Pediatric trichodysplasia spinulosa: A report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Trichodysplasia spinulosa is a rare disorder caused by the ubiquitous trichodysplasia spinulosa-associated polyomavirus (TSPyV) and characterized clinically by predominately centrofacial, but often generalized, folliculocentric papules with protuberant keratinaceous spines. Although seroprevalence reaches up to 70% in adult populations, TSPyV causes clinical manifestations in a small percentage of patients who are immunosuppressed. Diagnosis can be made using typical clinical and histologic features, SV40T antibody immunostaining, and PCR of various tissues including the keratinaceous spine, skin, serum, urine, and CSF. Various topical and systemic medications have demonstrated variable success. Decreasing or discontinuing immunosuppression has also been shown to improve or alleviate clinical manifestations.

In psoriasis treatment, greater improvement in skin severity predicts greater improvement in nail severity.

BACKGROUND: Nail are important for both function and esthetic appearance and although they represent a small body surface area, dermatologic disorders affecting the nails can have a detrimental effect to the patient. Deciding on the best systemic antipsoriatic drug to treat nail psoriasis can be difficult due to the lack of nail data on their Food and Drug Administration-approved labels, as well as the variety of scoring systems used for nail psoriasis. METHODS: We performed a literature review and included randomized control trials or articles based on randomized control trials for different systemic antipsoriatic drugs. Only articles and studies utilizing Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) or target NAPSI as outcome measures were included. Data was taken directly from articles, directly from clincaltrials.gov or directly from data on file at various pharmaceutical companies. RESULTS: Data for NAPSI and PASI were collected for 10 antipsoriatic drugs including three oral medications and seven biologic agents. We found that NAPSI or target NAPSI was strongly predicted based on the change in PASI and duration of treatment (R2 = 0.71, p = .0002). PASI alone (R2 = 0.52, p = .001) and duration alone (R2 = 0.21, p = .07) predict NAPSI response. CONCLUSION: According to this model, there is a relationship between skin and nail response, with improvement in nails correlating with improvement in skin and longer duration of treatment.

Gluten and skin disease beyond dermatitis herpetiformis: a review.

Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, is known to cause an immune reaction in patients with celiac disease (CD) resulting in small bowel villous atrophy and impaired nutrient absorption and cutaneous manifestations in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). It is common that patients associate skin conditions with their diet, and the advantages of a gluten-free diet (GFD) are brought up frequently. Indeed, there is evidence that certain dermatologic conditions can respond to a GFD, especially for those with concomitant CD and DH. In the last decade, new data have become available on the significance of gluten in skin disease. Herein, we review the role of gluten and a GFD on various cutaneous diseases beyond DH.