Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia: efficacy of isotretinoin?

BACKGROUND: Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a benign but potentially disfiguring vascular lesion. It is usually characterized by dermal and subcutaneous nodules, primarily in the head and neck region. Spontaneous regression is common, but persistent or recurrent lesions may require treatment. Several treatments have been reported but surgery is the most efficient one. METHODS AND RESULTS: We report a 32-year-old man presenting with multiple nodules on the cheeks, preauricular region and the scalp and who received treatment with isotretinoin (0.5 mg/kg/day) for 1 year with complete resolution of one of his scalp nodules. The rest of the lesions remained stable and were treated with surgical excision without recurrence. CONCLUSION: Isotretinoin may play a role in the treatment of ALHE due to its antiangiogenic properties via a reduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production by keratinocytes

Hyperpigmentation gris-bleuté photodistribuée induite par l'amiodarone : caractérisation moléculaire des dépôts d'amiodarone au niveau cutané

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Validation of the multiple sclerosis international quality of life questionnaire

This study aims to validate the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) International Quality of Life (MusiQoL) questionnaire, a multi- dimensional, self- administered questionnaire, available in 14 languages, as a disease-specific quality of life scale that can be applied internationally. A total of 1992 patients with different types and severities of MS from 15 countries were recruited. At baseline and day 21 +/- 7, each patient completed the MusiQoL, a symptom checklist and the short- form (SF)- 36 QoL questionnaire. Neurologists also collected socio- demographic, MS history and outcome data. The database was randomly divided into two subgroups and analysed according to different patient characteristics. For each model, psychometric properties were tested and the number of items was reduced by various statistical methods. Construct validity, internal consistency, reproducibility and external consistency were also tested. Nine dimensions, explaining 71% of the total variance, were isolated. Internal consistency and reproducibility were satisfactory for all the dimensions. External validity testing revealed that dimension scores correlated significantly with all SF- 36 scores, but showed discriminant validity by gender, socio- economic and health status. Significant correlations were found between activity in daily life scores and clinical indices. These results demonstrate the validity and reliability of the MusiQoL as an international scale to evaluate QoL in patients with MS