Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Carlino

Publications and source records attributed to A Carlino.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Multiple scattered granulomatous skin lesions in cat scratch disease.

We report a patient with cat scratch disease who presented with multiple scattered nodular lesions on the legs. Examination of skin biopsy specimens revealed a granulomatous pattern. In our opinion, this is a previously undescribed secondary cutaneous reaction of cat scratch disease. The pathogenesis of this reaction is unclear but some data suggest that the eruption might be caused by a hematogenous spread of cat scratch disease bacteria to the skin. Pathogenetic relationships with so-called bacillary angiomatosis, recently described in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, are reviewed here.

Cat-Scratch Disease↗

Pili torti and onychodysplasia. Report of a previously undescribed hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

Ectodermal dysplasias are a large and heterogeneous groups of clinically and genetically distinct syndromes. We studied a family suffering from dystrophies of the distal part of the nails and trichodysplasia. Scalp, beard, pubic and axillary hair were broken off leaving a stubble 1-10 mm in length. Eyebrows, eyelashes and body hair were completely absent. Serum levels of copper and plasma levels of amino acids were within the normal range. Inheritance was autosomal recessive. Previous reports of ectodermal dysplasias and other complex syndromes with pili torti are reviewed.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

[Annular granuloma in HIV positive patients].

Pathogenesis of Granuloma Annulare is not resolved. In some Authors' opinion it is caused by an allergic granulomatous reaction to an unknown dermal antigen. Presence of Granuloma Annulare in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection questions this hypothesis. We present two cases of such association and review eleven patients previously described in the literature. Clinical and histological findings suggest that the cell mediate immune response is not the dominant pathogenetic event, especially in cases of altered cell-mediated immunity.

Adult↗

[Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis. Description of a clinical case treated with PUVA therapy].

We report the case of a 62 years-old Italian man affected by crops of pruritic follicular sterile papulo-pustules on the face, trunk and arms. Histopathologic examination revealed a perifollicular inflammatory cell infiltrate composed mostly of eosinophils. These features are characteristic of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis. There is not any uniformly effective treatment for this condition. In our patient the disease did not respond to dapsone, H1 antihistamines and indomethacin. Oral corticosteroids gave good results but were unsuitable for their side effects. The response to PUVA therapy was excellent. In our opinion PUVA therapy is a highly effective and safety treatment for EPF.

Eosinophilia↗

[Epidermal nevus syndrome with multiple vascular hamartomas and malformations].

The authors described a 39 year old woman affected by epidermal nevus syndrome, with cutaneous (verrucous epidermal nevus), skeletal (thoracolumbar levoscoliosis and frontal bossing) and ocular (papillar coloboma and coroideal nevus) defects. Moreover the patient presented vascular malformations and hamartomas: lymphangioma circumscriptum of the mammary area, left peroneal Gorham's disease, artero-venous acral tumour of the left foot and multiple artero-venous shunts of the lower limbs. Since puberty, hemodynamic modifications have caused pseudo-Kaposi of Bluefarb-Stewart of legs and feet and malleolar painful ulcers. Solomon's epidermal nevus syndrome is an heterogeneous entity. In our opinion, this is the first case report with a severe vascular involvement.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

[Segmental neurofibromatosis. Description of our 2d clinical case and review of the literature].

Segmental neurofibromatosis is characterized by the unilateral and segmental appearance of neurofibromas, schwannomas, plexiform neurofibromas and/or café au lait spots and axillary freckling. The aetiology is not clear but the disorder has been postulated to be secondary to a postzygotic (hence non-transmissable) somatic mutational event. In the present study we describe a 43 year old woman affected by neurofibromas on the left forearm. This is our second report of a case of segmental neurofibromatosis and occurs shortly afterwords the first. To the best of our knowledge only 28 additional cases of this very rare disease have been reported in the literature. Their main features are reviewed.

Adult↗

[Contact eczematous dermatitis caused by wheat and oats].

A 58-year old male patient was affected by a chronic dermatitis of the hands, forearms and face. Lesions appeared six months before when he started to work as a pizza-maker and worsened when he touched wheat-fluor and when he washed with an oats-derived detergent. He had a familial but not a personal history of atopic diseases. Both the Prick tests and RAST with oats and wheat flour produced positive responses. Protein contact dermatitis is a rare allergic disease caused by the contact with protein substances. It is often seen in patients working in the food industries or in the kitchens. Many of them have no other signs of atopy.

Arm↗

Antinuclear antibodies in psoriatic arthritis and its subgroups.

We tested serum samples from 48 patients with Psoriatic Arthritis (PA) for Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) using a highly sensitive substrate (Hep-2 cells). We obtained the following results: 1) in PA patients ANA positivity (16.6%) was significantly higher than in age-and sex-matched groups of healthy controls (4.1%; p less than 0.05) and uncomplicated psoriasis (2%; p less than 0.025). 2) ANA were more common in Symmetrical Polyarthritis (37.5%) and Arthritis Mutilans (25%) than in Asymmetrical Oligoarthritis and Spondarthritis (11.8%) and 'Classical' PA (0%). 3) We did not find any positivity for anti-DNA and anti-ENA antibodies among PA patients.

Adult↗

[Multinodular keratoacanthoma].

Multinodular Keratoacanthoma is a variant of keratoacanthoma presenting with large annular plaques localized on the photo-exposed surfaces of the aged people. It is characterized by progressive growth of new nodules of keratoacanthoma at the periphery, while partial or complete spontaneous central healing occurs with scar formation. There is no tendency toward spontaneous regression. Multinodular Keratoacanthoma is quite rare. In our opinion only ten cases can be complied from the literature. We report an additional case in a diabetic 87 year old woman. She was previously affected by a vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. No recurrence was observed four months after the surgical excision.

Aged↗

[Persistent lymphedema of the penis and scrotum after recurrent episodes of cellulitis and urethritis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis].

A 20 year old man affected by a persistent peno-scrotal lymphedema is reported. This condition followed recurrent attacks of cellulitis and a chronic urethritis. From the urethral discharge we isolated Chlamydia trachomatis and, only during the attacks of cellulitis, Group G Streptococcus. This pathogen cannot be isolated from microflora of the normal urethra and rarely cause cellulitis. In our opinion Chlamydial infection favoured the urethral colonization of Group G Streptococci and their passage in the loose connective tissue of the penis and scrotum. Lymphedema, clinically inapparent before the first attack, become progressively more severe and recurrent attacks took place at intervals without obvious re-exposure to an exogenous source of streptococci. The operative treatment of persistent lymphedema is lymphangiectomy and lymphangioplasty.

Adult↗

[Van der Woude syndrome].

The familial occurrence of lower lip pits (fistulae, sinuses) with or without the cheilo-gnathouranoschisis complex (cleft lip and/or cleft palate) was first described by A. Van der Woude in 1954. The lip pits syndrome is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with high penetrance (80%), but its clinical expression is variable. Sometimes there may be microforms with only conical elevation and/or surface openings without any deeper sinuses at the typical sites and without cleft lip/palate. We examined 8 members of an Italian family and we observed one member with lip pits and submucous cleft palate and 4 members with only lip pits. Three of these affected members had congenital absence of second premolars too. The presentation, mode of inheritance, aetiology and genetic significance of lip pits syndrome are reviewed. In our opinion this is the first Italian report of the Van der Woude syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Segmental neurofibromatosis. Case report and review of the literature.

Segmental neurofibromatosis (NF) is characterized by the strictly unilateral occurrence of features that are typical of the more ordinary forms of NF (i.e., NF-1, NF-2), including schwannomas, cutaneous or plexiform neurofibromas, and/or café au lait spots. That is, these features are found in only one or several dermal segments. We describe a case of a 68-year-old woman affected by neurofibromas restricted to the right lumbar region. After extensive investigations, including magnetic resonance imaging, we could rule out the presence of additional, more widespread lesions. Previous reports of segmental NF are reviewed.

Aged↗

Cloning and sequencing of the metallothioprotein beta-lactamase II gene of Bacillus cereus 569/H in Escherichia coli.

The structural gene for beta-lactamase II (EC 3.5.2.6), a metallothioenzyme, from Bacillus cereus 569/H (constitutive for high production of the enzyme) was cloned in Escherichia coli, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. This is the first class B beta-lactamase whose primary structure has been reported. The amino acid sequence of the exoenzyme form, deduced from the DNA, indicates that beta-lactamase II, like other secreted proteins, is synthesized as a precursor with a 30-amino acid N-terminal signal peptide. The pre-beta-lactamase II (Mr, 28,060) is processed in E. coli and in B. cereus to a single mature protein (Mr, 24,932) which is totally secreted by B. cereus but in E. coli remains intracellular, probably in the periplasm. The expression of the gene in E. coli RR1 on the multicopy plasmid pRWHO12 was comparable to that in B. cereus, where it is presumably present as a single copy. The three histidine residues that are involved (along with the sole cysteine of the mature protein) in Zn(II) binding and hence in enzymatic activity against beta-lactams were identified. These findings will help to define the secondary structure, mechanism of action, and evolutionary lineage of B. cereus beta-lactamase II and other class B beta-lactamases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Pemphigus and neoplasia. 2 new clinical cases and a review of the literature].

We report two cases of pemphigus vulgaris associated with internal malignancies. The former was a 56 year-old man who developed pemphigus shortly after non-Hodgkin lymphoma has been formed. The latter was a 69 year-old woman who presented pemphigus and gastric carcinoma in the same time. In order to clarify the relationships between all forms of pemphigus and malignancy or thymoma, a search of the world literature was carried out. We found 44 reports of the association of pemphigus with internal malignancy and with benign or malignant thymoma. The key problem that needs to be resolved is whether there is a causal relationship or whether these are only occasional coincidental findings.

Adenocarcinoma↗