Swollen lips and a tender neck.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J J Cream.
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We describe a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with a chemotherapy regimen (which included bleomycin, prednisolone and low-dose methotrexate) who developed cutaneous non-caseating granulomas. We felt our patient fitted into the category of 'sarcoid-like granulomas'.
We describe a 69-year-old woman who presented with purpura on the legs. Examination of a blood film revealed a homogenous population of abnormal lymphoid cells with villous projections. The immunophenotype was consistent with a diagnosis of splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes (SLVL). A type II (IgM-IgG) cryoglobulin was detected in the serum. Renal biopsy demonstrated a membranoproliferative type I glomerulonephritis with intraluminal IgG and IgM deposits, and a skin biopsy showed a leucocytoclastic vasculitis with outlining of the vessels by IgG and IgM. Vasculitis has been reported in association with a number of haematological malignancies, most frequently with hairy cell leukaemia. To our knowledge this is the first report of SLVL presenting with cryoglobulinaemic vasculitis.
OBJECTIVE: Acne vulgaris is androgen related and in some cases is associated with excess androgen production, which in men would be mainly testicular or adrenal in origin. Ordinarily, testosterone synthesis in the testis is controlled by serum LH. In order to ascertain whether acne vulgaris in men might be consequent on abnormalities at the hypothalmic/pituitary level we have compared serum LH levels in men with and without acne. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: 111 men with acne vulgaris were compared with 51 acne-free men. MEASUREMENTS: Serum levels of LH, FSH and oestradiol were measured by automated ELISA. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, androstenedione and testosterone were measured by radioimmunoassay, and SHBG by immunoradiometric assay. RESULTS: The controls showed a fall in serum LH with age: the rate of fall was less in the acne patients (difference between the slopes 0.073 U/year (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.016 to 0.130)). The age distributions in the acne and control groups differed. In order to compare means, standardizations were used to assess the difference in the means in populations of men with age distributions similar to the cases and controls. After standardization to the age distribution of the controls, the acne patients had higher means of serum LH, difference between the means 0.80 U/I (95% CI, 0.31 to 1.30), androstenedione, 1.09 nmol/l (95% CI, 0.15 to 2.03) and testosterone levels, 2.74 nmol/l (95% CI, 0.53 to 4.95) and a lower mean BMI, -1.30 kg/m2 (95% CI, -2.40 to -0.19). After standardization to the age distribution of the acne patients the means of LH, androstenedione and testosterone were still higher in the acne patients but not necessarily significantly so. CONCLUSION: LH fell more slowly with age in the men with acne as compared to the controls. In our heterogeneous group of patients with acne vulgaris the findings suggest that a sub-group of men with acne have raised serum LH levels.
We describe an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a dermatology day-care unit and the methods used to determine the mechanism of spread and control it. The epidemic strain had a characteristic sensitivity pattern and was typeable with phages 29, 80, 95, 47, 54 and 77, which was of considerable value in interpreting the epidemiological data. The method of spread was studied by examination of the medical and nursing records of patients who had acquired MRSA (to determine which members of staff they had encountered and which other MRSA-positive patients had been present in the department at the same time) and by the microbiological screening of all patients and staff. However, screening of all staff by nasal swabbing failed to identify carriage of the epidemic strain, while extensive swabbing of surfaces on the day-care unit also failed to show any evidence of MRSA in the environment. This suggests that the MRSA was most probably spread from patient to patient via the hands of staff, although there was also the possibility of direct transmission from patient to patient. Nine patients acquired the unique strain of MRSA and once acquired it proved difficult to eradicate, although in the majority, the infection did not appear to be clinically significant. However, in two patients MRSA contributed to a fatal outcome: these were the two most elderly patients and were the only two who were receiving systemic corticosteroids. The outbreak was brought under control with rigorous hygienic measures and the decision to discharge all patients with MRSA from the day-care unit. Repeat screening (swabs of nose, axilla and groin) of all day-care unit and in-patients 11 months after the last MRSA case showed no evidence of any residual MRSA infection in the day-care unit.
Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) and vaccinia virus (VV) are serologically unrelated poxviruses with a disparate genome composition (MCV, 66% G+C; VV, 33% G+C). Molecular studies of MCV have been hindered by the inability to propagate the virus in cells cultured in vitro. We sequenced 7765 bp of MCV DNA cloned from four widely spaced regions throughout the MCV genome and identified a total of 11 potential open reading frames (ORF), designated CX1-11. These include MCV homologues of the VV genes encoding protein kinase 2, structural protein VP8, RNA polymerase 35 kDa subunit and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. The position and orientation of the MCV ORFs was collinear to the VV genome, with the exception of the region around ORF CX11 which is inverted in the MCV genome.
The ectopic deposition of ova of Schistosoma haematobium within the dermis is very rare, even in countries where infection with this trematode is widespread. When it does occur, it usually affects the genital area. We report a patient who developed ectopic genital and extragenital cutaneous involvement 4 months after swimming in Lake Malawi. The lesions appeared sequentially and spread from the genitalia in a caudocephalic manner. Doppler imaging of the pelvic veins did not reveal any anomalous venous drainage to account for the distribution of these lesions.
We report a 63-year-old woman who presented with an 8-week history of widespread indurated, purpuric lesions associated with weight loss of 7 kg and several episodes of epistaxis. A skin biopsy demonstrated a lymphocytic vasculitis with haemorrhage and parakeratosis. A blood film and bone marrow examination showed features of a myelodysplastic syndrome in transformation to acute myeloid leukaemia. Leucocytoclastic vasculitis and polyarteritis nodosa occur in association with acute myeloid leukaemia, but the association with lymphocytic vasculitis is new.
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OBJECTIVE: Acne vulgaris is androgen dependent but the hormonal mechanisms are unclear. Although there have been many studies of serum hormones in women with acne there are few studies in men and the results are conflicting. We have therefore carried out a further study in men. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Fifty men with acne vulgaris were age-matched against 50 normal men. MEASUREMENTS: Serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, androstenedione and testosterone were measured by radioimmunoassay, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) by immunoradiometric assay and LH, FSH and oestradiol by automated ELISA. RESULTS: The acne patients had higher levels of androstenedione, median 7.35 nmol/l, (interquartile range 2-7) vs 6.05 (2.3), P = 0.004; testosterone, 21.7 nmol/l (7.5) vs 17.55 (7.7), P = 0.04; and free androgen index (FAI) 78.26 (40) vs 65.06 (20), P = 0.007, but also had higher levels of 11-deoxycortisol, 13.65 nmol/l (4.3) vs 12.0 (4.3), P = 0.022. The LH, FSH, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, DHEAS, oestradiol and SHBG levels were not significantly different. Examination of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient matrices for the serum levels of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, androstenedione and 11-deoxycortisol showed that the strongest correlation was between androstenedione and 11-deoxycortisol. CONCLUSION: Although there was overlap between the results of the acne patients and controls the acne patients tended to have higher levels of androstenedione, testosterone, free androgen index and 11-deoxycortisol. The higher levels of 11-deoxycortisol are suggestive of 11 beta-hydroyxlase dysfunction which could be due to a primary adrenal defect or a consequence of raised androgens. Also, a pathway between androstenedione and 11-deoxycortisol has been described in sheep and, although unsubstantiated in man, requires consideration.
We have investigated the hormone profiles and the relationship between serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone in men with long-standing acne vulgaris. In the controls, age correlated with the free androgen index and with serum dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate, so for the purposes of comparison 33 men with acne vulgaris were age-matched against 33 controls. Compared with controls, the acne patients had higher medians of serum androstenedione, testosterone and free androgen index. In both groups there was a significant correlation between testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels. For a given level of luteinizing hormone the patients with acne tended to have higher levels of serum testosterone than normal controls. These results indicate that in this group of men with long-standing acne there was either increased responsiveness of the target organ to luteinizing hormone or there was an increased amount of androgen-secreting tissue.
We present a patient with cold urticaria as an unusual and late cutaneous manifestation of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The severe CD4 cell depletion and markedly elevated serum IgE levels in our patient provide some insights into certain aspects of immune regulatory mechanisms.
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A patient is described who had generalized plane xanthomas, cutaneous vasculitis, peliosis hepatis, and intraabdominal giant lymph node hyperplasia of the plasma cell type. After excision of the abdominal mass, the xanthomas resolved and the liver returned to its normal size, but the patient continued to develop skin lesions. A review is presented of the cutaneous manifestations of giant lymph node hyperplasia.
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