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We often come across differences in the severity of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) as assessed subjectively by the patients themselves and objectively by the attending physicians. For the purpose of examining the differences in the assessment of AGA between patients and physicians, we presented the Norwood classification to male patients and the Shiseido classification to female patients and asked them to assess the degree of hair loss by themselves. We compared the results with the severity as assessed by 2 specified dermatologists. The results show that the assessments of the severity of AGA were consistent between the patients and physicians in 42% (15/36) of cases, the physicians reported a higher grade of severity than the patients themselves in 30% (11/36) of cases, and the patients reported a higher grade of severity than the physicians in 28% (10/36) of cases; however, the Wilcoxon signed rank statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the patients and physicians assessments. AGA should be treated in accordance with individual symptoms and wishes and not a standardized treatment protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the case of a 54-year-old woman with asthma and atopic dermatitis who presented a white spot on the genitalia. Histologic examination showed numerous eosinophils in the epithelium and the dermis. Eosinophilic esophagitis is defined as an esophageal disease characterized clinically by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction and histologically by an eosinophil-predominant inflammation. We discuss the possible relationship between the two diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this review we summarize the characteristic features of multiple eruptive dermatofibromas based on an analysis of cases in the literature. Many researchers have reported multiple eruptive dermatofibromas diagnosed using the definition of "multiple" as the presence of at least 15 lesions. However, this criterion is arbitrarily chosen and might not be entirely valid for all cases. A more precise definition may include the eruption of several multiple eruptive dermatofibromas reported within a short period of time. Because more than half of the patients with multiple eruptive dermatofibromas have underlying diseases, and more than 80% of the underlying diseases are immunemediated, multiple eruptive dermatofibromas could possibly be considered as a partial manifestation of an immune-mediated disease. This underscores the possibility of early diagnosis of immune-mediated diseases in patients with multiple eruptive dermatofibromas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous surgical methods have been introduced to treat osmidrosis. However, many problems with wound healing have been reported, including haematoma, seroma, skin necrosis and severe scarring. Ultrasound energy liquefies sweat glands via cavitation, but minimally affects blood vessels and nerves at the same energy level. Our patient was treated with ultrasonic surgical aspiration, which allowed the effective removal of the apocrine glands with little scarring. The ultrasonic surgical aspirator offers a safe and effective method to treat osmidrosis with few complications. This is the operation of first choice, especially for the patients who are sensitive about their surgical scars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 71-year-old man having pigmented macules of one month duration. Microscopic examination revealed sheets of cells abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, enlarged nuclei and several mitotic figures. Immunohistochemical studies were negative for CD56, CD20, CD8, CD4 and CD3, and positive for lysozyme, myeolo-peroxidase, CD45 and CD43, which confirms myeloid sarcoma diagnosis.

Presents a letter to the editor about segmental neurofibromatosis.

5α-dihydrotestosterone is known to play a crucial part in the regulation of hair growth and in the development of androgenetic alopecia. 5α-dihydrotestosterone is formed locally within the hair follicle from the systemic precursor testosterone by cutaneous steroid 5α-reductase. Moreover, adrenal steroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone are converted to 5α-dihydrotestosterone by isolated hair follicles, which may provide an additional source of intrafollicular 5α-dihydrotestosterone levels. Elevated urinary dehydroepiandrosterone and serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate have been reported to be present in balding young men. These reports suggest that dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate may act as an important endocrine factor in the development of androgenetic alopecia. Hence the question arises whether the dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate can be metabolized within the hair follicles to yield dehydroepiandrosterone by the microsomal enzyme steroid sulfatase, and where steroid sulfatase might be localized. We therefore performed immunostaining for steroid sulfatase on human scalp biopsies as well as analysis of steroid sulfatase enzyme activity in defined compartments of human beard and occipital hair follicles ex vivo. Using both methods steroid sulfatase was primarily detected in the dermal papilla. Steroid sulfatase activity was inhibited by estrone-3-O-sulfamate, a specific inhibitor of steroid sulfatase, in a concentration-dependent way. Furthermore, we show that dermal papillae are able to utilize dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate to produce 5α-dihydrotestosterone, which lends further support to the hypothesis that dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate contributes to androgenetic alopecia and that steroid sulfatase inhibitors could be novel drugs to treat androgen-dependent disorders of the hair follicle such as androgenetic alopecia or hirsutism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]