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Biomedical subjects

L Illig

Publications and source records attributed to L Illig.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

[Public education in recognizing melanoma].

We report on the first German "melanoma screening week" (Offenbach Melanoma Week). According to the model of the Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection Week in Dayton/Ohio, the population of Offenbach (100.000 inhabitants) were informed about cutaneous malignant melanoma and its early recognition by means of public media, in particular the local press; the people were asked to participate in a voluntary screening including examination of the entire skin. These examinations were offered in 5 local dermatological practices on 5 working days during the European Week Against Cancer in May, 1988, under the auspices of the Hessian Cancer Society. With 2 to 4 dermatologists daily volunteering, a total of 697 persons were screened. Their average age was 48 years. An illustrated brochure ("Red Light for Black Cancer") with instructions for self-examination of the skin served as a consultation basis and memory aid. The screening week was concluded by a 3-hour's question time ("The citizen asks - the expert answers"). The most surprising result of this campaign was the fact that - contrary to earlier experience - 76% of the persons seeking advice were well aware of "black" cancer. The sole new melanoma detected was an extended lentigo maligna melanoma on the right cheek, which had not been noted during a prophylactic medical examination (!) 2 weeks before. The high public awareness of melanoma and the extremely low percentage of undetected melanomas in Hesse are most probably the result of the 8-year's educational campaign against "black" cancer.

Germany, West↗
PubMed1988

Diagnostic excision of the Rosenmüller's node. Screening for occult metastases before elective regional lymph node dissection in patients with lower limb melanoma?

Elective radical groin dissection was performed on 297 consecutive patients with high-risk melanoma of the leg, Anderson Stages I, IIA, IIIA. By separate histologic examination of the so-called "Rosenmüller's node," the other inguinal, and the external iliac lymph nodes, the diagnostic excision of the Rosenmüller's node was tested as a suitable mode of screening for metastases before a planned elective regional lymph node dissection. Eighty patients (27%) presented with what was histologically determined to be occult groin metastases. Rosenmüller's node was involved in 30 of these cases; in the remaining 50, however, it was not affected; that is, 63% of the cases were false-negative. Thus, the involvement of Rosenmüller's node is not representative of metastases in the other ilioinguinal lymph nodes, but is rather a matter of chance. In women with superficial spreading melanoma the rate of occult lymph node metastases was significantly lower than that in men with melanomas of the other type. Iliac lymph node involvement was observed in 18 patients (22%) depending on clinical stage and depth of invasion of the primary tumor.

Female↗
PubMed1985

Congenital nevi less than or equal to 10 cm as precursors to melanoma. 52 cases, a review, and a new conception.

Fifty-two congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) as precursors to melanoma or severe melanocytic dysplasia were reviewed macroscopically and microscopically. Forty-eight "small" CMN measured less than 10 cm in diameter. Histologically, only five reached to the lower third of the dermis or subcutis ("deep type"); the remaining 47 were limited to the upper two thirds of the corium ("superficial type"). There were 47 invasive melanomas, two in situ melanomas, and three severe focal melanocytic dysplasias. All melanomas were of "epidermal" origin and primarily of the superficial spreading type. The age at diagnosis ranged from 18 to 79 years. Prepubertal melanomas were not observed. Melanoma may also arise on small CMN. The most frequent origin of the melanomas in small CMN and the preferred age at manifestation seem to be different from that for giant nevi.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

[Treatment of psoriasis vulgaris with external sulfur mustard gas with particular reference to its potential carcinogenic risk. III. Clinical and experimental studies on the extent of percutaneous and inhalational uptake of sulfur mustard gas].

Concerning the often discussed carcinogenic risk of psoriasis treatment with 0.005% S-mustard-vaseline (so-called Russian Ointment) -- especially by inhalation -- 19 patients were treated with a radioactive labeled S-mustard-ointment and examined. The patients' whole bodies were inuncted for 1--2 days with about 50 g of radioactive S-mustard vaseline (U14C, 3 muCi/g). Afterwards the radioactivity was determined in the patients' expired air, blood, urine, and in their surrounding air. In three patients punch biopsy material from normal and psoriatic skin was assayed for radioactivity after combustion. In the skin, radioactivity distinctly decreased from the epidermis (13.1 pCi/mg) to the subcutis (0.77 pCi/mg) without significant differences between normal skin and psoriatic lesions as confirmed by autoradiography. In all samples of air, body fluids and tissue, definitive amounts of radioactivity were found, which, however, were far below the US-American MAK-values. Between skin surface and shirt, the values varied from 1.5 to 13.7 nCi/20 l air, at a distance of 2 meters by 0.3 nCi/100 l air, in the breath by 0.5 nCi/20 l. The radioactivity decreased to 1/10 of the maximum values after 1--2 hours. In blood the activity was at the limit of detection and was parallelled by the activity of the urine. Generally, 1--7% of the radioactivity applied to the skin was eliminated with the urine within one week. Thus, the carcinogenic risk may be very low in the external S-mustard therapy of psoriasis and other skin diseases.

Air↗
PubMed1979

[Positive side-effects of antibiotic and antimicrobial drugs in therapy (author's transl)].

Since about 1950 especially, dermatologists world-wide have been utilizing the positive side-effects, discovered by chance, of all groups of antibiotic and antimicrobial drugs. These drugs are used to treat certain non-microbially induced dermatoses, without any knowledge of the mechanisms involved. A short history is given and the most important drugs and the indications for their use are described. The following drugs are undoubtedly effective and sometimes even the therapy of choice: tetracyclines in acne vulgaris and rosacea (including rosacea keratitis); penicillin G in acrodermatitis atrophicans and cold urticaria; dapsone in dermatitis herpetiformis and - as a powerful adjuvant - in acne vulgaris and rosacea. Before the discovery of the socalled immunodepressive drugs, tetracycline was the only alternative to - or at least a highly effective adjuvant of - cortisone in dermatomyositis and chloroquine in localised and systemic lupus erythematosus. Finally, clioquinole was life-saving in acrodermatitis continua in children until this condition was recently identified as a zinc-deficiency syndrome. Therapeutical mechanisms have been found only in the case of acne, rosacea and dermatitis herpetiformis. In most other diseases the nature of the therapeutical effectiveness of antibiotic and antimicrobial drugs still remains a mystery.

Acne Vulgaris↗
PubMed1977

[Modern aspects in the pathogenesis of urticaria with special reference to intolerance phenomena].

The chronic urticaria remains till now a "vexing problem" (Sheldon, 1954), because its etiopathology can be clarified only in about 20-30%. Five different immunologic mechanisms, two nonimmunologic mechanisms and two important manifestation factors are found. The physical triggering (12-17%) and the so-called aspirine/additiva provocation (26%) seem to be the most frequent causes of urticaria. Exogenic antigens are identified only in 3-8% of cases. The unspecific reaction phase of urticaria can be different too, although the degranulation of mast cells with histamine-deliberation is found very often. In hereditary urticaria and in pressure urticaria histamine-deliberation seems not to be important.

Anaphylaxis↗
PubMed1976

Melanin-producing dendritic cells and histogenesis of malignant melanoma.

In a total of 70 malignant melanomas we searched for dendritic-branched fluorescent pigment cells. Hereby we found that dendritic-branched tumor cells are especially characteristic in cases of lentigo maligna. In the flat parts of these lesions, these cells are the predominant cell type. Dendrites in the pseudonests or nodular parts of lentigo maligna can only seldom be detected. The prevailing cell type in superficial spreading melanoma and in primary nodular melanoma is the round or oval unbranched tumor cell. In some cases of nodular melanoma, cells with short dendrites could be seen. In superficial spreading melanoma, dendritic tumor cells could be observed particularly in such tumor parts, in which the malignant cells were scattered between the keratinocytes. Melanocytes can evidently produce dendrites between cells of the sebaceous gland. In the marginal parts or in parts of regression of some superficial spreading melanomas, a great area of dendritic tumor cells could also be detected in the basal parts of the epidermis. Altogether, however, in superficial spreading melanoma and in nodular melanoma they occur only rarely. Dendritic-branched cells are also visible in lymph-node metastases of SSM and NM. The fact that the dendritic tumor cells can be observed in all 3 types of tumors (according to Clark and coworkers) gives a rise to a new discussion of the dualistic theory of melanoma-histogenesis of Mishima. Although this theory could not be disproved, up to now on the basis of the present results, an unitarian development of all types of mnelanoma from melanocytes seems to be possible.

Dendrites↗
PubMed1976

Fluorescence-microscopic investigations of pigment cells of lentigo maligna (melanosis circumscripta praeblastomatosa Dubreuilh) and lentigo maligna melanoma.

With fluorescence-histochemical methods (formalin-induced fluorescence), the different stadia of development of lentigo maligna (Morbus Dubreuih) and lentigo maligna melanoma were investigated. In this way, the special stadia can be clearly characterized using the fluorescence-microscope. In the earliest stadium of malignancy, only the pigment-cells of the basal part of the epidermis seem to be numerous. At this time, these cells are mainly arranged as palisades in the basal layer, and their strongest dendrites are usually directed towards the corneal layer. As the malignancy progresses, the pigment-cells are arranged in several layers in the basal epidermis. In this case, polymorphism of the cells is obvious and their dendrites spread in all directions. A further stadium shows pathological alterations resembling a lentigo with long rete ridges. The atypical cells cluster together into the so-called pseudonests, predominantly at the tips of these rete ridges. With the fluorescence-microscope, dendrites are seldom visible here. In the stadium of tumorous growth, all above-described alterations of the epidermis in lentigo maligna are no longer detectable. Malignant cells in the dermis, which form as a tumor mode, seldom show dendrites. These cells are mainly round or oval-shaped; at best there are some spindle cells in certain areas of the tumor. The epidermis covering the tumor node is infiltrated by some tumor cells but the characteristic alterations as described above for the various stadia of lentigo maligna are no longer visible. Even fluorescence-microscopically, a tumor node of lentigo maligna does not seem to be different from a primary nodular melanoma or a tumor node of a superficial spreading melanoma, if the flat parts of the tumors are not considered in the diagnosis.

Humans↗