TREATMENT OF VERRUCA VULGARIS IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE.

Common warts (verrucae vulgares) are the most common complaint in routine dermatological practice. Warts can be painful on pressure and are often an aesthetic problem, but they are not a major threat to the person's general health. Treatment options are symptomatic and do not eradicate the causative agent. Dermatological surgery procedures such as cryotherapy, electrocauterization and excochleation can be painful, with common recurrences. These are the most important reasons for revival of the treatment procedures and remedies based on traditional medicine. Traditional medicine is still commonly practiced as a form of self-healing. This paper presents the most commonly used wart remedies of plant, animal and mineral origin, along with various magic practices. We emphasize that this paper is written from the viewpoint of physicians, practitioners of dermatology, not as a study in the history or culture. The main objective of the study was to explore various substances and methods people use as home remedies for warts. We performed a case study survey among the general population by interviewing 147 adult participants using a simple preliminary questionnaire inquiring about preferred treatment and knowledge about common warts.

[CRYOGLOBULINEMICVASCULITIS AS A MANIFESTATION OF PARANEOPLASTIC SYNDROME--A CASE REPORT]. / KRIOGLOBULINEMICNI VASKULITIS KAO MANIFESTACIJA PARANEOPLASTICKOG SINDROMA--PRIKAZ BOLESNIKA.

Cryoglobulinemia refers to the presence of circulating cryoglobulins in the serum which may lead to organ damage and systemic response characterized by fatigue, arthralgias, purpura, glomerulonephritis and neuropathy. The disease mainly affects small and medium-sized blood vessels and causes vasculitis due to cryoglobulin-containing immune complexes. Mixed cryoglobulinemia (type I and II) are most often associated with infections, especially hepatitis C virus (HCV), but may occur as part of lymphoproliferative and autoimmune diseases. We present a 75-year-old male patient with acrocyanosis and digital necrosis of the left hand and purpura of the lower extremities. Since 2001 the patient was treated for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach (MALT) and since 2002 for Sjogren's syndrome. Extensive diagnostic procedures revealed cryoglobulinemia type II, but without evidence of HCV infection or relapse of lymphoproliferative disorder. Furthermore, poorly differentiated prostate adenocarcinoma was diagnosed and antiandrogen treatment was initiated. One year after the onset of symptoms acrocyanosis and digital necrosis, gastric adenocarcinoma was diagnosed, without metastatic disease, and surgical treatment was performed. However, postoperatively recurrence of new digital necrosis of the hands occurred along with clinical deterioration and multiple organ failure leading to lethal outcome. Association of cryoglobulinemia and solid tumors is rarely described in the literature, so it is very important to perform comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and detect potential underlying disease as soon as possible.

Merkel cell carcinoma: case report.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. Although it is 40 times less common than malignant melanoma, its mortality is much higher compared to melanoma. From 1986 to 2001 there was rapidly increasing incidence in reported cases of MCC, with a tripling in the rate over this 15-year period. The vast majority of MCC presents on sun-exposed skin. The head and neck area is the most common site of tumor occurrence. We present 70-year old female patient with painless red-colored nodule, size 2 x 2 x 2 cm on the dorsal side of mid left forearm. The surgical excision with negative margins was performed, and pathohistological analysis confirmed Merkel cell carcinoma. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was negative. In conclusion, as MCC is a very aggressive rare skin carcinoma with lethal outcome, it should be mandatory to perform biopsies of any suspected skin lesion.

Epidemiology of acquired bullous diseases in Eastern Croatia: a retrospective prewar to postwar study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of bullous diseases (BD) in eastern Croatia during a ten-year period (1986-1990/1992-1996), and to estimate the effect of prolonged exposure to traumatic events during the war in Croatia on the prevalence and incidence of acquired BD. The files of all BD patients hospitalized at Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Osijek University Hospital, during the periods from January 1986 to December 1990 and from January 1992 to December 1996 were collected and analyzed with regard to personal data, history of the disease including age, sex and onset of symptoms, clinical diagnosis, laboratory findings, and associated illness. Forty-five patients were newly diagnosed with BD over the ten-year period. During the 1986-1990 period, 19 patients with BD represented 0.89% of 2133 patients admitted to our Department. During the 1992-1996 period, 26 newly diagnosed patients with BD represented 1.27% of 2050 patients treated at our Department. Females were more affected than males. The most common clinical variant was pemphigus vulgaris, occurring frequently in the middle-aged population. All our patients were exposed to prolonged stressful war conditions during the 1992-1996 period, therefore, we speculate that extended emotional stress may have triggered the onset of the disease.