Faculty Bibliography

IMPORTANCE: Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is a chronic variant of cutaneous lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the skin. Lesions are often localized to the scalp and can result in permanent scarring, disfiguration, and irreversible alopecia. Although DLE usually responds to topical or intralesional corticosteroids and/or oral antimalarials, some DLE is resistant to these treatments or adverse effects limit their effectiveness. OBSERVATIONS: Three patients with treatment-refractory, biopsy-proved DLE were prescribed a novel, off-label preparation of tacrolimus lotion, 0.3%, in an alcohol base as an adjunct to oral antimalarial therapy. All 3 patients demonstrated improvement in lesion severity and hair regrowth with the use of this regimen after 3 months and continued improvement thereafter. We report a retrospective analysis of these 3 cases. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This report is, to our knowledge, the first mention of tacrolimus being used in a lotion formulation to treat DLE lesions, resulting in hair regrowth. Topical tacrolimus lotion, 0.3%, in an alcohol base may be a potential therapeutic option for patients with DLE that is refractory to first-line therapies and who risk late-stage disease with permanent scarring alopecia.

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) or pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFS) is a hypersensitivity reaction to plant-based foods, manifesting most commonly with pruritus of the lips, tongue, and mouth. Unlike simple food allergy, OAS requires prior sensitization to a cross-reacting inhalant allergen rather than direct sensitization to a specific food protein. In this review, we summarize the clinical features and pathophysiology of OAS and provide an overview of known pollen-food associations.

A 67-year-old man with a three-year history of non-scarring alopecia that progressed to alopecia totalis despite intralesional glucocorticoid injections is presented. He developed 20-nail dystrophy that was recalcitrant to antifungal and anti-inflammatory treatments. Biopsy of the nail matrix showed histopathologic features of lichen planus. Alopecia totalis and isolated lichen planus of the nails are uncommon subtypes of common dermatologic disorders. Rarely reported concurrently, we provide a review of the literature of their association, which is most likely attributed to their autoimmune pathogeneses.

We report a 46-year-old woman with a nine-year history of obesity; chronic diffuse pain in the adipose tissue of her medial upper arms, lower trunk, and thighs; multiple biopsy-proven lipomas and angiolipomas; and a lipomatous pseudomass of the breast. Her systemic symptoms included generalized weakness, fatigue, memory impairment, and arthralgias. Although some of the lesions were tender, most were only appreciated with palpation. Her clinical history and histopathologic data suggested adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease). Owing to the chronic pain, an interdisciplinary approach with the use of analgesics and doxycycline has been initiated.

We present a 76-year old woman with a five-year history of asymptomatic, white papules that were grouped on the lateral and posterior aspects of the neck, inferior axillae, and central mid-back. The histopathologic findings showed thickened collagen bundles. A diagnosis of white fibrous papulosis of the neck was made, which is believed to be a manifestation of intrinsic aging. There are no treatments for white fibrous papulosis of the neck. One hypothesized approach is the application of a topical anti-oxidant to reduce free-radical induced aging.

Vegetative pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare, superficial variant of pyoderma gangrenosum that is more commonly found on the trunk as single or multiple, non-painful lesions. There is typically no associated underlying systemic disease. Compared to classic pyoderma gangrenosum, vegetative lesions are more likely to heal without the use of systemic glucocorticoids, although up to 39% of patients required a short course of prednisone in a review of 46 cases. Treatments for vegetative pyoderma gangrenosum include topical and intralesional glucocorticoids, minocycline or doxycycline, dapsone, colchicine, and, rarely, alternative steroid-sparing immunosuppressants. We present a case of multiple vegetative pyoderma gangrenosum lesions arising in prior surgical sites in a patient found to have IgA monoclonal gammopathy and abnormal urinary protein electrophoresis.

Skin metastases from visceral malignancies have been well documented in the literature, and may be the presenting sign of an occult internal malignancy. Lung cancer in particular is a relatively common cause of skin metastases, which are considered a poor prognostic sign. Rarely, patients with lung cancer develop a second primary lung cancer that may require a novel chemotherapeutic regimen. The frequency of second primary malignancies presenting with metastatic skin lesions is not documented in the literature. We present a case of a 50-year-old man with a history of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma who was referred for evaluation of a nodule overlying his right mandible, which had been progressively enlarging for two weeks. Biopsy demonstrated metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. Subsequent CT-guided biopsy of a left retroperitoneal lymph node was conducted and notable for squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, this patient's skin lesion was the presenting sign of a second primary visceral tumor, likely originating in the lung. We present this case to raise clinical awareness of the rare phenomenon that cutaneous metastasis may be the first sign of a visceral cancer, even in the setting of a previous distinct primary malignancy

J Drugs Dermatol 2014;13(10):1277-1279.