BACKGROUND: In patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), LE-specific cutaneous lesions include malar rashes, widespread/morbilliform erythema, oral ulcer and bullous lesions. OBJECTIVE: Clinical observations were carried out to define cutaneous features of morbilliform erythema and to see possible relevancy of this erythema to disease activity of SLE. METHODS: Examinations were performed on 7 SLE patients with morbilliform erythema regarding the distribution and course of the cutaneous lesions; some SLE-activity related hematologic/immunologic data taken during/around the time of this skin disease were also assessed in each patient. RESULTS: In most of those patients with morbilliform erythema, which covered the trunk and extremities, the skin lesions lasted for about 2 weeks until their disappearance. At or around the time of suffering from this skin disease of acute eutaneous LE, activities of systemic disease were recognized as "in a state of flare-up or aggravation" with hypocomplementemia and high titers of anti-nDNA autoantibodies. CONCLUSION: As with malar rashes, morbilliform erythema of acute cutaneous LE seems to develop more frequently at the time of severe systemic involvement of immunopathological processes of SLE.
Autoantibodies ; Blister ; Erythema* ; Exanthema ; Extremities ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Oral Ulcer ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

There are many herbs used in the treatment of dermatophytosis as home medicine and Castanea crenata Flos (C.C.F.) is one of that used in Kyung gi-do district. With that regard we tried to examine in vitro antifungal activity of the C.C.F. with its water extract and alcohol extract as the test materials. Until now many authors have studied the antifungal activity with several plant extracts, as like the alcohol extracts of Zanthoxylum piperatum Fructus and Berberis Korea palibin or Fennel oil, and reported that these plant extrscts or essential oiI have good antifungal activities in vitro and in vivo. On that they said that the principal fractions those have strong fungistatic activity were all alikely the fatty acids chemically similar with the well known undecylenic acid. At this in vitro experiment the extracts of C.C.F. were diluted. serially in the Sabourauds dextrose agar and certain portions of fungi (the strains of Trichophyton (Tr.) mentagrophytes and Tr. rubrum) were transplanted into each medium containing different concentrations of test materials then observed its growth for 2 weeks at room temperature. After that we measured the sizes of colony grown in various conditions and compired with that of the normal medium to determine the fungistatic effectiveness. As the result, in the view of the colony sizes, Tr. mentagrophytes and Tr. rubrum equally revealed marked inhibition of its growth only in the media with water extract over the concentration of 10mg/ml in the mediurn, and the critical fungistatic dilution was 20 mg/ml. We could not identified the principal fraction in the water extract of C.C.F.which exhibited antifungal activity. In the comparison of the critical fungistatic dilution with the alcohol extract of Zanthoxylum piperaturn Fructus and Fennel oil, water extract of C.C.F. required tenfold higher concentration for the same effect. However in regarding the utilizing habits of C.C.F. in horne medicine, as topical wet dressing with water boiled solution, we might expect its effect practically. iVow there are problems to be investigated about the chemical natures and physical properties of the C.C.F. and for the antifungal fractions of it, in addition further in vivo study we thought would be interesting.
Agar ; Animals ; Bandages ; Berberis ; Fatty Acids ; Foeniculum ; Fungi ; Glucose ; Horns ; Korea ; Plant Extracts ; Plants ; Tinea ; Trichophyton ; Water ; Zanthoxylum

No abstract available.
Rectovaginal Fistula*

No abstract available.
Chungcheongbuk-do* ; Leptospira interrogans* ; Leptospira*

Dermatitis herpetiformis is a chronic, intensely itchy, papulovesicular skin disorder of unknown cause, which is usually symmetrically distributed on extensor surface. Most patients have an associated gluten-sensitive enteropathy which is usually asymptornatic. We report six cases of dermatitis herpetiformis diagnosed by direct immunofluorescence studies. The patients have had characteristic features of dennatitis herpetiformis, such as vesicles, erythernatous papules, urticaria-like plaques, and hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation, dispersed on the neck, back, and arms. None of the patients had subjective symptoms associated with gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Clinicians should be aware of the clinical features of this disease to avoid possible misdiagnosis, and to provide better therspeutic approaches in time.
Arm ; Celiac Disease ; Dermatitis Herpetiformis* ; Dermatitis* ; Diagnostic Errors ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Hypopigmentation ; Neck ; Skin

Frequent anomalies causing a left-sided appendix are situs inversus and malrotation. The ectopic position of the appendix frequently causes a delay or error in diagnosis because of atypical symptoms. A physical examination is of limited value unless dextrocardia is present. A left-sided appendix is a rare anomaly, but when other diseases are ruled out, it must be considered especially at the emergency department.
Appendicitis* ; Appendix ; Dextrocardia ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Physical Examination ; Situs Inversus

Pemphgus vulgaris (PV), Bullus pemphigoid (BP), and Epidermolysis bullous acqusita (EBA) are autoimmune bullous dermatoses, characterized by circulating IgG autoantibodies. These antibodies react with antigens located at the intercellular substance (ICS) of epidermis, basement membrane zone (BMZ), and subepidermal anchoring fibril zone (AFZ), respectively. The subclass distribution of IgG autoantibodies, and the properties and degrees of complement fixing activities of these autoantibodies in each of the above diseases have not been well understood. Indirect immunofluorescence and in vitro complement stainings were performed for the titration of subclasses of IgG antibodies and for the immunofluorescence staining reactivities of complement components C3, C4, C5b-9, H, C4bp, and S. Each serum specimen from five cases of PV, five cases of BP. and three cases of EBA was tested. The findings of multistep technique with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies are as follows : All four subclasses of IgG antibodies were identified at the antigenic sites in these group, however there were some differences in the antibodies titers. In PV and BP the dominant subclass of highest antibody titer was IgG1 and/or IgG4. In EBA only IgG4 was dominant in all three cases. The results of complement component stainings, in most of the cases of PV, showed positive for C3 and C4 but were negative for the other components or inhibitor proteins at the ICS of epidermis. In BP most of the cases revealed positive staining reactivities at the BMZ for C3, C4, C5b-9, H, and C4bp-9 with no staining reactivities for the inhibitor proteins No significant relevancy was found between the titers of complement fixing IgG subclasses and the numbers of positive complement staining reactivities for complement components. The results suggest that the complement system may contribute more strongly to the formation of bullous lesions in BP and EBA than in PV.
Antibodies ; Autoantibodies ; Basement Membrane ; Blister ; Complement Membrane Attack Complex ; Complement System Proteins ; Epidermis ; Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita* ; Epidermolysis Bullosa* ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Immunoglobulin G ; Pemphigoid, Bullous* ; Pemphigus* ; Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous

A 40-year-old woman had a pruritic, vesiculobullous eruption of her face for 6 weeks with no evidence of systemic disease. A biopsy showed subepidermal blisters and dermal infiltrates of neutrophilic inflammatory cells. Direct immunofluorescence demonstrated thick linear deposits of IgG and C3 along the basement membrane zone. The cleavage plane was identified to be just beneath the lamina densa. Using Western immunoblots, the patient's IgG autoantibodies were found to recognize type VII proeollagen. Moderate starting doses of systemic prednisolone gave a good response for this patient with an early inflammatory form of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.
Adult ; Autoantibodies ; Basement Membrane ; Biopsy ; Blister ; Blotting, Western ; Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita* ; Epidermolysis Bullosa* ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Neutrophils ; Prednisolone

Two cases of Weber-Christian disease are reported. This very rare disease, we had two another reports of case sincc last ten years in The Korean Journal of Dermatology. In our cases both patients are seventeen years old girls and have the histories of remissions and exacerbations for two to three years. The skin lesions of subcutaneous nodules are scattered on the trunk, extremities and even to the hand dorsurns, with the atrophic depressions. Histologic features are typical with faormy histiocytes in the subcutaneous fat tissue. On tne treatments these patients are given oral corticosteroid, antihistaminics and salicylate with some improvments.
Depression ; Dermatology ; Extremities ; Female ; Hand ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative* ; Rare Diseases ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat

Edwards syndrome is first introduced by Edwards and characterized by facial anomalies, multiple cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urogenital, and skeletal malformations. It results from triplication of part or all of chromosome 18 in some or all of the patient's cells. It has an incidence of 1 in 4,500 live births or less and short life expectancy. Recently we experienced a case of 3-day-old female new born infant with this syndrome. Post mortem examination showed progeric face with prominent occiput, large flabby ears, microphthalmia, and micrognathia, bilateral clenched hands with flexion contraction of middle fingers, and bilateral rockerbottom feet. Internal examination revealed horseshoe kidney, esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula, two accessory spleens, and multiple cardiac anomalies. A trisomy 18 was confirmed by the cytogenetic study.
Infant ; Male ; Female ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Incidence