Pityriasis rotunda as an incidental paraneoplastic finding in two patients with multiple myeloma.

Pityriasis rotunda (PR) is an uncommon chronic dermatosis, which may be idiopathic or may be associated with infections or malignancy. We describe the clinical and biochemical findings of two patients with multiple myeloma, who were incidentally diagnosed with PR, and detail the clinical conditions with which this rare paraneoplastic phenomenon may be associated. Although PR is a rare condition, it may be found as a paraneoplastic phenomenon in a range of conditions, and thus should be recognised as an important clinical sign.

Pityriasis amiantacea: a case report.

Pityriasis amiantacea (PA) is a papulosquamous condition of the scalp,characterized by asbestos - like thick scales attached to the hair shaft. It is thought to represent a reaction pattern to inflammatory skin disorders like psoriasis, seborrhoeic dermatitis, tinea capitis, atopic dermatitis and lichen planus, rather than a distinctive disease. The scaling may be localised or generalised, depending on the underlying condition and its duration.This report highlights the clinical features of pityriasis amiantacea secondary to atopic dermatitis and the differential features of other papulo-squamous scalp disorders such as scalp psoriasis, seborrhoeic dermatitis and lichen planus.Scalp psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis are the commonest causes of PA as well as the closest differentials hence should be excluded in all cases. The longterm sequelae of PA include scalp fibrosis and permanent hair loss hence should be identified and treated promptly. The management modalities of PA will also be discussed.

Extensive Darier's disease with pityriasis amiantacea, alopecia and congenital facial nerve palsy.

We present a 65-year-old man with Darier disease with pityriasis amiantacea on the scalp, alopecia, and congenital facial nerve palsy.

Pityriasis alba revisited: perspectives on an enigmatic disorder of childhood.

Pityriasis alba (PA) is a localized hypopigmented disorder of childhood with many existing clinical variants. It is more often detected in individuals with a darker complexion but may occur in individuals of all skin types. Atopy, xerosis, and mineral deficiencies are potential risk factors. Sun exposure exacerbates the contrast between normal and lesional skin, making lesions more visible and patients more likely to seek medical attention. Poor cutaneous hydration appears to be a common theme for most risk factors and may help elucidate the pathogenesis of this disorder. The end result of this mechanism is inappropriate melanosis manifesting as hypopigmentation. It must be differentiated from other disorders of hypopigmentation, such as pityriasis versicolor alba, vitiligo, nevus depigmentosus, and nevus anemicus. Alleviation of the various risk factors via patient education on proper skin care and hygiene, use of lubricants and emollients, topical corticosteroid therapy in the presence of inflammation, and the novel administration of topical anti-inflammatory drugs such as calcineurin inhibitors can play a crucial role in promoting remission or resolution.

Pityriasis capitis: Causes, pathophysiology, current modalities, and future approach.

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis capitis commonly known as dandruff is one of the most common and widely seen dermatological disease that affects majority of the world population. It is more than superficial flaking, as it leads to significant structural changes in the stratum corneum and inflammatory biomarkers. Various intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as Malassezia yeast, host epidermal conditions, sebaceous secretion, and abnormal immune responses, are found to contribute to the pathogenesis. Regardless of wide research, detail understanding, and treatment modalities, it still remains to be a cause of concern due to its recurring nature. AIMS: The objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of its wide causes, pathophysiology, current treatment, and future approach. METHODS: The article also aims at evaluating various promising anti-dandruff agents that can be further researched to become the leads in anti-dandruff therapy. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The article summarizes the current knowledge on dandruff and present new facts and evidences in order to spread awareness, create potential for new herbal treatment options, and effectively control the most commercially exploited scalp disorder.

Pityriasis amiantacea following bone marrow transplant.

Pityriasis amiantacea (PA) is a hair disorder characterized by matting of multiple hair shafts, typically occurring as an idiopathic condition. A 67-year-old woman with multiple myeloma who developed PA following a bone marrow transplant with melphalan conditioning is described.She noted initial changes in scalp hair regrowth 4 weeks posttransplant. During the next 4 months she developed multiple lesions of PA that rapidly responded to management, including mineral oil under occlusion in the evening followed by daily shampooing with alternating coal tar, salicylic acid, and ketoconazole shampoos. We review medications that have been associated with PA and conditions related to PA, including atopic dermatitis, bacterial infection, fungal infection, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis. Our patient developed PA that was associated with either melphalan conditioning, bone marrow transplant, or both.

Origin, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of hypomelanotic skin disorders.

Hypomelanotic skin disorders are cutaneous pigmentary disorders characterized by a reduced melanin content in the skin that results in a lightening of the skin. Establishing the correct diagnosis for hypomelanotic skin disorders requires a good history, a detailed physical examination, the use of special lighting techniques, such as Wood's light, and sometimes a biopsy of the abnormally pigmented skin and the normally pigmented skin. This article focuses on the origin, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of acquired hypomelanotic skin disorders. An algorithm for the diagnostic approach to these hypomelanoses is given.

Pityriasis rotunda. A cutaneous marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in South African blacks.

Although paraneoplastic phenomena occur frequently in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, cutaneous changes have rarely been reported. During the past two years, ten South African blacks with hepatocellular carcinoma and pityriasis rotunda have been seen in a single hospital. The rash affected the trunk, especially the lower back and buttocks. The lesions ranged in size from 1.5 to 25 cm and were always multiple. They had a characteristic circular or arcuate configuration with scaling and varying degrees of hyperpigmentation. Pityriasis rotunda may prove to be a useful cutaneous marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in South African blacks.

The frequency of common skin conditions in preschool-aged children in Australia: seborrheic dermatitis and pityriasis capitis (cradle cap).

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and severity of seborrheic dermatitis and pityriasis capitis in Australian preschool-aged children. DESIGN: A stratified cross-sectional skin survey using cluster sampling of centers throughout Victoria, Australia. SETTING: The study population included children attending child care centers, preschools, and Maternal and Child Health Centers, with the reference population being Australian children 5 years and younger. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 1,634 children in the original sample, 1.116 children aged 11 days to 5 years 11 months were included in the study. INTERVENTION: Parents completed a questionnaire recording demographic information and personal and family history of skin problems and related diseases. A dermatologist performed a total skin examination, including the diaper area for children younger than 12 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The age- and sex-specific prevalence rates and site and severity of seborrheic dermatitis and pityriasis capitis were measured. RESULTS: The overall age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of seborrheic dermatitis was 10.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.2%-11.7%): 10.4% (95% CI, 7.8%-12.9%) in boys and 9.5% (95% CI, 7.0%-12.0%) in girls. This was highest in the first 3 months of life, decreasing rapidly by the age of 1 year, after which it slowly decreased over the next 4 years. Most (71.9%) had disease classified as minimal to mild. Pityriasis capitis occurred in 41.7% (95% CI, 38.8%-44.6%) of the 1,116 children examined, with 85.8% categorized as minimal to mild only. CONCLUSIONS: Seborrheic dermatitis and pityriasis capitis are common in early childhood. Most children have minimal to mild disease that would require little if any treatment. Education programs directed at those caring for preschool-aged children are needed to provide information on simple preventative measures and treatment, if necessary, that could easily reduce the morbidity associated with these very common conditions.

Mucha-Habermann disease in a child: possible association with measles vaccination.

A 2.5-year-old boy presented with skin lesions consistent with Mucha-Habermann disease, which appeared about 5 days after an injection of freeze-dried live attenuated measles vaccine. He responded to both oral and topical corticosteroid therapy. To my knowledge, this represents the first such association of Mucha-Habermann disease with virus vaccination.

Pityriasis rosea and the need for a serologic test for syphilis.

A rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test was performed in fifty patients with a clinical diagnosis of pityriasis rosea to determine the frequency of syphilis as the underlying cause of the eruption. In none of the fifty patients was syphilis the cause. Experience in diagnosing skin diseases, frequency of syphilis in the community served, and the characteristics of the individual eruption are important factors in the decision to perform an RPR test.

Pityriasis rotunda.

Pityriasis rotunda is an uncommon cutaneous disorder consisting of asymptomatic, strikingly circular, scaly lesions on the trunk and extremities, with the histologic appearance of ichthyosis vulgaris. Previous cases have been described in Japanese, South African, and West Indian persons, usually in association with an underlying serious systemic disease. A case of pityriasis rotunda in a 32-year-old black man in whom no diagnosable disorder could be demonstrated is presented.

[The history of dandruff and dandruff in history. A homage to Raymond Sabouraud]. / Histoire des pellicules et pellicules de l'histoire. Un hommage à Raymond Sabouraud.

In one of his books, written at the beginning of this century, Raymond Sabouraud devotes some 280 pages to the history of dandruff. Their reading illustrates how, from the Greeks to Sabouraud's era, this desquamative disease has been subjected to endless doctrinal and scientific conflicts, long before the so-called "present" controversies. One of the early conflicts, between Celsus and Galen, lies in the nature of the squames, i. e. dry or exudating, leading to the inclusion (or non inclusion) or pityriasis in the group of desquamative diseases, such as psoriasis or ichytosis. Translated into Latin (furfur, porrigo) and into Arabic, the word pityriasis was replaced in the Middle Age by tinea which then referred to any disease of the human scalp. With Plenk, Lorry, Willan and others, the 18th century brought a new attitude of mind where observation took precedence over doctrine, but owing to the lack of experimental approach there was no adequate description of the squames and their anatomical origin. This was the case with Hebra who, in the 19th century, claimed that dandruff was nothing but a sebaceous disease. This major turn resulted for decades in a confusion between dandruff and seborrhoea. In the late 19th century, bacteriological studies were decisive steps taken by Rivolta, Malassez and Sabouraud. The presence on scalps affected with dandruff of a bottle-shaped "fungus" (Pityrosporum ovale was initially not regarded as a yeast) was taken as being the definite cause of the disease. The Sabouraud dogma was born, but as early as 1877 it was denied by Vidal who observed these "spores" on healthy scalps.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Pityriasis rotunda: second Tunisian case]. / Pityriasis rotunda: 2ème cas Tunisien.

Pityriasis Rotunda is a dermatosis well known in Japan and Black Africa. Its unusual in Europe and North Africa. Several authors consider that Pityriasis Rotunda is an acquired ichtyose and that it represents a real paraneoplastic syndrome. We report the case of Tunisian men suffering from a Pityriasis Rotunda associated to a dilatation of branch.

[Pityriasis lichenoides associated with ischemia of distal location]. / Pitiriasis liquenoide asociada a isquemia distal localizada.

A case of acute pityriasis lichenoides associated with a distal ischemia and a similar evolution is reported. The vasculitic cause is demonstrated by angyologic exploration. The gross vascular afectation other than dermal vessels is suggested.