Biomedical subjects

J Szepietowski

Publications and source records attributed to J Szepietowski.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Hand dermatitis: a problem commonly affecting nurses.

Hand dermatitis is regarded as one of the most often observed dermatological disorders among nurses. The factors that increase the risk of developing hand dermatitis are as follows: frequent washing hands, using disinfectants, wet-work conditions, exposure to medical substances, detergents and wearing rubber gloves. Most cases of occupational hand dermatitis is due to chronic exposure to irritants that cause the inflammation on the nonallergic pathway. Recurring contact to irritants disturbes the natural skin barrier and causes inflammation. There are reports showing the presence of skin barrier alterations among nurses working in operating room units. The most common contact allergens in the hospital environment include rubber, latex, medicaments and antiseptic products. In our study the incidence of self-reported hand dermatitis in hospital staff was very high. About 70% of respondents declared the presence of symptoms of hand eczema within the last 12 months and about 46% of the studied group had skin lesions at the moment of self-examination. Almost 75% of employees with hand dermatitis had observed the worsening of skin problems in relation to work and 79% reported improvement of skin changes during the leisure time. We also noted that a personal or family history of atopy increases the risk of developing hand dermatitis in nurses. We would also like to emphasize the psychological consequencies that affect nurses with hand dermatitis. According to our data 48% of hospital employees with hand eczema declare psychological distress caused by their skin lesions.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Elevated leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) expression in lesional psoriatic skin: correlation with interleukin (IL)-8 expression.

Psoriasis is a disease marked by keratinocyte hyperproliferation, neutrophil and lymphocyte infiltration, and aberrant epidermal and dermal expression of cytokines. Previously, it has been shown that LIF appears to be involved in skin inflammation and can induce the expression of IL-8. We sought to determine whether expression of LIF is abnormal in lesional psoriatic skin and whether this correlates with the expression of IL-8. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we measured the expression of LIF and IL-8 mRNA in biopsies from normal individuals, non-lesional psoriatic skin, and lesional psoriatic skin. No difference was seen between the expression of IL-8 and LIF in normal and in non-lesional psoriatic skin. However, LIF expression in lesional skin was increased 160% compared with normal biopsies or non-lesional skin (p < 0.001). Immunostaining of frozen sections showed that the expression of LIF protein was principally suprabasal and, in the majority of sections, concentrated mainly in the stratum corneum of the lesional skin, whereas it was mainly in the stratum spinosum of the normal/non-lesional skin. IL-8 mRNA expression did not differ between the non-lesional and normal skin, but expression in the lesional skin was 17.6-fold greater than in normal skin (p < 0.001), and this expression was correlated with the increased LIF expression (r = 0.67, p < 0.001). Although a significant negative correlation was demonstrated between LIF mRNA expression and the duration of the last outbreak of the disease, no other correlations were found between levels of cytokine expression and a variety of parameters including PASI score. These data suggest a role for keratinocyte LIF in the psoriatic lesion and a link between LIF and IL-8 expression.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Soluble E-selectin serum levels correlate with disease activity in psoriatic patients.

E-selectin is an adhesion molecule expressed on vascular endothelial cells in several inflammatory skin diseases, including psoriasis. It is responsible for the adherence between microvascular endothelium and neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils and subsets of T cells. Soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) serum levels were measured by ELISA in 32 psoriatic patients before treatment and compared with both post-treatment sE-selectin levels in 16 patients and sE-selectin values in 10 healthy individuals. Soluble E-selectin serum levels were significantly increased in psoriatic patients compared with healthy persons. Moreover, a significant correlation was demonstrated between sE-selectin values and PASI scores. No relationship was found between sE-selectin levels and duration of psoriasis. Soluble E-selectin serum levels decreased significantly after treatment of psoriasis. This phenomenon was more evident in patients with more severe psoriasis. In conclusion, sE-selectin serum levels correlate with the extent of psoriatic lesions and could be used as marker of the disease activity in psoriatic patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Excess benign melanocytic naevi in renal transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Some studies indicate that malignant melanoma occurs more frequently in renal transplant recipients than in the normal population. The development of excess benign melanocytic naevi is regarded as an indicator of the risk for malignant melanoma. OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of benign melanocytic naevi in adult renal transplant patients. METHOD: All benign melanocytic naevi irrespective of size were counted in 76 patients with renal transplants and were compared to naevus counts in 55 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: The mean total number of benign melanocytic naevi was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in renal transplant patients than in the control group: 93.6 +/- 52.2 and 36.1 +/- 29.9, respectively. The most evident increase occurred on the palms/soles and back/buttocks. A positive, although not significant, correlation between naevus counts and duration of immunosuppression was found. CONCLUSION: Renal transplant recipients have an increased number of benign melanocytic naevi and should be considered as a risk group for malignant melanoma.

Adult↗

PubMed1997