Biomedical subjects
Wilhelm Stolz
Publications and source records attributed to Wilhelm Stolz.
Benign Degos' disease developing during pregnancy and followed for 10 years.
Degos' disease, or malignant atrophic papulosis, is a rare and often fatal multisystem vasculopathy of unknown etiology. The cutaneous manifestations comprise erythematous papules, which heal to leave scars with a pathognomonic central porcelain-white atrophic area and a peripheral telangiectatic rim. Involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is observed in 50% of cases, with intestinal perforation being the most common cause of death. Other organ systems can also be affected; 20% of cases involve the central nervous system. Systemic manifestations usually develop from weeks to years after onset of skin lesions or, in rare instances, may precede skin lesions. In the patient with Degos' disease reported in this article, the characteristic skin lesions developed during pregnancy, a precipitating event not previously reported. She has survived an unusually long time (10 years) without visceral or neurological involvement, despite florid cutaneous lesions. Moreover, we could detect the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, the significance of which are currently unclear. These observations therefore confirm that there may be a strictly cutaneous form of Degos' disease with a favourable prognosis.
Eruptive multiple lentigo-maligna-like lesions in a patient undergoing chemotherapy with an oral 5-fluorouracil prodrug for metastasizing colorectal carcinoma: a lesson for the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma?
Induction of multiple eruptive dermal and atypical melanocytic naevi has frequently been reported in children with malignant haematological diseases and chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression. This is the first report of an adult patient to develop multiple eruptive melanocytic skin lesions while undergoing chemotherapy with an oral 5-fluorouracil prodrug for metastasizing cancer. Our observation adds further evidence to the link between systemic (iatrogenic or intrinsic) immunosuppression and the induction of melanocyte proliferation and transformation.
Dermatoscopy for facial pigmented skin lesions.
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Multiple, bilateral and painful ear nodules of the anthelices: a variant of chondrodermatitis nodularis?
A case of a distinctive clinicopathologic condition of the ear cartilage is presented, characterized by multiple, bilateral and painful nodules of the anthelices without epidermal involvement. Histologically, there was a peri-chondrial lymphohistiocytic infiltrate and a small focus of degenerate, basophilic cartilage as well as cystic chondromalacia containing an amorphous mass. This condition is both clinically and histopathologically distinct from other causes of ear nodules, although the lesions seen in our patient exhibit features of chondrodermatitis nodularis helices and therefore could well be a variant of the latter.
Dead Sea treatment - principle for outpatient use in atopic dermatitis: safety and efficacy of synchronous balneophototherapy using narrowband UVB and bathing in Dead Sea salt solution.
Safety and efficacy of this new treatment modality for out-patients were evaluated by an uncontrolled multicenter trial under GCP-conditions. Patients had to undergo 3-5 treatment sessions per week up to 35 in total. SCORAD (SC) was assessed at baseline, after 20 and 35 sessions. For patients with early study withdrawal the last-observation-carry-forward-principle was used. 615 intention-to-treat (itt)- (baseline SC: 59.4) and 143 according-to-protocol (atp)-patients (baseline SC: 60.1) could be analysed. 289 patients (47%) (baseline SC: 59.1) underwent less than 35 sessions. Main reasons were: lack of time (16%), non-compliance (12%), good improvement (7%), lack of efficacy (6%), intercurrent disease (4%) and side effects (3%). Mean number of sessions in atp-group was 35, in itt 26, and in patients with early study withdrawal 15.8. SC decreased in atp-group to 37.5 (itt: 44.5/patients with early study withdrawal: 46.1) after 20 sessions and to 27.1 (35.2/42.6) at end of treatment. Relative SC-improvement was statistically significant in atp- (55%), itt-group (41%), and in patients with early study withdrawal (26%). Most frequent side effects were: erythema in 7.3%, burning of skin due to salt solution in 3.6%. Safety and efficacy could be proven in both atp- and itt-group. A marked difference in efficacy between atp and itt underlines the importance of evaluating itt-data providing a more realistic assessment of a treatment modality in practice. This treatment is especially recommended for patients with chronic type of AD, high compliance and time free for therapy.
Difference between real and perceived power of dermoscopical methods for detection of malignant melanoma.
Clear proceedings in detection of malignant melanoma and monitoring of melanocytic nevi (MN) have been achieved by dermoscopy in recent years: sensitivity to 95% is possible for experts. Does patients' confidence in methods for detection of malignant melanoma most important for adherence in follow-up reflect this diagnostic power? A self-administered survey was performed in 210 consecutive patients at 13 private dermatological practices and the department of Dermatology of the University of Regensburg. Confidence was assessed by a 5-step ordinal scale ranging from 1 to 5 (higher values indicate higher confidence) and willingness-to-pay (wtp) as health-economic instrument for naked-eye inspection (NEI), handheld dermoscopy (HHD), digital dermoscopy (DD), and teledermoscopy (TD); additional, wtp for a hypothetical method promising 100% accuracy. Data of 143 patients (response rate 69.5%; mean age 37 years, 58% female) could be analysed. Mean confidence was 1.9 0.9 for NEI, 2.8 0.9 for HHD, 4.5 0.7 for DD, and 4.7 0.5 for TD. Mean wtp per examination was 0.64% 1.1 of monthly income for NEI, 1.1% 1.9 for HHD, 2.8% 3.3 for DD, 3.1% 4.6 for TD, and 5.0% 7.8 for hypothetical method. Differences between methods were statistically significant. Compared to the hypothetical method, NEI achieved only 14.9%, HHD 24.8%, DD 58.4%, and TD 60% of maximum confidence. This study was performed without any influence on routine information for patients. Results therefore represent patients' actual knowledge of dermoscopical methods in daily dermatological practices. Patients' confidence was highest for TD, HHD was clearly underestimated. Willingness-to-pay in HHD, DD, and TD was at least 40% below a hypothetical method promising 100% accuracy. Better information about diagnostic accuracy of methods available is necessary to increase patients' knowledge and confidence.
Dermatoscopy of "dysplastic nevi": a beacon in diagnostic darkness.
The sequential progression model for melanocytic tumours from common nevus to malignant melanoma was proposed by Clark almost 30 years ago. The "dysplastic nevus" has frequently been considered a logical offspring of this concept and as a direct precursor of melanoma, analogous to the epithelial dysplasia-carcinoma sequence. Despite the use of modern molecular methods, there is no consensus as to if the dysplastic nevus represents a true precursor lesion of melanoma, a separate distinct type of nevus, or a diagnostic dilemma. Currently, the concept of melanocytic dysplasia remains subject to confusing definitions at all levels of the diagnostic process, i.e. clinical appearance, dermatohistopathology, and molecular biology. In this review, we collect evidence that nevi fulfilling Clark and Elder's classic histological criteria mostly represent "endpoints" of nevocytic evolution, whereas a minority of "dysplastic nevi" represent true melanoma precursors. The unsolved dilemma is that neither clinical, histopathological nor molecular criteria exist to make a distinction between dysplastic nevi and early melanomas. Our analysis of the current knowledge on dysplastic nevi shows that dermatoscopy remains the only quantifiable, easily applicable and reproducible diagnostic tool to approach the problem. Due to a "quantum leap" in optical resolution, objective scores can be established, e.g. the total dermatoscopy score (TDS) according to the ABCD rule, and documentation of changes over time are possible by digital image storage devices. Although dermatoscopy does not solve the dilemma of discriminating early, basically feature-less melanomas from dysplastic nevi, and it does not prove that dysplastic nevus is a distinct entity, it helps make melanocytic tumours with unclear malignant potential a manageable disease.