Simvastatin-induced lichenoid drug eruption.

Cutaneous drug eruptions have a variety of clinical features. Lichenoid drug eruptions are rare and may be difficult to diagnose. A case of a simvastatin-induced lichenoid eruption with skin and mucosal involvement is reported.

[Disulone hypersensitivity syndrome]. / Syndrome d'hypersensibilité a la Disulone.

Hypersensitivity to dapsone (Disulone) is a rare side effect of sulfone therapy. The diagnosis is based on variable clinical manifestations and laboratory findings dominated by hyperthermia, skin eruptions and a mixed form of hepatitis. We observed a case of hypersensitivity to dapsone in a 57-year-old woman who was treated with Disulone for cicatricaial pemphigoid. Clinical manifestations and laboratory results returned to normal 3 weeks after drug withdrawal. This case is interesting because the skin eruptions classically described were not observed. In addition this is apparently the first case reported of such a hypersensitivity syndrome occurring during treatment of autoimmune bullous dermatosis.

[Problems raised by the use of tetracyclines in the first years of life]. / Problèmes posés par la prescription des tétracyclines durant les premières années de vie.

Tetracyclines administered during the first years of life may produce serious unwanted side-effects, such as intracranial hypertension and, chiefly, abnormalities of the teeth and bones. The tetracyclines have a special affinity for certain metal cations, notably calcium, with which they form relatively stable complexes. When given to children or pregnant women they stain the deciduous and permanent teeth a lasting yellowish-brown or give rise to dental abnormalities; they may also slow down skeletal growth. For these reasons tetracyclines should not be prescribed to children and pregnant women unless absolutely necessary, and other classes of antibiotics should be preferred whenever possible.

Social organization in the African bat, Myotis boccagei.

In northeastern Gabon (lat.: 0.4 degrees north, long.: 12.5), the social organization of the vespertilionid bat Myotis boccagei was studied. In four groups, all individuals (55) were marked and monitored regularly for 38 months. The basic social organization in Myotis boccagei is the "harem". In each group, a single adult male is invariably found, accompanied by from 2 to 7 adult females and recent young.