Clinical and experimental dermatology
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Clin. Exp. Dermatol. · Dec 2009
Case ReportsTreatment with carbamazepine and gabapentin of a patient with primary erythermalgia (erythromelalgia) identified to have a mutation in the SCN9A gene, encoding a voltage-gated sodium channel.
Primary erythermalgia (erythromelalgia) is a rare autosomal dominant condition characterized by intermittent attacks of erythema, increased skin temperature and severe burning pain in the extremities, in a bilateral symmetrical distribution. Mutations in the SCN9A gene, which encodes a voltage-gated sodium channel have been shown to cause this disease. We report a family identified to have a mutation in the SCN9A gene, in which one severely affected family member has responded to the therapeutic combination of gabapentin and carbamazepine treatment.
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Clin. Exp. Dermatol. · Dec 2009
Case ReportsRed ear syndrome and auricular erythromelalgia: the same condition?
Several cases of relapsing attacks during which the ear becomes red and patients experience a burning sensation have been reported in the literature. This combination of symptoms has been described as 'red ear syndrome' (RES). ⋯ The differential diagnosis included RES and erythromelalgia, as isolated auricular variants of erythromelalgia have been described and the symptoms are difficult to distinguish from RES. In this report, we discuss the similarities and differences between RES and erythromelalgia.
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Clin. Exp. Dermatol. · Dec 2009
Patterns of chromonychia during chemotherapy in patients with skin type V and outcome after 1 year of follow-up.
The study was carried out on 17 patients (16 female, 1 male) who presented with nail pigmentation after chemotherapy. Ten patients who were given cyclophosphamide had diffuse black pigmentation, slate-grey to black longitudinal streaks, or diffuse dark-grey pigmentation located proximally with overlying black transverse bands. The pigmentation appearing after hydroxyurea was located more distally, was brownish-black in colour and diffuse, or appeared in single or double transverse bands. ⋯ In patients on carboplatin treatment, brown pigmentation in bands 2-4 mm wide was seen, located distally on the fingernails. Black longitudinal bands on a background of diffuse brown pigmentation were noted after docetaxel treatment. Chemotherapy-induced nail pigmentation in patients skin type V is not an uncommon event, which is probably underestimated and under-reported.
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Clin. Exp. Dermatol. · Dec 2009
Case ReportsDermatoscopic features of cutaneous atypical fibroxanthoma: three cases.
Atypical fibroxanthoma (AFX) is an uncommon, low-grade, malignant, spindle-cell tumour of fibrohistiocytic histogenesis, which can mimic other malignant skin tumours, such as basal and squamous cell carcinoma (CC), melanoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Three cases of AFX were examined by dermatoscopy, which revealed white areas and an atypical polymorphous vascular pattern characterized by the concurrence of different structures: linear, dotted, hairpin, arborescent and highly tortuous vessels, irregularly distributed over the surface. Seborrhoeic elements and photoageing may be accompanying features depending on the anatomical location of the AFX. AFX may be added to the list of slightly pigmented, reddish, malignant cutaneous tumours, such as SCC, MCC, amelanotic/hypomelanotic melanoma and eccrine porocarcinoma, which display prominent and chaotic dermatoscopic neoangiogenetic features in more advanced stages of proliferation.