1/14. Pustular psoriasis elicited by streptococcal antigen and localized to the sweat pore.A woman, aged 39 years, presented with a localized, painful, pustular eruption of the neck, scalp, and finger of five years' duration. A diagnosis of pustular psoriasis was made clinically and histologically. It was possible to reproduce the disease by the intradermal injection of killed Group A streptococcal organisms. The induced pustules, as well as those appearing clinically, were intraepidermal and indistinguishable from the Kogoj spongiform abscess, and on serial sectioning showed a distinctive localization to the acryosyringium. Immunosuppressant as well as antistreptococcal therapy in the form of cyclophosphamide and clindamycin was of help. The process is classified as a nonvasculitic pustular bacterid, and as a prototype for antigen localization of lesions to the occluded epidermal sweat duct unit.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/14. Functioning adrenal black adenoma with pulmonary and cutaneous cryptococcosis: a case report and review of English literature.A 53-year-old woman experienced progressive general weakness and lumbago in the 2 years prior to a physical examination which disclosed cushingoid manifestations and a skin ulcer on the back of her right knee joint. Her plasma cortisol concentration ranged from 24.7 to 31.1 microg/dl, with an ACTH level <5 pg/ml. Urinary excretions of 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) and 17-ketosteroid (17-KS) were 20.5 mg/day and 5.1 mg/day, respectively, and urinary cortisol was also increased (421 microg/day). Cortisol was not suppressed after the administration of 8 mg dexamethasone. Abdominal ultrasound sonography, computed tomography (CT) scan, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies demonstrated a left adrenal tumor and further, a chest X-ray examination showed a cavitary lesion containing a fungus ball-like mass in the left lower lung field. The serum cryptococcal antigen titer was positive at 1:128 and a bronchoalveolar lavage fluid culture yielded a growth of cryptococcus neoformans. A biopsy specimen of the skin ulcer also suggested cryptococcosis. As a result, a left adrenectomy was performed, and the excised specimen was shown to be an adenoma consisting of compact cells with abundant pigmentation (black adenoma). A diagnosis of functioning black adenoma of the adrenal gland, complicated with pulmonary and cutaneous cryptococcosis was made.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/14. Inhalational anthrax outbreak among postal workers, washington, D.C., 2001.In October 2001, four cases of inhalational anthrax occurred in workers in a washington, D.C., mail facility that processed envelopes containing bacillus anthracis spores. We reviewed the envelopes' paths and obtained exposure histories and nasal swab cultures from postal workers. Environmental sampling was performed. A sample of employees was assessed for antibody concentrations to B. anthracis protective antigen. Case-patients worked on nonoverlapping shifts throughout the facility, suggesting multiple aerosolization events. Environmental sampling showed diffuse contamination of the facility. Potential workplace exposures were similar for the case-patients and the sample of workers. All nasal swab cultures and serum antibody tests were negative. Available tools could not identify subgroups of employees at higher risk for exposure or disease. Prophylaxis was necessary for all employees. To protect postal workers against bioterrorism, measures to reduce the risk of occupational exposure are necessary.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/14. Systemic nocardiosis following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.Five cases of systemic nocardia infection were diagnosed among 301 allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients. A sixth case included in this report received her transplant at another institution. The cumulative annual incidence rate of this infection was 1.75%. All patients had been treated previously for acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). At the time of diagnosis of systemic nocardia infection, a median of 198 (range 148-1121) days after transplantation, all patients had extensive chronic GVHD and were taking 2 to 3 immunosuppressive medications. Prior to diagnosis of nocardia infection patients had experienced multiple opportunistic infections, including infections with mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, pneumocystis carinii, and cytomegalovirus antigenemia. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), ceftriaxone, or carbapenem antibiotics resulted in a median survival of 219 days from the time of diagnosis and an actuarial 1-year survival of 40%. All patients who received more than 2 weeks of therapy were cured of their infections. Notably, 5/6 patients in this cohort were unable to take TMP-SMX because of myelosuppression. In comparison with randomly selected control patients, the use of pentamidine for prevention of P. carinii infection was associated with a marginal increase in the risk of nocardia infection. We postulate that the use of TMP-SMX may be of benefit in the prophylaxis of infections other than P. carinii in patients with chronic GVHD.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/14. diagnosis of cutaneous cytomegalovirus infection: a review and report of a case.cytomegalovirus infections are a major source of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. We report a case of cutaneous cytomegalovirus in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, in which routine light microscopy was suggestive but not diagnostic of cytomegalovirus. Immunohistochemical studies of the specimen for cytomegalovirus antigens revealed numerous intracytoplasmic and intranuclear viral inclusions. This case illustrates the utility of immunoperoxidase techniques to diagnose cytomegalovirus infection of the skin rapidly. immunohistochemistry, dna in situ hybridization, and polymerase chain reaction have been added to the more routine methods of viral culture and light microscopy to diagnose cytomegalovirus. In this report we review the cases of cutaneous cytomegalovirus in the literature and the laboratory detection methods available to establish this diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/14. Orf. A case report with histologic, electron microscopic, and immunoperoxidase studies.Orf is an occupational skin disease acquired through contact with infected animals. In humans, orf is usually a self-limited disease that resolves spontaneously within four to 24 weeks. We report a case with multiple lesions of orf, acquired by contact with a wild sheep. The patient was temporarily immunosuppressed by a concomitant viral hepatitis. We reviewed the histologic and electron microscopic findings. Also, we attempted to stain the parapoxvirus in the skin of the patient, using the immunoperoxidase technique. The antiserum was obtained from sheep immunized against orf. We used lesional skin from sheep infected with orf as a positive control. The negative results of this technique in the patient's skin indicated that parapoxvirus infecting wild sheep is antigenically different from that causing the disease in domestic animals.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/14. hepatitis b surface antigen positive skin lesions. Two case reports with an immunoperoxidase study.This study represents the first two case reports of skin lesions positive for hepatitis b surface antigen (HBsAg) with the immunoperoxidase technique. A 25-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman with serologic evidence of acute B viral hepatitis and concurrent skin lesions are presented. Immunoperoxidase study of the skin lesions for HBsAg revealed strong positive staining of squamous epidermal cells, eccrine sweat glands, and endothelial cells in the superficial papillary dermis. Immunoperoxidase staining for hepatitis b core antigen (HBcAg) was negative in both cases. Electron microscopy failed to reveal viral particles.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/14. Unusual cutaneous dissemination of a tropical fish tank granuloma.A patient with an unusual disseminated tropical fish tank granuloma is presented. The infection manifested first as red, subcutaneous nodules of the right hand and forearm. During subsequent days and weeks, nodules appeared on the left arm, on the ventral and dorsal thorax, on one leg, and the face. The diagnosis was based on, in addition to the history and the clinical aspects, a positive reaction to intracutaneous testing with a specific mycobacterium marinum antigen and on the histologic examination of biopsy specimens. The larger nodules were treated with excision. Smaller nodules disappeared spontaneously after the larger ones had been surgically removed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/14. epidermodysplasia verruciformis: response to therapy with dialyzable leukocyte extract (transfer factor) derived from household contacts.Dialyzable leukocyte extracts (DLE) have been used to treat a variety of antigen selective, and broad spectrum immunodeficiency diseases with sometimes encouraging results. We describe here the clinical and laboratory responses to DLE therapy of 2 patients with epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), a chronic cutaneous infection with a variety of human papilloma viruses. One patient with longstanding (30 yr) disease and no improvement to previous therapy showed gradual yet definite resolution of extensive verrucae planae, plaque, tinea-versicolor-like, and tumor lesions scattered over his entire integument. Cessation of DLE therapy for a short time resulted in recurrence of partially regressed lesions and also in the development of new tumors in this patient. The second patient, a grandson of the first patient, with minimal disease showed no progression of the disease during DLE prophylaxis. A third subject (brother of patient number 2) received no DLE and served as a control. All 3 subjects demonstrated severely depressed levels of suppressor T cells, a defect in cell-mediated immunity that has not been hitherto reported in patients with EV. Finally, evidence is presented for a possible X-linked recessive mode of inheritance for susceptibility to EV.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/14. vasculitis in cytomegalovirus infection.A 7-year-old girl had fever, arthralgia, and a mild cutaneous vaculitis with papules, nodules, and livedo. A biopsy specimen of a papule showed lymphocytic small-vessel vasculitis, with some atypical lymphocytic nuclei. splenomegaly developed, and results of subsequent studies supported a diagnosis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, with atypical peripheral blood lymphocytes and a characteristic pattern of complement-fixing antibodies to CMV antigen. The CMV mononucleosis syndrome is rarely reported in children, and the cutaneous manifestations are usually rubelliform. Distinctive cutaneous pathologic characteristics have been described previously only in neonates ("blueberry muffin" syndrome) and in immunosuppressed patients (viral inclusion bodies in endothelial cells).- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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