Bibliothek

Notizen: peripheral blood cells from forty patients with atopic dermatitis and elevated serum IgE levels were studied by indirect immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies OKT3, OKT4, OKT8 to, respectively, human T cells, helper-inducer and suppressor-cytotoxic T cell subsets.Decreased T cells with the suppressor-cytotoxic phenotype, with an abnormal balance between helper and suppressor cell subsets, and decreased peripheral blood T cells counts were found as compared to controls. Results were similar in the three age-matches group (4 months–2 years, 2–15 years, 15–50 years) studied.No correlation could be established between serum IgE levels and the elevated helper/suppressor cell ratios.

Notizen: In 1994, a study of nickel release and allergic contact dermatitis from nickel-plated metals and stainless steels was published in this journal. It was shown that low-sulfur stainless steel grades like AISI 304, 316L or 430 (S〈inlineGraphic alt="leqslant R: less-than-or-eq, slant" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:01051873:COD113:les" location="les.gif"/〉0.007%) release less than 0.03 μg/cm2/week of nickel in acid artificial sweat and elicit no reactions in patients already sensitized to nickel. In contrast, nickel-plated samples release around 100/μg/cm2week of Ni and high-sulfur stainless steel (AISI 303 - S =0.3%) releases about 1.5 μug/cm2/week in this acid artificial sweat. Applied on patients sensitized to nickel, these metals elicit positive reactions in 96% and 14%, respectively, of the patients. The main conclusion was that low-sulfur stainless sleets like AISI 304, 316L or 430, even when containing Ni, should not elicit nickel contact dermatitis, while metals having a mean corrosion resistance like a high-sulfur stainless steel (AISI 303) or nickel-plated steel should be avoided. The determining characteristic was in fact the corrosion resistance in chloride media, which, for stainless steels, is connected, among other factors, to the sulfur content. Thus, a question remained concerning the grades with an intermediate sulfur content, around 0.03%, which were not studied. They are the object of the study presented in this paper, 3 tests were performed: leaching experiments, dimethylglyoxime and HNO3 spot tests, and clinical patch tests: however, only stainless steels were tested: a low-sulfur AISI 304 and AISI 303 as references and 3 grades with a sulfur content around 0.03%: AISI 304L, AISI 304L added with Ca. AISI 304L + Cu. Leaching experiments showed that the 4 non-resulfurised grades released less than 0.5 μg/cm2/week in acid sweat while the reulfurized AISI 303 released around or more than 0.5 μug/cm2/week. This is explained by the poorer corrosion resistance of the resulfurized grade. Yet all these grades had the same reaction to the DMG test (negative result), which shows again its lack of sensitivity. In contrast, the HNO3 spot test distinguished AISI 303 from the non-resulfurized grades. Clinical patch tests again showed that some patients (4%) were intolerant to AISI 303, while none were intolerant to the other grades. Thus, this study confirms that non-resulfurized stainless steels (S〈inlineGraphic alt="leqslant R: less-than-or-eq, slant" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:01051873:COD113:les" location="les.gif"/〉0.03%) like Ni-containing 304 and 3D4L should not elicit Ni contact dermatitis, while the resulfurized grades (5 〉 0.1%) should be avoided.

Notizen: In the Western French Massif Central, the Argentat fault is a major structure through which As–Au fluids percolated in the Late Carboniferous along brittle fractures. New petrostructural investigations show that an early ductile normal-dextral faulting, coeval to leucogranite emplacement took place during the Late Visean syncollisional extension of the belt and was accompanied by a hydrothermal event marked by the growth of muscovites whose 40Ar/39Ar ages cluster around 335 Ma. This early fluid channelling is associated with brittle deformation only in the hangingwall of the Argentat fault, whereas ductile deformation is restricted to the footwall. These results provide new evidence for the upper crust implication during the syncollisional extension in the French Massif Central. This study stresses the interest of a detailed multimethod analysis to characterize hydrothermal processes, especially in basement areas where the tectonic, plutonic and metamorphic evolution is polyphased.

Notizen: In a man with a long history of contact dermatitis to Frullania, patch testing to Fruttania ililatata and eamarisci was followed by an acute diffuse leucocytoclaslic vasculitis (Gou-eerot-Ruiter disease). Histoimmunologic and immunologic findings, with the presence of circulating immune complexes and skin deposits of complement C3, C4 and Clq in dermal vessels, were in favour of an immune complex reaction.The role of Frullania in this immune complex vasculitis is discussed; the incidence of such a vasculitis in patients with contact dermatitis is not uncommon, although poorly documented.

Notizen: A dermal duct tumor which clinically resembled an intradermal nevus and developed on the lower back of a 59-year-old woman is described. The diagnosis could only be reached by microscopic examination. The dermal duct tumor appears to originate from cells with differentiation towards the intradermal portion of the eccrine sweat duct.

Notizen: Nm23 is a gene with a putative metastasis-suppressor function, whose expression is inversely correlated with die metastatic potential of some solid malignancies. Because very few data exist concerning the role of nm23 in skin tumors, we studied the immunohistochemical expression of nm23 gene product in frozen sections of normal skin and of 104 cutaneous benign or malignant, epithelial and mesenchymal tumors. Nm23 was found expressed within basal cells of the epidermis and its appendages. All basal cell carcinomas showed diffuse immunoreactivity predominating within cells located at the periphery of tumor masses; in contrast, most squamous cell carcinomas, premalignant lesions and the benign epithelial lesions studied showed very weak, if any, immunoreactivity. Benign nevi and most malignant melanomas expressed nm23 immunoreactivity and the pattern observed was similar between primary and metastatic lesions. These results show that nni23 is differentially expressed in cutaneous tumors. It seems likely that the strong immunoreactivity of basal cell carcinomas, contrasting with the almost non-expression in squamous cell carcinomas, reflects the different metastatic potential of these two types of tumors. In melanomas, no direct correlation between the metastatic phenotype and nm23 expression could be detected. Our results suggest that the nm23 gene is involved in cutaneous carcinogenesis; its precise role deserves further study.

Notizen: Multiple eruptive dermatofibromas have been reported in the setting of autoimmune diseases treated with immunosuppressive drugs and more recently in the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We report herein the ninth case of multiple eruptive dermatofibromas associated with HIV infection. The relevant literature is reviewed and the differences of these lesions from “ordinary” dermatofibromas are discussed.

Notizen: In situ U–Th–Pb geochronology on monazite using Electron Probe Micro Analyser has been performed on migmatite in the southern French Variscan Massif Central in order to decipher its complex history. After the Early Visean (340 Ma) nappe stacking, the Cévennes area experienced a regional migmatization already dated 330–325 Ma in northern Cévennes. In these rocks two monazite populations are recognized on the basis of petrology texture and geochemistry. The oldest monazite generation that appears as inclusion in K-feldspar is dated at 331 ± 4 Ma. This age complies with that of the crustal melting experienced by the Cévennes metamorphic series. The youngest monazite generation is interstitial and gives an age of 320 ± 5 Ma. A hydrothermal origin, coeval with the peraluminous magmatism that predates the formation of the Late Carboniferous Velay Dome is proposed as a working hypothesis to account for the formation of this second monazite generation.