[Association of IgA linear dermatitis and non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma]. / Association d'une dermatose à IgA linéaire et d'un lymphome malin non hodgkinien.

The association between linear IgA dermatosis and neoplasia has been the subject of several publications which suggest that the association is not fortuitous. We report a new case in which a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was associated with a linear IgA dermatosis and underline the need for full evaluation in search of an associated neoplasia. However, the neoplasia-LAD association is not a true paraneoplastic syndrome since the two pathologies seldom follow a parallel course.

[Benign cutaneous lesions observed within the 1st 48 hours of life in 874 infants born at a maternity ward of a university hospital. Apropos of 148 cases]. / Lésions cutanées bénignes observées dans les 48 premières heures de vie chez 874 nouveau-nés d'une maternité de CHU. A propos de 148 cas.

A six months' follow-up study was carried out in the nursery of the University Hospital of Brest where neonates were systematically evaluated for dermatological abnormalities. 148 neonates had birthmarks which were erythema toxicum (ET) in 103 cases, vascular lesions in 19, pigmented in 8, and miscellaneous lesions in 18. These results were compared with those previously reported (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14). They confirmed the high frequency of ET in the second day of life and the low frequency of pigmented lesions at birth in Caucasians (less than 2 p. 100), as compared with their frequency in coloured people and Asians (25-40 p. 100) (10). The low proportion of salmon patches in this study may be explained by an inappropriate collection of data compared with previous reports (20-40 p. 100) (7, 10). A possible relation between the presence of ET and the later development of atopic dermatitis is discussed.

[Ultrastructural and genetic aspects of epidermolysis bullosa albo-papuloidea (author's transl)]. / Aspects ultrastructuraux et génétiques de l'épidermolyse bulleuse albo-papuloïde.

The authors report a case of epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica and albo-papuloidea, which led them to the discovery of eight similar cases in the same family. After analysing the main symptoms, including the histological ones, they underline the ultrastructural and genetic data. This disease can be described as a dermolysis bullosa with missing fibrils, abnormal connective tissue and an intense activity of fibroblasts. As far as we know, there is no genetic relationship with the HLA system in this dominant hereditary trouble, which is believed to be transmitted through different non-allelic genes.

[Juvenile digital fibroma: apropos of 2 cases]. / Fibrome digital juvénile: à propos de deux observations.

The authors report 2 cases of infantile digital fibromatosis. These benign tumours occur in newborns and infants, involving mainly the extremities (fingers, toes). Its prevalence is probably higher than the reported cases. The pathogenesis and treatment are discussed. The diagnosis of such fibrous tumours is useful since surgical treatment can be avoided in a majority of cases.

[Systemic scleroderma in children]. / Sclérodermie systémique de l'enfant.

A new case of systemic scleroderma in a child is reported. The frequency of this disease is much lower than focal scleroderma and than other connective diseases in childhood. Kidney and heart involvement is much less common than in adults. Raynaud's phenomenon and scleroderma however, as in this case, are often severe. The appropriate treatment has to be efficient towards sclerosis (D-penicillamine, corticosteroids), Raynaud's phenomenon (protection from cold, nifedipine) and other manifestations (prevention of gastric ulceration, physical therapy) and should consider every possible adverse effect on a growing organism.

[Variations of the skin permeability in premature newborn infants. Value of the skin vasoconstriction test with neosynephrine]. / Variations de la perméabilité cutanée du nouveau-né prématuré. Intérêt d'un test de vasoconstriction cutanée par la Néosynéphrine.

BACKGROUND: The skin of preterm infants is defective as a barrier and does not function like that of mature until about 2 weeks of age. METHODS: Percutaneous drug absorption was studied by observing the blanching response to aqueous solutions of 10% Neosynephrin applied to a small area of skin on the internal surface of the thigh. The subjects, 10 preterm infants born at gestational ages 29 to 32 weeks (mean: 31 weeks 2 days), were tested when they were aged from day 0 to 7. The controls were 8 normal newborns aged 2 days. All preterm infants were tested a second time at the age 7 to 17 days (mean: 10 days). The blanching response was measured after 5 minutes, and graded on a scale of 0 to 4. RESULTS: The first test was positive grade 2 to 4 in all the preterm babies, while it was negative in the normal newborns. The second test was negative in 7 of the 10 preterm infants; in other 3, the grade was at least 50% lower. Infants nursed under radiant heaters were not different from the other infants. CONCLUSION: Skin permeability is increased in immature infants, but falls steadily until about the age of 10 days. The results of the Neosynephrin test could be useful in predicting the response to topically administered drug.