Epidermal lipid biosynthesis was normal in patients with mild ichthyosis due to Hodgkin's disease, but greatly reduced in one patient with severe ichthyosis. Dermal (sebaceous) lipid synthesis was decreased in all patients with Hodgkin's disease, whether or not they had ichthyosis, and was greatly reduced in the patient with severe ichthyosis. Neither the mechanism nor the possible relationship between the dermal and epidermal changes is understood.

Lipid biosynthesis from glucose was increased in severe acne both in dermis and in epidermis which included the top portions of the pilosebaceous follicles. Both tissues retained their characteristic lipid labelling pattern. The magnitude of the increase in dermis and epidermis was similar, suggesting that epidermis may be subject to the same sebotrophic-lipogenic stimulus which affects sebaceous glands.

No abstract