[Actinic prurigo. An assessment of current status]. / Aktinische Prurigo. Eine Standortbestimmung.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Actinic prurigo (AP) is a hereditary photodermatoses with typical symptoms and is quite common in North- and South-America. The key genetic factor appears to be a Native American background. In Europeans this type of AP is extremely rare; some dispute if this disease exists in Caucasians. Some newer publications postulate that these patients share HLA markers with the Native Americans. The most important differential diagnosis for AP is polymorphic light eruption which can be excluded relatively accurately by the clinical picture, typical histology and HLA pattern. PATIENTS/METHODS: The case of a female patient of Mayan ancestry living in Germany is presented. CONCLUSIONS: Since in literature sometimes cases from Europe are diagnosed as AP this is a problem of naming the disease. It would be helpful to integrate the terms hereditary or hereditaria into the name of the disease in indians.

The Dyshidrotic Eczema Area and Severity Index - A score developed for the assessment of dyshidrotic eczema.

BACKGROUND: Dyshidrotic eczema of the palms and soles is a common condition, which can be rather resistant to treatment. Therapy studies and their comparability are of clinical importance. OBJECTIVE: As standardized assessment methods for the severity of this particular form of eczema are lacking, we developed a severity index for dyshidrotic eczema. METHODS: The Dyshidrotic Eczema Area and Severity Index (DASI) is based on the severity grade of single items - number of vesicles per square centimetre (V), erythema (E), desquamation (S) and itch (I) - and the extension of the affected area (A) and is calculated with defined score points (p) as: DASI = (pv + pE = pS + pI) x pA. RESULTS: In two treatment studies on dyshidrotic hand eczema, the DASI was found to be a simple and useful tool to assess the severity of dyshidrotic eczema and the effect of therapy. CONCLUSION: The DASI needs to be further validated in larger cohorts.

[Quantitative assessment of heliotherapy in psoriasis vulgaris in high altitude climate]. / Quantitative Erfassung der Heliotherapie bei Psoriasis vulgaris im Hochgebirgsklima.

At the Davos Clinic for Dermatology and Allergy (Alexanderhausklinik), patients suffering from psoriasis were treated with natural UV irradiation over 6 weeks in 1987: the average doses applied amounted to 1.042 J/cm2 UVB (= 41.7 sunburn units (SU] and 41.511 J/cm2 UVA. These doses were far below those of artificial UV sources usually required in the treatment of psoriasis. The doses were also far below those which statistically increase the incidence of non-melanotic skin cancer.