BACKGROUND: For the diagnoais of atopic dermatitis(AD) an array of basic and minor clinical features proposed by Hanifin and Rajka were in common use. However, there have been some disputes in the diagnostic significance of minor clinical features of AD due to ethni. differences, variance in definitions, materisls and methods, OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the dignostic significance of total 38 minor clinical features of AD in Korean children. Most of them wefe roposed by some authors in the literature and the remainder by ourselves based on our clinical experienes. METHODS: The frequency of these features was studied in 48 patieni s with typical AD compared to that in 89 control subjects. The age of all studied individuals ranged from 2 to 12 years. RESULTS: Thirteen of these was including xerosis, perifollicular acccntuation, frontal lichenification, anterior neck folds, eyelid eczema, Dennie-Morgan folds, auricular fiss are/eczema, pityriasis alba, vertral wrist eczema, infragluteal eczema, sandpaper-like skin lesion of yelbow/knee/lateral malleolus, white dermographism, and scalp scaling were shown to be of mueh diag nostic significance(P<0,001). CONCLUSION: We propose that above-mentioned 13 monor features may be a valuable guideline for the large scale field survey on the incidence and prevalence of AD in Korea children.
Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Dissent and Disputes ; Eczema ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Neck ; Pityriasis ; Prevalence ; Scalp ; Skin ; Wrist

BACKGROUND: Three age-depedent clinical phases(infantile, childhood and adult phase) of atopic dermatitis(AD) were recognized. We think that for t he diagnosis of AD there seems to be some differences in minor clinical features of diagnosic significance according to each phase, yet only a few studies about them. OBJECTIVES: The purprrse of the present study was to evalute the diagnostic significance of total 39 minor clinical features of AD in Korean adolescenc and adult popluation, all but only skin were proposed by our previous study for Korean children. METHODS: The frequeney of 39 minor clinical features wistudied in 82 patients with typical AD compared to that in 109 control subjects. The age all studied individuals ranged from 13 to 42 years. Furthermore, some characteristic micro features of AD in them were compared with those from our previous study for Korean children. RESULTS: Twenty-seven minor features including xerosis, peifolhcular accentuation, frontal lichenification, anterior neck folds, eyelid eczema, Dennie-Mogan folds, auricular fissure/eczema, pityriasis alba, ventiral wrist eczema, infragluteal eczcm, sandpaper-like skin lesions on elbow/knee/lateral malleblus, white dermographism, scalaling, Hertoghes sign, orbital darkening, cheilitis, facial erythema/pallor, hyperlinear paln, ichthyosiform skin lesions, nipple eczema, nummular eczema, pompholyx, itchy hyperker totic lesions of dorsal hands, knuckle dermatitis of hands, hangnail, non-specific hand/foot dermatitis, chronic dermatophytosis were shown to be of much diagnostic signiic, nce(P<0.001). CONCLUSION: We think tiat 13 minor features such as Hert piges sign, cheilitis, facial erythe- mapallor, hyperlinear ichthyosiform skin lesions, ripile eczema, nummular eczema, pompholyx, itchy hyperkpratotic lesions of dorsal hands, kzukle dermatitis of hands, hangnail, non-specific hand/foot dermatitis, chronic dermato h tosis are specific for Korean adolescence and adult population with AD. Taken together, to propose that these 13 minor features be added to a gardeline for the large scale field sirvy on the incidence and prevalence of AD in the Korea adolescence and adult population.
Adolescent* ; Adult* ; Cheilitis ; Child ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diagnosis ; Eczema ; Eczema, Dyshidrotic ; Eyelids ; Hand ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Neck ; Nipples ; Orbit ; Pityriasis ; Prevalence ; Skin ; Tinea ; Wrist

Human sparganosis is not uncommon and over 60 cases are reported in Korea but the case infested with multiple spargana is rare. The case we are reporting here is a 33 year-old Korean male having had an abscess and several bean-sized nodules on the left thigh. The patient had the history of eating frogs as a tonic food 3 years ago. Five spargana were removed from the lesions by surgical excision. Two of them were alive and other three were degenerated or calcified.
Abscess ; Adult ; Eating ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Sparganosis* ; Thigh

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown an incomplete agreement with the previously proposed diagnostic criteria of Hanifin and Rajka for atopic dermatitis(AD). This could be due to ethnic differences in the clinical manifestations of AD. To make a diagnosis of AD with confidence, one has to depend on the history and clinical picture according to race. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to find out the importance of individual symptoms and histories for the diagnosis of Korean AD by questionnaire. METHODS: The frequency of 25 questionnaire items was studied in 130 patients with typical AD (48 childhood, 82 adolescence/adult) compared to that in 198 control subjects (89 childhood, 109 adolescence/adult). RESULTS: Nine items(itchy with bodily heat, itchy when sweating, cholinergic urticaria, miliaria, irritation with fabrics, food reaction, pollen allergy, itch with stress) were shown to be of much diagnostic significance(p<0.001) in childhood AD,otherwise thirteen items(itchy with bodily heat, itchy when sweating, cholinergic urticaria, sense of fever, excessive sweating, miliaria, irritation with cosmetics, irritation with fabrics, irritation prone hands, itchy with woolen clothes, pollen allergy, itch with stress, dermographism) were in adolescent and adult, AD. CONCLUSION: We found some diagnostic significance of clinical histories in Korean AD patients by questionnaire. We propose that this accessible questionnaire would be an efficient and powerful method with which to obtain new and valid information on AD.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Continental Population Groups ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diagnosis ; Fever ; Hand ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Miliaria ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Urticaria

Psoriasis is a relatively common disorder that affects at least 1-2% of the population, however, the pathogenesis is not fully understood yet. Histopathologically, psoriatic lesion is characterized by hyperplasia of keratinocyte, intraepidermal neutrophil accumulation and activated T lymphocyte infiltration in the dermis. Among many cytokines, IL-8 is known to play a role for the activation and migration for neutrophil and T lymphocyte and for the proliferation of keratinocyte. We performed immunohistochemical staining with anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibody for the active lesion, stable lesion and normal-looking skin of ten psoriatic patients and ten healthy controls. Strong expression of IL-8 in the epidermis and dermis was noted from the active as well as stable psoriatic skins. In the normal-looking skin of the psoriatic patients, only faint expression which is not different from healthy control skin, was noted. These observations indicate that the expression of IL-8 is increased in psoriatic lesion, and IL-S is important for the initiation and maintenance of psoriasis.
Cytokines ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Interleukin-8* ; Keratinocytes ; Lymphocytes ; Neutrophils ; Psoriasis ; Skin*

Fordyce's disease is a condition known as ectopically located sebaceous glands on the vermilion borders of the lips and oral mucosa. Clinically, it is groups of minute, yellowish, globoid macules and papules. Histologically, it is characterized by sebaceous glands not associated with hair follicles. We report on a 40-year-old man with Fordyce's disease showing particularly wide distribution on the buccal mucosa and upper lip.
Adult ; Hair Follicle ; Humans ; Lip ; Mouth Mucosa ; Sebaceous Glands

Trichilemmal horn(trichilemmal keratosis) is a rare keratinizing tumor that resembles a cutaneous horn. Histologically, it is characterized by an abrupt maturation of keratinocytes into lamellar keratin without the formation of a granular layer. We describe a case of a trichilemmal horn on the right cheek of a 78-year-old woman.
Aged ; Animals ; Cheek ; Female ; Horns* ; Humans ; Keratinocytes

BACKGROUND: The incidence of atopic of atopic dermatitis (AD) varies widely by different ages and it has been well-founded that the epidemiology of AD has been studied on admission of the first grade schoolchildren. AD is a common skin disease of childhood and tends to increase significantly during recent decades, but informations regarding the exact prevalence of AD, based on the large-scale general population study, are unavailable in korea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the exact prevalence of AD and to evaluate the diagnostic significance of some well-known minor clinical features associated with AD in the first grade school children in one of Kouean cities, Puchon, kyunggi-do. METHODS: Four thousands and eighteen first grde school children (boys ; 2072, girls ; 1946) participated inthis study. Two dermatologists determined the presence of skin lesions by through skin examination. Diagnosis of AD was made only when typical flexural and/or extensor and/or infraauricular fissure/eczema exist. The frequency as well as their diagnostic significance of ten minor features of AD (xerosis, ichthyosiform skin lesion, hyperlinear palm,)keratosis pilaris, non-specific hand/foot dermatitis, cheilitis, nipple eczema, perifollicular accentuation, pityriasis alba, Dennie-Morgan infraorbital fold) thought suitable items for field survey by authors, were also evaluated. RESULTS: The total prevalence of AD in the first grade school children of Puchon city was 3. 78%. The prevalence in boys was 3.37% and that in girls was 4.2 Associated minor features in individuals diagnosed as having AD were, in order of frequency, pityriasis alba (59.8%), perifollicular accentuation (57.8%), , keratosis pilaris (56.5%), hyperlinear palms (55.2%), xerosis (43.3%), Dennie-Morgan infraorbital fold (26.3%), etc. All but the ichthyosiform skin lesions and nipple eczema were significantly more frequent in individuals diagnosed as having AD (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: A relatively low prevalence shown in this study might be due to rather strict diagnostic criteria. Some helpful and diagnostically significant minor clinical features of AD, suitable for field survy, is suggested. Further studies are needed for accurate estimation of the prevalence of AD in korea including different regional and age population.
Cheilitis ; Child ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diagnosis ; Eczema ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Incidence ; Keratosis ; Korea ; Nipples ; Pityriasis ; Prevalence* ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

A 38-year-old man presented with a black pigmented patch overlying his upper lip, a part of the gingiva and the hard palate. An intradermal tumor mass was palpated at the central portion of the pigmented patch of the upper lip. Diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) is a potent contact sensitizer that could stimulate non-specific immunity. We report a case of desmoplastic malignant melanoma (DMM) in which an atypical lentiginous pigmentation disappeared with topical DPCP immunotherapy and the dermal tumor mass was removed by a surgical wedge-shaped excision. Though an atypical lentiginous pigmentation of DMM sometimes undergoes extensive spontaneous regression, in our case it could be attributed to the therapeutic effect of topical DPCP immunotherapy rather than a spontaneous regression.
Adult ; Gingiva ; Humans ; Immunity, Innate ; Immunotherapy ; Lip ; Melanoma* ; Palate, Hard ; Pigmentation*

Neonatal lupus erytematosus is a distinct subset of lupus erythematosus. It is characterized by cutaneous findings exhibiting the morphology of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, congenital heart block, and anti-Ro/SSA and/or anti-La/SSB autoantibodies which result from the transplacental passage of maternal autoantibodies. We report a case of a 12-week-old female infant who presented with characteristic clinical and histopathological features of cutaneous neonatal lupus erythematosus but without evidence of congenital heart block. Initial serological studies reveled the presence of anti-La/SSB anti-bodies and antinuclear antibodies. 5 months later, follow-up serology was negative in accordance with a clinical remission.
Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Autoantibodies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Block ; Humans ; Infant ; Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous