalangeal (PIP)/metacarpophalangeal (MP) joints, periungual erythema, muscle pain during grasping, and proximal muscle weakness. A laboratory examination revealed elevated levels of muscle enzymes, creatine kinase, and aldolase. The oral administration of 50mg of prednisolone was started, and the patient's limb muscle weakness, skin eruptions, and abnormal muscle enzyme levels recovered rapidly. However, her dysphagia did not improve. Therefore, we added intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment (administered three times at one-month intervals). Finally, on day 90 after admission, the patient's swallowing function recovered, and she was able to ingest food orally. Screening for malignant tumors revealed the presence of early gastric cancer. As expected from the patient's clinical findings, she was positive for the transcriptional intermediary factor 1 antibody. The use of IVIG might be beneficial for recalcitrant dysphagia associated with dermatomyositis. It is necessary to examine patients with dermatomyositis for malignant tumors, especially those with dysphagia. Dermatomyositis-specific autoantibodies are closely associated with specific disease phenotypes and enable clinicians to predict complications and prognosis and evaluate disease activity.Skin Research, 15: 345-350, 2016

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