A scabies burrow is created by a mature female mite laying eggs through the stratum corneum, representing a kind of scabies eruption. We have noticed that the edges of the scabies burrow sometime appear as blackish‐gray lines. We named these lines the “gray‐edged line” sign, as a new feature of scabies burrows. The gray‐edged line sign has the following two tendencies: (i) it is rarely seen on the palm or sole; and (ii) when the burrow follows a curved course, the gray‐edged line often forms on the outer wall. Explaining the formation of this sign from clinical findings was difficult, so the aim of the present study was to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the gray‐edged line sign. This retrospective study involved collection of data from electronic medical records of patients treated for scabies in our department between April 2015 and February 2020. We treated 32 scabies patients, including 4 patients with the gray‐edged line sign. We analyzed clinical features, dermoscopy, histopathology and special stains. Fontana‐Masson staining showed melanin staining in three parts: feces; some keratinocytes around the scabies burrows; and the mouth and legs of the scabies mite. The gray‐edged line sign appears to represent mite feces containing melanin.

Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) are highly considered to indicate disease severity and be predictive markers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA patients who are positive for anti-CCP tend to progress more frequently to joint deformity and functionally deteriorate more than negative patients. A study concerning the presence of anti-CCP in Japanese patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has been published. Our aim was to clarify that anti-CCP could be a potentially useful marker in PsA patients. We herein describe a PsA patient with presence of anti-CCP. We examined anti-CCP in 15 patients with PsA, and compared with 18 controls who had other types of psoriasis. Three PsA patients were positive for anti-CCP, but no controls showed positive. The anti-CCP-positive patients had higher counts of radiographic erosion, higher prevalence rates of polyarticular disease, use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, and the human leukocyte antigen DRB1*04 shared epitope than negative patients. Our study demonstrated that anti-CCP was potentially both predictive and a severity marker of joint involvement in PsA, the same as in RA.

Hair follicle-associated-pluripotent (HAP) stem cells are located in the bulge area of the hair follicle, express the stem-cell marker, nestin, and have been shown to differentiate to nerve cells, glial cells, keratinocytes, smooth muscle cells, cardiac muscle cells, and melanocytes. Transplanted HAP stem cells promote the recovery of peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries and have the potential for heart regeneration as well. In the present study, we implanted mouse green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing HAP stem-cell spheres encapsulated in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-membrane cylinders into the severed sciatic nerve of immunocompetent and immunocompromised (nude) mice. Eight weeks after implantation, immunofluorescence staining showed that the HAP stem cells differentiated into neurons and glial cells. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the HAP stem cell hair spheres promoted rejoining of the sciatic nerve of both immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining showed that the severed scatic nerves had regenerated. Quantitative walking analysis showed that the transplanted mice recovered the ability to walk normally. HAP stem cells are readily accessible from everyone, do not form tumors, and can be cryopreserved without loss of differentiation potential. These results suggest that HAP stem cells may have greater potential than iPS or ES cells for regenerative medicine.

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