Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift für Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete
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A 37 year old woman presented with a 4-month history of "plaques opalines" of the oral mucosa complaining of a rough feeling in her mouth and burning when swallowing. On the basis of clinical, histological and serological details and especially the presence of generalized indolent lymphadenopathy, the diagnosis of secondary syphilis was made. Although plaques opalines are a relatively rare manifestation of secondary syphilis, they can occasionally be the only sign and are important in the differential diagnostic considerations of gray-white mucosal lesions, especially with current continuing rise of syphilis incidence in Central Europe.
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Case Reports
[Dronabinol for supportive therapy in patients with malignant melanoma and liver metastases].
Loss of appetite and nausea can reduce the quality of life of patients with malignant melanoma and liver metastases. Often established antiemetic drugs fail to bring relief. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), which is the active agent of Indian hemp, has been used successfully in this situation for other malignant tumors. ⋯ Loss of appetite and nausea due to liver metastases of malignant melanoma can be treated in individual cases supportively with Dronabinol.
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Primary infections with herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) may lead to severe illness in pregnancy. Both diseases may be associated with transplacental virus transmission and fetal infection. Such infections can lead to intrauterine death, severe malformations and premature birth; the fetal/congenital varicella syndrome is well-defined. ⋯ Suppression of recurrent genital herpes during the last weeks of pregnancy with valacyclovir and acyclovir reduces the need for surgical intervention. Neonates exposed to VZV should receive specific immunoglobulin. If neonates show signs of either infection, immediate treatment with acyclovir must be initiated.
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Pancreatic panniculitis is a rare complication occurring in 0.3-3% of patients with pancreatic disease. Clinical features include erythematous painful subcutaneous nodules usually on the lower leg and foot. A 72-year-old man was diagnosed in 2002 with a neuroendocrine carcinoma of the head of the pancreas. ⋯ Histopathologic examination of a nodule showed subcutaneous fat necrosis with ghost cells surrounded by an acute inflammatory infiltrate. The pathogenesis of pancreatic panniculitis is unclear. The pancreatic enzyme lipase may induce lipolysis and fat necrosis with secondary tissue inflammation.
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Connective tissue diseases are a heterogeneous group of chronic multisystem inflammatory disorders including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), dermato- (DM) and polymyositis (PM), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), and Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Patients can present with similar clinical features, particularly during the first onset of symptoms, which frequently makes the diagnosis of a specific disease difficult. ⋯ Clinical signs, such as fatigue, fever, or weight loss, may precede any systemic organ involvement and in children, mucocutaneous manifestations develop most frequently during the varying disease course. This review summarizes recent information on epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic procedures, and treatment strategies of the different connective tissue diseases, concentrating on specific problems in childhood.