Lichen planus pemphigoides is an autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease. The finding of immunoglobulin G antibodies directed against the basement membrane zone differentiates it from bullous lichen planus. The aim of this study was to identify the target antigen of lichen planus pemphigoides autoantibodies. Sera from lichen planus pemphigoides patients (n = 4) stained the epidermal side of NaCl-split human skin in a pattern indistinguishable from that produced by bullous pemphigoid ...

BACKGROUND: Lentigo maligna (LM) is a pigmented neoplasm on sun-exposed skin of elderly patients. LM slowly increases in size and may become lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM), a potentially fatal malignancy. Complete excision is the treatment of choice. Mohs' micrographic surgery (MMS) with frozen and permanent sections may be used for complete eradication of the lesion, while sparing as much normal tissue as possible. The authors studied the efficacy of MMS for the treatment of LM and ...

OBJECTIVE: The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) group revised and validated the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) classification criteria in order to improve clinical relevance, meet stringent methodology requirements, and incorporate new knowledge regarding the immunology of SLE.

METHODS: The classification criteria were derived from a set of 702 expert-rated patient scenarios. Recursive partitioning was used to derive an ...

Objective To study the impact of obesity and smoking on psoriasis.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting University of Utah Department of Dermatology clinics.Patients A case series of patients with psoriasis enrolled in the prospective Utah Psoriasis Initiative (UPI) (which carefully performs phenotyping of patients with psoriasis) was compared with 3 population databases: the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of the Utah population, the 1998 patient-member survey from the ...

We recently reported that the -308A tumor necrosis factor alpha promoter polymorphism is associated with the photosensitive disorder subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and mediates an exaggerated tumor necrosis factor alpha response to ultraviolet B. We now sought to examine the association of this polymorphism with adult dermatomyositis, a photosensitive disease that exhibits some features in common with subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Fifty adult patients with ...

One theory for the pathophysiology of photosensitive autoimmune skin diseases is that photoinduction of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) secretion leads to keratinocyte apoptosis and translocation of previously sequestered cellular antigens that then activate the immune system. We previously found an association of the overproducing TNFalpha-308 A variant with adult dermatomyositis and with subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Here we focused on mannose binding lectin (MBL), ...

BACKGROUND: A new class of topical receptor-selective acetylenic retinoids, the first of which is tazarotene, has been developed.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the safety, efficacy, and duration of therapeutic effect of 12 weeks of once-daily tazarotene 0.1% and 0.05% gel with that of twice-daily fluocinonide 0.05% cream in the treatment of patients with plaque psoriasis.

METHODS: Three hundred forty-eight patients with plaque psoriasis were enrolled and 275 patients completed a ...

The presence of the discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) skin lesion in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been suggested to be a marker of less frequent and less severe renal disease. The clinical and laboratory features of seventeen patients who were seen in a dermatology practice and who had DLE as a manifestation of SLE (DLE-SLE) are reported. DLE preceded the diagnosis of SLE in eight patients. In six patients, the onset was concurrent, whereas in three the SLE was ...

OBJECTIVE: To prepare a dermatologic addendum to the 2012 revised International Chapel Hill Consensus Conference Nomenclature of Vasculitides (CHCC2012) to address vasculitides affecting the skin (D-CHCC). The goal was to standardize the names and definitions for cutaneous vasculitis.

METHODS: A nominal group technique with a facilitator was used to reach consensus on the D-CHCC nomenclature, using multiple face-to-face meetings, e-mail discussions, and teleconferences.

RESULTS: ...

SUMMARY Skin disease in patients with lupus erythematosus may be subdivided into two broad categories - those lesions that when biopsied demonstrate interface dermatitis and those that do not demonstrate interface dermatitis. The skin lesions that are represented by the interface dermatitis include discoid lupus erythematosus, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Patients with these 'specific' manifestations have varying degrees of systemic ...

BACKGROUND: The cutaneous manifestations of dermatomyositis can be the most prominent finding and are often difficult to treat.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether low-dose methotrexate administered weekly in combination with other systemic therapies or as a sole systemic agent is effective in the treatment of the cutaneous disease in patients with dermatomyositis.

METHODS: We reviewed the records of 13 patients who received oral methotrexate in doses ranging from 2.5 to 30 ...

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an idiopathic, inflammatory, ulcerative disease of undetermined cause. The diagnosis is based on clinical and pathologic features and requires exclusion of conditions that produce ulcerations. An atypical bullous variant (atypical pyoderma gangrenosum, APG) exists with clinical features similar to those of Sweet syndrome. Because PG is a rare disease, few large case series have been reported. Pyoderma gangrenosum was first recognized as a unique disease ...

The term peripheral ulcerative keratitis represents a spectrum of inflammatory diseases, characterized by cellular infiltration, corneal thinning, and ulceration. Neutrophilic dermatoses are rarely associated with peripheral ulcerative keratitis. To date, peripheral ulcerative keratitis has only been reported in patients with pyoderma gangrenosum. Separate episodes of pyoderma gangrenosum, Sweet's syndrome, and pustular vasculitis developed in a 60-year-old patient with rheumatoid ...