Accelerating effects of epidermal growth factor on skin lesions of pemphigus vulgaris: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a severe blistering disease involving the skin and mucous membranes. The most common causes of death in these patients are adverse effects of drugs, and infection. Skin lesions are one of the important sources of infection. Thus, any local treatment that could reduce healing time of lesions and consequently reduce the total dosage of drugs needed to treat is favourable. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in reducing healing time of lesions in patients with pemphigus vulgaris. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, within-patient, left/right, controlled trial, 20 hospitalized patients with pathologial and immunohistologial (direct and indirect immunoflourecence) proven pemphigus vulgaris (PV) were chosen. In addition, all patients had at least one appropriate pemphigus lesion on each side of the body that had not healed after 2-week systemic therapy and sterile saline washing. EGF (10 microg/g) in 0.1% silver sulfadiazine cream vs. 0.1% silver sulfadiazine cream alone was applied randomly on one side of the body. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that median time to heal with application of EGF plus silver sulfadiazine cream was 9 days, in comparison with 15 days for silver sulfadiazine cream alone (log-rank test, P=0.0003). No intervention-related adverse effect was observed during the study. CONCLUSIONS: EGF can significantly reduce healing time of skin lesions in patients with pemphigus vulgaris, at least when this cream base is applied (Cochrane skin group identifier: CSG20).     

Gold: an old drug still working in refractory pemphigus

BACKGROUND: The mainstay of treatment for pemphigus is systemic corticosteroids. Different adjuvants have been used to reduce side-effects of long-term corticotherapy. Gold is an anti-inflammatory drug used in autoimmune diseases, whose use has waned with the advent of new immunosuppressive agents. OBJECTIVE: To study the outcome of the use of intramuscular gold treatment of pemphigus vulgaris refractory to previous therapies. METHODS: Thirteen patients with pemphigus vulgaris who had failed to respond to several prior therapies were treated with aurothiomalate, as a steroid-sparing agent. Patients were monitored to assess disease activity and gold toxicity. RESULTS: Seven patients achieved complete remission. Four patients were able to taper prednisone doses, although pemphigus flared when prednisone was discontinued or reduced. Toxicity was observed in the other two patients. CONCLUSIONS: In 53.4% of the patients, the use of chrysotherapy resulted in the complete clearing of the disease, discontinuation of all systemic therapies and induced a long-term clinical remission. Prednisone doses were able to be reduced in the remaining 46.6%. Any side-effects were reversible with drug discontinuation. Gold therapy showed efficacy as a secondary line treatment in refractory pemphigus vulgaris.     

复合维生素E,C,B组合物面膜治疗寻常痤疮117例的疗效和安全性(英文)

目的:了解维生素E,C,B组合物面膜治疗寻常痤疮的疗效及安全性。方法:117例13a以上、痤疮严重程度分级在2级以上且主要表现于脸部的病人,予维生素E,C,B组合物面膜治疗,每日1次,共8wk。观察治疗前后痤疮数量及性质,包括粉刺、丘疹、脓疱及囊肿之数目,并评估整体疗效。结果:治疗后,粉刺、丘疹、脓疱及囊肿数目下降了13±s13,10±12,5±7及3±3,均P<0.01。7例(6.0%)病人症状完全改善,44例(37.6%)中度改善,56例(47.9%)轻度改善,10例(8.6%)无改善。59例(50.4%)病人无红肿、搔痒、灼热及脱皮等现象发生。结论:维生素E,C,B组合物面膜治疗痤疮有效,超过半数的受试者无不良反应发生,可作为传统治疗寻常痤疮药物的替代。     

Minocycline is a useful adjuvant therapy for pemphigus

Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disease with high mortality if untreated. The cases of 10 patients who had minocycline 100 mg daily added as adjuvant therapy are reported. Prior to the use of minocycline, all patients had active disease, nine were on prednisolone (10–40 mg) and five were on azathioprine (100–200 mg). The response was assessed on clinical improvement and reduction of immunosuppressive (IS) drugs. It was graded into four categories: major, minor, equivocal and no significant response. A major response was seen in four patients, minor in two, equivocal in one and no improvement in three patients. The prednisolone dose in the six responders was reduced to 0–6 mg (0 mg in three patients), with an average decrease of 21 mg. The average time to respond was 8 months. Of the six responders, three were on azathioprine, which was ceased in two patients and reduced by two-thirds in the other patient. No patient ceased minocycline because of side effects. In conclusion, minocycline 100 mg daily is a simple, safe and well tolerated treatment that should be tried in patients with pemphigus to reduce disease activity and/or the dose of potent IS agents.     

The effectiveness of intermittent isotretinoin treatment in mild or moderate acne

BACKGROUND: Isotretinoin is the only drug that affects almost all factors in acne pathogenesis. Recently, its use for the treatment of chronic mild or moderate acne unresponsive to long-term antibiotic therapy, and with a tendency to cause scarring and leading to negative psychological effects, has became popular. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of intermittent isotretinoin treatment in mild or moderate acne. METHODS: Sixty patients with mild or moderate acne localized to the face were enrolled in the study. The treatment regimen consisted of isotretinoin, 0.5-0.75 mg/kg per day, applied for 1 week every 4 weeks for a total period of 6 months, according to the degree of acne and number of inflammatory lesions. RESULTS: Forty-one (68.3%) of the 60 patients completed the 6-month therapy. At the end of the treatment complete improvement was observed in 34 patients (82.9%) out of 41. All adverse effects were mild and discontinuation of the treatment was not necessary. CONCLUSION: Intermittent isotretinoin treatment was found to be a safe and effective choice for patients with mild or moderate acne.     

Lupus vulgaris in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and persistent IgG deficiency

We present the case of a patient with juvenile onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who developed a persistent, acquired hypogammaglobulinaemia with IgG deficiency. The hypogammaglobulinaemia was probably a complication of high dose corticosteroid treatment. The serum IgG level remained subnormal despite intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Lupus vulgaris, which developed on the nasal cartilage in this patient with SLE, is not an expected finding. This patient is probably the first reported case of SLE associated with lupus vulgaris.     

复合红外光治疗寻常型痤疮临床观察

目的 评价复合红外光治疗寻常型痤疮的疗效及其安全性.方法 将120例门诊痤疮患者随机分为两组,实验组60例采用复合红外光美容仪照射治疗1～8周,对照组采用暗疮面膜治疗1～8周,在治疗的第1、2、4、8周进行随访,严格记录每次治疗后皮损变化及不良反应,以治疗后炎性皮损减少百分率评价疗效,并观察其安全性.结果 实验组治疗的总有效率为91.67%,对照组治疗的总有效率为83.33%,经秩和检验,P＜0.05,两者治疗有显著性差异,实验组在治疗过程中除出现一过性红斑外,未发现其他不良反应.结论 复合红外光治疗寻常型痤疮疗效显著、起效快、疗程短、无痛苦、安全性高.     

寻常型天疱疮自身抗原Dsg3片段的重组表达和特异性细胞反应

目的 :探讨寻常型天疱疮自身抗原Dsg3在特异性T细胞反应中的作用 ,为自身免疫性疾病机制的研究提供依据。方法 :根据Genbank中的Dsg3序列分析 ,采用RT PCR法克隆自身抗原Dsg3E1,E2 ,E3,E4,E5多肽片段的cDNA ,定向插入表达载体PGEX 2T ,导入大肠杆菌JM10 9中表达重组融合蛋白并经GST层析柱纯化 ;进一步与PV患者及疾病对照组、正常对照组T细胞混合培养 ,观察T细胞增殖反应。结果 :Dsg3E1,E2和E4,E5可刺激PV患者T细胞反应 ,而不与疾病对照组、正常对照组反应。结论 :Dsg3E1,E2和E4,E5中包含T B细胞作用相关的抗原表位 ,在PV发病中起重要作用。     

Pemphigus Vulgaris Autoantibody Response is Linked to HLA-DQB10503 in Pakistani Patients

ABSTRACT: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disease of the skin and mucous membranes characterized by an autoantibody response against an epidermal cadherin. We performed high resolution HLA class II typing in 19 patients with PV from Rawalpindi, Pakistan and 19 non-Jewish European PV patients from Boston by sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization. The results were compared with two separate ethnically matched control populations. We found that PV patients from Pakistan had significantly increased frequencies of DRB1*1404 ( p = 0.01), DQA1*0101 ( p = 0.02), and DQB1*0503 ( p = 0.01). Among the patients of non-Jewish European ancestry, DRB1*1401 ( p < 10⁻⁶), DQA1*0101 ( p < 10⁻⁵) and DQB1*0503 ( p < 10⁻⁶), were increased in PV patients. Formal linkage analysis between the major histocompatibility complex and the PV antibody was performed in 67 relatives of the 19 Pakistani patients. The results showed strong evidence for linkage of HLA-DRB1*1404, DQA1*0101, DQB1*0503, with the presence of PV antibody in relatives’ families with a significant logarithm of the odds score of 6.06. Based on the three dimensional structure of class II molecules, we propose that HLA-DQA1*0101 and DQB1*0503, encode a negatively charged P9 peptide binding pocket of the DQ molecule and are significantly associated with susceptibility to PV in non-Jewish populations.