Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Elena Roche.
Papillary dermal elastolysis similar to pseudoxanthoma elasticum is an elastolytic disorder characterized by cutaneous lesions on the neck and in the supraclavicular region that are clinically similar to pseudoxanthoma elasticum, with no systemic complications. The histological examination shows a loss of elastic fibers in the papillary dermis. We report a case in a 76-year-old woman with typical lesions on the neck.
Cutaneous fistulas and sinuses in the maxillofacial region secondary to osteomyelitis rarely appear in clinical practice. The most frequent cause of mandibular osteomyelitis is a dental infection, but it may also be hematogenic in origin. The diagnostic criteria for bacterial osteomyelitis are suppuration and osteolytic changes in the radiological study. The differential diagnosis of an ulcerative lesion in the mandibular area includes several pathologies, such as a fistula of dental origin, a reaction to a foreign body, a deep mycotic infection, a pyogenic granuloma or a congenital malformation.
We present the case of a 26-year-old Ecuadorian woman who presented with multiple hypertrophic scars along the lower left limb, secondary to a cutaneous process that she had had for 11 years, previously diagnosed and treated in her country as cutaneous leishmaniasis. It had been clinically worsening for 9 months with suppuration through the scars in the groin and thigh, associated with local pain and systemic symptoms. As we suspected cutaneous tuberculosis, we performed a number of complementary examinations to confirm the diagnosis and rule out bone involvement. Finally, a lymph node culture confirmed that it was scrofuloderma.
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Pemphigus vulgaris is a potentially fatal autoimmune bullous disease. High doses of immunosuppressive drugs are used in managing severe cases of pemphigus. Rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has proven to be effective in patients with refractory pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus. We review cases of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus not associated with lymphoma that were treated with rituximab, and we report a new case of severe refractory pemphigus vulgaris successfully treated with rituximab.