Porokeratosis is one of the most common genodermatoses and is associated with an increased risk of keratinocyte cancer and melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Porokeratosis is a clinically heterogeneous group of keratinization disorders with a genetic background mainly affecting the mevalonate pathway, which is involved in the synthesis of cholesterol, an essential component for the formation of the extracellular lipid lamellae in the stratum corneum. Porokeratosis is reportedly associated with an increased risk of keratinocyte cancer, but to date, no large epidemiological studies have been conducted to further address this association. OBJECTIVES: The first objective was to characterize a cohort of patients diagnosed with porokeratosis at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SU), Gothenburg, Sweden. The second objective was to conduct a nationwide registry-based cohort study to investigate the association, if any, between porokeratosis and the cutaneous malignancies squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and melanoma. METHODS: For the SU cohort, the hospital registry was searched for patients with a diagnosis of porokeratosis recorded between 2016 and 2020. Clinical data were extracted from the records of the identified patients. For the nationwide cohort, national registries were searched to identify patients with a diagnosis of porokeratosis between 2001 and 2020. A tenfold control cohort was formed by Statistics Sweden. The data was cross-referenced with the Swedish Cancer Register to study the associations between porokeratosis and SCC, BCC and melanoma. RESULTS: Disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis was the most common clinical type among the 108 patients in the SU cohort. In the nationwide search, 2277 patients with porokeratosis were identified (prevalence 1/4132). Porokeratosis was associated with an increased risk for SCC, BCC and melanoma with hazard ratios (95% CI) of 4.3 (3.4-5.4), 2.42 (1.97-2.98) and 1.83 (1.18-2.82), respectively, in the patient cohort, compared to the matched control group. CONCLUSION: Porokeratosis is a common genodermatosis, and it is associated with an enhanced risk of skin cancer.

Dermatological aspects of synthetic cannabinoid addiction.

CONTEXT: Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) have recently become one of the most abused substances among young population and have caused severe health consequences in our country and worldwide. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate sociodemographic and dermatological findings in SC addicts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 136 SC users who applied to our hospital's Substance Dependence Center outpatient clinic and diagnosed with drug addiction according to DSM-4 criteria between September 2014 and September 2015 were enrolled to our study. Patients were evaluated by dermatologist and psychiatrist with sociodemographic and clinical data sheets. Data were obtained by direct conversation with patients, clinical examination findings, and laboratory tests, if necessary. RESULTS: Of 136 patients, 12 (8.8%) were female and 124 (91.2%) were male, aged between 17 and 53 with mean age of 25.8 ± 9.2. Most common use way of SC was smoking and patients majorly used opiates before SC. The majority of the patients enrolled to our study were low-educated and almost 50% did not have a regular job. The most frequent dermatologic complaints were periorbital darkening, hallowed-cheeks and premature aging, hair loss and gray hair, and acnes, whereas most frequent dermatologic examination findings were artifact lesions such as blade scars and tobacco scars-stains, tattoos, and acnes. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Given the increased prevalence of SC use in our country and around the world, dermatologists should continue to familiarize themselves with the common mucocutaneous markers of this substance use. Awareness of signs of SCs use will facilitate earlier diagnose, intervention, and directed treatment.

Multidetector CT findings of calvarial eosinophilic granuloma.

Eosinophilic granuloma (EG) is a well-recognised benign form of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis. The estimated incidence of EG is 3-4 per million of the population. More patients are children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 15 years. The value of plain films in the diagnosis of the EG is limited and the extent of the disease is better defined by multidetector CT (MDCT) scanning. MDCT scan with multiplanar and three-dimensional reconstruction image of the skull and brain clearly demonstrates bone destruction and soft-tissue involvement of the tumour. In this article we present the MDCT imaging characteristics of EG of the skull and discuss the differential diagnosis of this rare lesion with reference to recent literatures.

Case report of a patient with osteopoikilosis.

Osteopoikilosis (OPK) is an uncommon osteosclerotic dysplasia. There is no exact evidence of its etiology and pathogenesis. Usually, it is an asymptomatic disease, and the diagnosis is made incidentally from radiographs, which show multiple, small, well-defined, variably shaped and widely distributed sclerotic areas over the skeleton. In this study, we report a 54-year-old man who suffers from back and leg pain and was diagnosed OPK by radiologically and review literature.