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S Raimer

Publications and source records attributed to S Raimer.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

A randomized, vehicle-controlled trial of tacrolimus ointment for treatment of atopic dermatitis in children. Pediatric Tacrolimus Study Group.

BACKGROUND: A topical formulation of tacrolimus, an immunosuppressant currently marketed for the prevention of rejection after solid organ transplant, is a potential therapeutic agent for atopic dermatitis. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the safety and efficacy of tacrolimus ointment in pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. METHODS: In this double-blind, vehicle-controlled multicenter trial, children ages 7 to 16 years were treated with twice daily application of tacrolimus ointment at 1 of 3 concentrations (0.03% [n = 43], 0.1% [n = 49], or 0.3% [n = 44]) or vehicle (n = 44) for up to 22 days, with a 2-week follow-up period. RESULTS: The Physician's Global Evaluation of clinical response showed that 69% (95% confidence interval: 53-82) of patients in the 0.03% tacrolimus ointment group, 67% (95% confidence interval: 52-81) in the 0.1% tacrolimus ointment group, and 70% (95% confidence interval: 54-83) in the 0.3% tacrolimus ointment group, compared with 38% (95% confidence interval: 24-54) in the vehicle group, had a marked to excellent (> or =75%) improvement or clearing of their atopic dermatitis (P =.005, .007, and .004, respectively for the 3 tacrolimus groups compared with the vehicle group). The mean percent improvement for a modified Eczema Area and Severity Index at end of treatment for each of the 3 tacrolimus groups (0.03%, 72%; 0.1%, 77%: and 0.3%, 81%) was significantly better than that of the vehicle group (26%; P <.001). The median percent reduction in pruritus was significantly greater for tacrolimus-treated patients (74% to 89%) than for vehicle-treated patients (51%, P = .027). No serious systemic adverse events were noted, and systemic absorption was minimal. CONCLUSION: Tacrolimus ointment appears to be safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis.

Administration, Topical↗

Leukemia cutis: Darier's sign in a neonate with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Infantile leukemia accounts for only 3% of childhood leukemia. Leukemia cutis occurs in 25% to 30% of infants with congenital leukemia and is more frequently associated with acute myeloid leukemia than with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We describe an infant in whom hyperpigmented macules that developed when the patient was 2 weeks old demonstrated Darier's sign when he was 4 weeks old. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, early pre-B-cell type, was diagnosed when the patient was 10 weeks old. Examination at that age revealed 1 to 2 cm, firm, mildly tender nodules clustered on the scalp, face, and extremities, less severe involvement of the trunk, and marked induration of the face and eyelids. Darier's sign was elicited from the less infiltrated truncal lesions. Histologic examination revealed a dense monomorphous infiltrate consisting of pleomorphic, undifferentiated cells. No mast cells were revealed by Giemsa staining. This case is to our knowledge the first reported example of leukemia cutis demonstrating Darier's sign.

Humans↗

Thymic hypoplasia and T-cell deficiency in ectodermal dysplasia: case report and review of the literature.

Ectodermal dysplasia is a heterogeneous disorder that includes a constellation of congenital malformations occasionally associated with mild to moderate immune dysfunction. In this report, we describe a female infant with ectodermal dysplasia who was found to have thymic hypoplasia but no other phenotypic features of the DiGeorge anomalad. She experienced Candida parapsilosis sepsis at 1 week of age and a skin infection with Mycobacterium chelonii at 6 months. The numbers of blood B cells were normal and serum immunoglobulins normal to slightly reduced, but serum antibody responses of all immunoglobulin isotypes to protein immunogens were absent. Blood T cells were profoundly reduced and proliferative responses of T cells to mitogens were blunted. In contrast, there was an increased number of natural killer (NK) cells and increased NK activity in the blood. Over the first year of life, some of the immunodeficiencies resolved. Although the numbers of blood T cells (17% of total lymphocytes) remained low, proliferative responses to mitogens normalized and specific antibody responses improved. It seems likely that the thymic hypoplasia in this case was due to a paucity of ectodermal elements in the developing thymus, and that the immune defects were largely secondary to that event. In that respect, this human model of ectodermal dysplasia and thymic hypoplasia resembled the ectodermal/thymic defects found in the nude mouse.

Cell Line↗

Comparison of topical erythromycin 1.5 percent solution versus topical clindamycin phosphate 1.0 percent solution in the treatment of acne vulgaris.

Commercial topical solutions of erythromycin 1.5 percent and clindamycin phosphate 1.0 percent were evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, twelve-week comparison in sixty-six patients with moderate acne. Both treatment groups showed significant reductions of total lesions, inflammatory lesions, and papules. Additionally, the group using erythromycin 1.5 percent showed significant decreases in total noninflammatory lesions and closed comedones, and the group using clindamycin phosphate 1.0 percent showed significant reductions in pustules. The only statistically significant differences between the treatments were the greater reductions in closed comedones for those patients using erythromycin 1.5 percent and greater reductions in pustules for those patients using clindamycin 1.0 percent. Nearly two thirds of the patients in each group had a good or excellent overall response after twelve weeks. One erythromycin-treated patient discontinued treatment because his wife became sensitized to it. This reportedly also occurred with the use of topical clindamycin. Other side effects were minor or transient. In this study, topical erythromycin 1.5 percent and clindamycin 1.0 percent appeared to be clinically equivalent for treating moderate facial acne.

Acne Vulgaris↗

Subcutaneous cysticercosis.

Subcutaneous cysticercosis occurred in a 34-year-old man who had multiple asymptomatic subcutaneous nodules. Surgical excision of one lesion revealed a cystic structure with a fibrous capsule that embraced a pork tapeworm larva (Cysticercus cellulosae). Such esoteric afflictions as cysticercosis may be seen with increasing frequency in an age of accelerated international travel.

Adult↗

Congenital smooth muscle hamartoma presenting as a linear atrophic plaque: case report and review of the literature.

Congenital smooth muscle hamartoma usually manifests as a well-circumscribed, hyperpigmented plaque, frequently hypertrichotic, on the trunk or extremities. We report such a lesion in a 7-month-old girl that presented as a linear, mottled, purplish red plaque appearing in areas to be atrophic, involving her right buttock, posterior thigh and leg, and fifth toe. Although the clinical appearance suggested linear morphea, a biopsy specimen had numerous haphazardly oriented bundles of smooth muscle in the reticular dermis. Masson trichrome staining, smooth muscle specific actin, and electron microscopic studies confirmed the smooth muscle nature of the cells. A diagnosis of smooth muscle hamartoma was made. To our knowledge, this linear clinical presentation has not been described previously.

Female↗