Aída Lugo-Somolinos | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Prevalence of skin disease in HIV-positive pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: The rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in women of reproductive age has increased dramatically in the last decade. The effects of pregnancy on the prevalence of cutaneous diseases in this group is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To compare the prevalence of cutaneous diseases in healthy pregnant women, HIV-positive pregnant women, and HIV-positive nonpregnant women. METHODS: Fifty HIV-positive pregnant women and 52 HIV-positive nonpregnant women were compared with a control group of 50 HIV-negative pregnant women for the prevalence of cutaneous diseases. RESULTS: The prevalence of cutaneous diseases was higher (65%) in the HIV-positive nonpregnant group than in the HIV-positive pregnant group (42%) or the control group (28%). Infectious diseases were more frequent in the HIV-positive nonpregnant group. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy does not seem to increase the prevalence of cutaneous diseases that occur during the course of HIV disease.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Xanthomas: a marker for hyperlipidemias.

Xanthomas are deposits of lipids in the skin and sometimes of the subcutaneous tissue that are expressed clinically as yellowish papules and plaques, nodules, and tumors. They are often, but not always, a consequence of hyperlipidemia. In these cases, a meticulous work-up nearly always reveals some disturbance in regards to the metabolism of the lipids-lack of certain lipoproteins, for example. Xanthoma tuberosum and tendinosum occur in persons with familiar hypercholesterolemia, palmar crease xanthoma in familial dysbetalipoproteinemia, plane xanthoma in persons with an underlying lymphoproliferative disorder (or normolipemic), and eruptive xanthoma in those with a genetically-transmitted lipoprotenemia. In sum, each type of xanthoma and any associated abnormality in lipid metabolism can be diagnosed with specificity. Xanthomas are deposits of lipid in the skin or subcutaneous tissue that manifest clinically as yellowish papules, nodules and tumors. They are often associated with hyperlipidemias, although some of them may be normolipemic. Xanthomas result when abnormalities in the transportation of lipids such as cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids cause these lipids to be deposited in the skin and being ingested by tissue macrophages. When they are deposited in the walls of arteries, they promote the development of atherosclerosis. Sometimes, by identifying the clinical variant of the xanthoma, the lipoprotein that is deposited and the clinical associations can be predicted. This discussion will focus on those xanthomas associated with hyperlipidemias.

Humans↗