Few cases have been published relating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and pemphigus vulgaris (PV). We describe a patient with this association. A 35-year old woman who started to develop persistent pain and morning stiffness of proximal inter and metacarpo-phalangeal joints. During the following year, the patient recalled the onset of blisters on both legs, face, arms and thorax, as well as erosions appearing on oral mucous membranes. We observed generalized multiple erosions on her trunk and legs, flaccid bullae located on her right thigh and multiple erosions on oral mucous membranes. A skin biopsy reported PV Direct immunofluorescence on the perilesional skin specimen, showed beehive intercellular IgG deposits in the epidermis (+++), suggesting PV; granular discontinuous IgM and C3 deposits in the dermal-epidermal union (+++), suggesting SLE. Direct immunofluorescence of the healthy unexposed skin specimen, reported granular discontinuous IgG deposits in the dermal-epidermal union and beehive intercellular IgG deposits in the lower levels of the epidermis (+++); granular continuous IgM deposits in the dermal-epidermal union (+++). The results of rheumatic studies were obtained as follows: ANA :3 +, Anti-DNA, Anti-Sm, Anti-Ro and Anti-La :4 + . The definite diagnosis was PVand SLE. Treatment with 50 mg of prednisone daily with good evolution.
It is concluded that 1) low-dose aspirin may reduce glycooxidative damage in people with NIDDM, and 2) treatment may need to continue for more than 1 year before clinical status improves.
The skin contains various populaions of stem cells, but its characterization has been hampered by lack of markers and unclear location. The hair follicle has a niche for stem cells called a "bulge" which acts as a reservoir of multipotent stem cells. In the study reported here, an immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analysis was performed on mouse and human tissues in order to determine the possible presence of stem cells of hair follicle through cytokeratin 15 (CK15), CD34, and CD200 markers identified as crucial to the stem cells and to identify the bulge region. Mouse (n = 7) and human (n = 7) skin samples were used. The expression of proteins was determined by the indirect immunoperoxidase technique and a secondary antibody bound to a fluorochrome. The specificity of staining was evaluated by negative controls. The results revealed that the stem cells associated with CD34 and CD200 antibodies were differentially expressed in the interfollicular epidermis, sebaceous glands, and bulge region, indicating that, in mice, CD34 and, in humans, CD200 are more specific than CK15 in detecting bulge cells. It also suggests that CD34 is specific for mouse bulge cells, while CD200 might have specificity for progenitor cells and partially differentiated cells in humans.
Recent studies have provided evidence that the severity of complications in insulin-dependent diabetic patients is strongly correlated with the accumulation of advanced glycation products on collagen, measured both as "collagen-associated fluorescence" and as the specific Maillard product pentosidine (1-4). In a recent study of young insulin-dependent diabetic patients, we have reported on correlations between early glycation products and complications, as well as correlations between enzymatically mediated crosslinking in skin collagen and long-term complications (5).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.