Arch Dermatol
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Eight cases of a new variant of hereditary epidermolysis bullosa (EB), generalized atrophic benign EB, are reported. This is a junctional form of EB that, in contrast to EB letalis of Herlitz, has a good prognosis. ⋯ Blisters on the skin and mucous membranes heal without scarring or dystrophy but often result in notable atrophy. There is a definite tendency for amelioration of symptoms as the patients age, but therapy has, so far, been ineffective.
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This report concerns the finding of a possible histiocytoma in the skin of the heel of an Egyptian mummy. Only two other neoplasms have been diagnosed microscopically in ancient material-a squamous papilloma of the hand in an Egyptian mummy and possible malignant melanomas in several Peruvian mummies. No visceral tumors have ever been identified in mummies, and only a few possible neoplasms have been detected on gross examination of skeletal material. The satisfactory preservation of cutaneous histologic and pathologic features in mummies should encourage the performance of additional studies.
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Acral lentiginous melanoma represents a fourth variant of malignant melanoma in company with lentigo maligna melanoma, superficial spreading melanoma, and nodular melanoma. It is characterized by a lentiginous (radial) growth phase that evolves over months or years to a dermal (vertical) invasive stage. ⋯ This variant of melanoma probably represents the most common expression of melanoma in blacks; two thirds of the patients in our study were black. The average three-year survival rate was 11%.
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Idiopathic guattate hypomelanosis (IGH) has been studied histochemically (split-dopa) and ultrastructurally in three patients. Affected skin was compared to normal surrounding skin. Argentic stains revealed a decrease in the melanin content of affected epidemis and pigment granules were irregularly distributed. ⋯ Ultrastructural study confirmed the progressive loss of epidermal melanocytes in skin affected by IGH and revealed two types of melanocytes, healthy melanocytes with normal melanogenic activity and melanocytes containing few or no immature melanosomes but showing no cellular alterations. Depigmentation in IGH seems to occur in two stages, loss of melanogenic activity in certain malanocytes and elimination of inactive melanocytes. The basic defect in IGH melanocytes may reflect the aging process.