Acta Dermatovenerologica Croatica : ADC

Mutation of the BRAF oncogene is one of the most common mutations detected in human neoplasia, occurring in 40-60% of all cutaneous melanoma. BRAF is a serine/threonine protein kinase which is an essential part of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. It is physiologically activated by RAS, but in mutated form, due to molecular conformational change, BRAF becomes constitutively active with subsequent persistent activation of downstream cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins (MEK, ERK, ETS), which finally leads to gene expression that promotes cell growth and survival...

Acquired circumscribed hyperpigmented patches and plaques have various differential diagnoses, including post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and mycosis fungoides (MF). Leukomelanoderma is an uncommon cutaneous condition in which the pathogenesis is not fully elucidated. It has been reported that leukomelanoderma occurs after allergic contact dermatitis from hydroquinone or acute cutaneous graft-versus-host disease (1,2). Hyperpigmented MF is a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with a frequent CD8+ phenotype (3). Herein, we report a case of leukomelanoderma clinically and histologically resembling hyperpigmented MF...

A 39-year-old Caucasian woman affected by Noonan Syndrome (NS) mutated in RAF1 was referred to us with itchy lesions on her limbs that had appeared two months earlier. Clinically, there were multiple umbilicated papules with a hyperkeratotic central plug, localized on the upper and lower limbs (Figure 1, a-b). The patient had no personal history of diabetes mellitus and no chronic renal failure, but suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Blood tests showed no abnormalities. On histological examination of a skin lesion, an ectatic hair follicle with hyperkeratotic ostium was observed with fragments of hair, inflammatory cells, and epidermal perforation...

Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) is an inflammatory disease with numerous detrimental characteristics, namely its distressing symptoms, chronic course, sexual dysfunction, disfiguring anatomical changes, only partial response to treatment, and risk of evolution towards cancer. Interest in the burden of VLS on patient quality of life is fairly recent and only relatively few studies have addressed it so far. In order to focus on the impact of VLS in affected women, an electronic search was performed using the National Library of Medicine PubMed database...

Plasma cell mucositis (PCM) is an unusual disorder most evident in the accessible mucosa and usually reported in the upper aerodigestive tract, although it is named according to its specific anatomical site of involvement such as plasma cell cheilitis, plasma cell gingivitis, plasma cell vulvitis, and Zoon's balanitis. PCM reflects a dense polyclonal rather than a monoclonal plasma cell proliferation of unclear and unknown etiology. This perplexing disorder tends to be treated by avoiding possible triggers and intralesional and/or systemic steroids...

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is common in the pediatric population, but there are only a limited number of studies focused on the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients in this age group. In this study, our objective was to investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric subjects diagnosed with CL. A total of 8047 patients who had been diagnosed with CL between 2010 and 2021 in an endemic region were included in this retrospective study. The clinical and demographic characteristics such as age, gender, number, size, duration, location, and type of lesions and the administered CL treatments were recorded...

Basaloid follicular hamartoma (BFH) is rare benign follicular malformation that is often clinically misdiagnosed. Patients with BFH demonstrate a variety of clinical manifestations and associated abnormalities. BFH may be a familial, congenital, or acquired condition with localized or generalized distribution. Several clinical variants of generalized BFH are known, and they can be associated with a diverse spectrum of abnormalities. Herein, we report two cases of solitary BFH in pediatric patients, both documented dermoscopically...

Introduction Telogen effluvium (TE) is a common sequela of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Existing studies are highly heterogeneous. We aimed to assess the prevalence of TE in a cohort of patients with severe disease hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Methods This prospective cohort study was conducted at the University Clinic of Dermatology, part of the COVID-19 University Hospital Network throughout the pandemic. The acute phase data were extracted from electronic hospital records. Details about hair loss were obtained at two follow-up points, 3 and 6 months after hospital discharge, using telephone interviews...

INTRODUCTION: The baseline therapy of atopic dermatitis (AD) includes emollient therapy, prevention of triggering factors and proper patients' education. Appropriate level of education about AD among patients is crucial for successful treatment of the disease. AIMS: To compare and evaluate the level of knowledge about baseline therapy in atopic dermatitis (AD) between the adults with AD and the parents of children with AD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult patients with AD (n=180) and parents of children with AD (n=106) completed an original questionnaire covering issues of emollient therapy and bathing...

BACKGROUND: An extensive body of literature has been published regarding alopecia areata (AA) in the past 50 years. The current paper used a bibliometric analysis (BA) to identify high-quality research articles using criteria such as annual citations (ACs) and journal impact factor. OBJECTIVES: To identify and analyze the top 100 most cited articles in AA scientific literature over the past 50 years using BA methods. METHODS: Web of Science (webOS) citation indexing database was used, on April 4th, 2023, to identify the most cited articles on AA...

BACKGROUND: Although biologic agents are very effective, long-term comparative studies demonstrating their safety relative to one another are still lacking. METHODS: A total of 124 patients with psoriasis were followed up for 30 months; 74 received anti-TNF-alpha inhibitors (adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab), 33 were on ustekinumab, and 17 were treated with secukinumab. The rates of adverse events in these groups were recorded and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Infliximab-treated patients showed a high occurrence of asymptomatic, but increased liver enzymes, fatigue, and respiratory as well as dermatologic infections...

BACKGROUND: The pro-inflammatory adipokine resistin is known to be related to obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Resistin's significance in the etiology of inflammatory illnesses, such as psoriasis, is explored herein. We examined the link between resistin gene polymorphisms (-420 C>G and +299 G>A) and psoriasis in the Turkish population. METHODS: In this study, we examined 107 patients with psoriasis and 103 healthy controls. Resistin -420 C>G (rs1862513) and +299 G>A (rs3745367) gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)...

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease is a multisystem disorder characterized by bilateral granulomatous panuveitis resulting in serous retinal detachments, disk edema, and a sunset glow fundus development. Furthermore, it is associated with various extraocular findings, such as tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo, poliosis, and vitiligo (1). VKH is considered to be an autoimmune disease mediated by T-cells targeting melanocyte antigen tyrosinase peptide (2). Moreover, VKH more often occurs in individuals with a genetic predisposition to the disease, including those of Asian and Hispanic heritage (3)...

Dear Editor, Ticks carry many diseases, bacteria, and viruses and represent a very important healthcare issue both in Croatia and globally. Although most ticks are not infected with pathogens dangerous to humans, some ticks can transmit infectious diseases with significant morbidity and mortality. This is caused by the increasing incidence of many tick-borne diseases over a growing geographical area. Many factors influence which species of ticks are present in a given geographical area, as well as the density of their population and the risk of human exposure to infected ticks...

Mycosis fugnoides (MF) is an indolent cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTLC) and is the most common of all cutaneous lymphomas. An increased risk for developing a second primary malignancy in patients with CTCL has been described in several studies, with a range from 1.04 to 2.4 (1-4). Caucasian males are at higher risk for MF development. MF is often diagnosed at ages between 55 and 67 years, and second malignancy usually occurs 5 or 6 years after the diagnosis of MF was established (5). The most common second primary malignancies include non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), lung carcinoma, bladder carcinoma, and melanoma...

While basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer in humans, its subepidermal presentation is extremely rare. The risk factors for basal cell carcinoma development are well-known, but it remains unclear in which setting the tumor restricts itself to the dermal compartment. We present the fifth known case of subepidermal basal cell carcinoma. However, this particular presentation is unique due to arising beneath a capillary malformation. The patient had previously undergone multiple laser treatments which yielded no success...

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterized by painful inflammatory lesions, predominantly affecting areas of the skin rich in apocrine glands, such as inguinal, axillary, submammary, and anogenital regions, with an estimated global prevalence between 1%-4%. The treatment of HS is challenging with various treatment modalities employed to control the disease. Since the condition is chronic and life-impairing, many patients have looked for ways to complement their conventional treatment procedures with non-medical interventions, among which dietary interventions have been of particular interest...

BACKGROUND: Multifocal infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are focal cutaneous lesions affecting more than 1 anatomic site. The multifocal distribution pattern is the rarest form of IH manifestation, accounting for only 3-4% of all affected infants. This type of cutaneous IHs may be a marker for extracutaneous disease, with the liver being the most frequently affected organ. METHODS: We investigated the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a small case series of infants with multifocal IHs presenting with different clinical patterns, all diagnosed and treated in a regional tertiary-care pediatric clinic...

Plasma cell mucositis (PCM) is an unusual disorder most evident in the accessible mucosa and usually reported in the upper aerodigestive tract, although it is named according to its specific anatomical site of involvement, such as plasma cell cheilitis, plasma cell gingivitis, plasma cell vulvitis, and Zoon's balanitis. PCM reflects a dense polyclonal, rather than a monoclonal, plasma cell proliferation of unclear and unknown etiology. This perplexing disorder tends to be treated by avoiding possible triggers and intralesional and/or systemic steroids...

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of subcorneal hematoma (SH) can be challenging because the clinical presentation of SH can resemble melanocytic lesions. Few studies have examined the characteristic dermoscopic features of SH, but a more detailed large-scale study is needed to overcome the diagnostic challenge of differentiating it from acral melanoma. OBJECTIVES: To describe the dermoscopic features of SH. METHODS: We evaluated the clinical and dermoscopic features of 50 SH lesions from 43 patients at the Pusan National University Hospitals (Busan and Yangsan)...