Bee sting therapy is said to have been practised since the age of ancient Egypt. Some people believe in the benefit of apitherapy for articular inflammation, hematoma, sciatica, hay fever, etc. However, honeybee has several venoms that may induce various clinical and histopathological findings. We report a case of foreign-body granuloma after honeybee acupuncture for polyarthralgia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of foreign-body granuloma developing at an acupunctured site in English literature.
Acupuncture* ; Apitherapy ; Arthralgia ; Bees ; Bites and Stings ; Egypt ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body* ; Hematoma ; Inflammation ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal ; Sciatica ; Venoms

BACKGROUND: The incidence of primary epithelial skin cancers is rising steadily, but little is khown of the clinical features of primary epithelial skin cancers, and limited data are available in Korea. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to analyze the clinical characteristics of primary epithelial skin cancers. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 106 cases of primary epithelial skin cancers observed between 1989 and 1995. RESULTS: 1. Basal cell curcinoma(BCC), 41 cases, was the most common skin cancer. The numbers of cases of squamosis cell carcinoma(SCC) and Bowens disease(BD) were 33 and 24, respectively. There were 3 cases of mixed type(BCC + SCC), 2 cases of Pagers disease and 3 cases of extramammary Pgets disease. 2. The average age at ciragnosis and the mean duration of disease were as follows . BCC(65.5 years old 4.34 years), SCC(70.2 years old-1.63 years), BD(59.3 years old-2.85 years) 3. The face was the most common anatomic site for BCC(93%) and SCC(70%), but the trunk was the most common site for BD. 4. The most common c inical type of BCC was the noduloulcerative type(65% ) and the solid type was t.he most frequert histologic type of BCC. 5. In histologic grading of SCC, grade I and II lesions occupied in 88% of total cases. The numbers of special variants of SCC were as follows aenoid(4), spindle cell(1), verrucous(2) CONCLUSIONS : 1. The average age of patient with primary epithelial skin cancers was older thar: in earlier reports in Korea, and was closer to the recent, reports in western count.ries. 2. The number of cases of BD was much higher than that reported previously. This emphasizeci the importance of tissue examination for the pigmented lesions of the skin, especially on the trunk and extremities.
Extremities ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin Neoplasms* ; Skin*

No Abstract Available.
Mucinoses*

No Abstract Available.
Leukemia* ; Leukemic Infiltration* ; Skin*

Purpura fulminans may be seen in three different clinical settings: (1) in the neonatal period from protein C and S deficiencies, (2) during severe bacterial infections such as “sepsis-associated” purpura fulminans, and (3) during the convalescence of an otherwise benign “preparatory” infectious disease most commonly involving the skin. We report a case of a 20-month-old male child with purpura fulminans as a presenting sign of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). He had suffered from fever of unknown origin for a month. Although purpura fulminans is not a common disorder to dermatologists, the awareness of this disorder may be the clue to diagnose and treat underlying diseases.
Bacterial Infections ; Child ; Communicable Diseases ; Convalescence ; Fever of Unknown Origin ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Protein C ; Purpura Fulminans* ; Purpura* ; Skin

Phototherapy with UVB has become a cornerstone in treating uremic pruritus. To investigate the additional benefit of emollient, we performed emollien-phototherapy in six uremic pruritus patients on hemodialysis, one of which was not responding with UVB only. After applying mineral oil over the whole body, UVB phototh.rapy was performed two to three times weekly. Improvement was noted within one to three treatments and after three to ten treatments, pruritus markedly or totally disappeared in al six patients. This result suggests that emollient-phototherapy is as effective as, or in some patients, more effective than phototherapy with UVB only in managing uemic pruritus.
Humans ; Mineral Oil ; Phototherapy ; Pruritus* ; Renal Dialysis

BACKGROUND: Despite concern about information of neuropeptide, the has been no baseline study of neuropeptide in Koreans. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to investigate the skin sinsitivity of substance P and VIP in normal healthy persoas. METHODS: We prepared 1000pM, 100pM, 10pM solution of substan P 1-11, substnace P 1-7, substnace P 7-11, and VIP. We injected intradermally 50ul of the br ve solutions on 12 sites of both forearms in addition plaebo. We measured the size of the area of flare and wheal along time. We repeated the same test after antihistamine intake. RESULTS: Flare and wheal respinses were dose dependent. Injection of substance P 1-7 did not evoke wheal responses and injection of substance P 7-11 did not wake flare responses. Flare responses of substance P 1-11, ubstance P 7-11, VIP were inhibiteb antihistamine and wheal responses of VIP were inhibitedly antihistamine. CONCLUSION: N-terminal of subtance P is responsible for flarers onses and C-terminal of substnace P is responsible for wieal responses. Flare responses of sisance P were mediated by histamine but wheal responses osubstance P were direct effect on postcapillary venule. Flare and wheal responses of VIF were mediated by histamine.
Forearm ; Histamine ; Humans ; Neuropeptides ; Skin ; Substance P* ; Venules

We report a case of meralgia paresthetica in a 25-year-old man who preferred to wear tight blue jeans. He complained of a tingling sensation and dysesthesia with progressive a nature on the right thigh that had been present for 2 years. The symptoms were relieved after wearing loose trousers.
Adult ; Humans ; Paresthesia ; Sensation ; Thigh

A 31-year-old pregnant woman with pruritus in pregnancy was described; she presented with a one-week history of generalized pruritus at gestational age 6 weeks without primary skin lesion. She had no dermatologic problem before pregnancy. Her pruritic symptom was not con-trolled with conventional emollient and topical corticosteroids. Broadband Ultraviolet B(UVB) phototherapy successfully improved her pruritus. UVB phototherapy also worked well after recurrence of pruritus at pregnancy 23rd week. We report herein a case of pruritus in pregnancy successfully treated with broadband UVB phototherapy.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Phototherapy* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Pruritus* ; Recurrence ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Molluscum contagiosum is a common viral infect oudisease of the skin and mucous membrane that is caused by a molluscum contagiosum virus(MCV; which belongs to the poxviridae family. One of the characteristic histopathologic findings is an epidermal hyperplasia Porter and Archard reported that this phenomenon might be explained by a virus induced epidermal growth factor (EGF) like polypeptide. There was a report that epidermal prolifeation in viral infection might be modulated by other factors than the virus itself such as local immune response. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the expression pattern of epidermal growth factor receptor and other immunocompetent cells by immunohistochemical stainings. METHOD : We performed iinmunoperoxidase staining on the 11 slaecmens of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded molluscum lesions and 15 specimens of snap frozen mollucum lesions with nine primary antibodies(EGFR, factor XIIIa, CDla, S-100 protein, MAC 387, HLA-IR, CD4, CDS, L26) RESULTS: EGF receptors were strongly expressed in lesional MCV ifect,ed keratinocytes. The number of CDla and factor XIIIa positive dermal dendritic cells were sigtly increased. In inflamed lesions, CD4 and HLA-DR expressions were increased in the dermis and per lesional epidermis. CONCLUSION: This study shows that 1) increased EGFR expression is of MCV infected keratinocytes may be related to the pathogenesis of epidermal hyperplasia. 2) helper T lyrnphocytes may operate in inflamed molluscum lesions.
Dermis ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Epidermis ; Factor XIIIa ; HLA-DR Antigens ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Keratinocytes ; Langerhans Cells ; Molluscum Contagiosum* ; Mucous Membrane ; Poxviridae ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; S100 Proteins ; Skin