Polychondritis associated with Schönlein-Henoch purpura: report of a case.

A case of polychondritis in a psoriatic boy is reported, involving purpura, arthritis which included the costochondral joints, and swelling of his scrotum, eyelids and pinnae. Many of his clinical manifestations showed an overlapping presentation with Schönlein-Henoch purpura (SHP).

Vertebral collapse in juvenile chronic arthritis: its relationship with glucocorticoid therapy.

Forty-six patients with juvenile chronic arthritis maintained on glucocorticoid therapy have been reviewed retrospectively for evidence of vertebral collapse. The 23 patients who had sustained vertebral fractures had received a daily dose 2.3 times higher than those without. No patients sustained a vertebral collapse until they had received a prednisolone cumulative dose of at least 5 g. It would appear that the ideal dose, if collapse of vertebrae is to be avoided, should be not more than 5 mgs daily, probably best given as 10 mg on alternate days; unfortunately, some children with serious systemic disease cannot be controlled on these low doses. In such cases it seems justified to investigate the possible use of the oxazoline derivative of prednisolone (deflazacort) in view of its reported bone-sparing properties in adults.

Chlorambucil induced chromosome damage in juvenile chronic arthritis.

Sister chromatid exchanges, a sensitive measure of chromosome damage, were counted in peripheral blood lymphocytes from 23 patients with juvenile chronic arthritis receiving long term, low dose chlorambucil treatment. Thirty five patients with juvenile chronic arthritis who had not been treated with cytotoxic drugs served as controls. All of the treated patients have cells with abnormal sister chromatid exchange frequencies. Damage is related to the daily dose and may, in part, be determined by the duration of treatment. Sister chromatid exchanges from nine patients who had received chlorambucil at some time in the past remained high for at least five months after stopping the drug. Long term follow up will determine whether sister chromatid exchange analysis can help predict those most at risk of drug induced malignancies.

Digital and palmar dermatoglyphics in Greeks.

The present study presents the dermatoglyphic frequencies of two samples from Greece. The first was obtained from adult male and female inhabitants of the island of Salamis. The second is a sample of school children from various parts of Greece. Comparisons of the dermatoglyphic frequencies of the two sample showed no differences among males. Female comparisons resulted in significant differences in digital pattern frequencies, modal types of the D line and Sydney creases. These three significant differences among females only, were not considered sufficient to provide dermatoglyphic discrimination between the two to provide dermatoglyphic discrimination between the two samples and therefore were pooled into one Greek Sample. In general the dermatoglyphic frequencies of the present Greek sample fell within the range of, and very close to the mean of, other Caucasian populations. Notable differences were observed, however, in the frequencies of accessory axial triradii and complete Sydney creases in both of which the Greeks had higher frequencies.