20 research outputs found
Pityriasis rotunda in childhood
No full textPityriasis rotunda is a rare disease characterized by round or oval patches, localized mainly on the trunk, arms, and legs. The patches are usually lighter than the surrounding skin, but sometimes may be darker, and are covered by fine, adherent scales. Two types of pityriasis rotunda have been described. Type I has been observed mainly in oriental and black patients older than 60 years of age, and is often associated with systemic disease or malignancy. Type II has been observed in white patients younger than 40 years of age, is often familial, and has never been observed in association with malignancy or internal disease. On Sardinia, a cluster of patients with type II pityriasis rotunda has been described. From 1981 until 1998, 51 cases of this disease have been observed in the Department of Dermatology, University of Sassari; 32 of them were children. The great prevalence of pityriasis rotunda on Sardinia, an island which until 40 years ago had limited contact with the Italian mainland, and the presence of a large number of familial cases suggest that type II pityriasis rotunda should be considered a genetically determined disease. The trend toward spontaneous resolution after the age of 20 years suggests that pityriasis rotunda should be considered a genodermatosis with a temporary phenotypic expression
Classic Kaposi's sarcoma in Sardinia: HLA positive and negative associations
No full textBackground
The incidence of classic Kaposi’s sarcoma (CKS) in northern Sardinia is one of
the highest in the world.
Methods
Sixty-two patients with CKS were typed for class I and class II antigens. All patients
had been born and were living in northern Sardinia.
Results
In the Sardinian patients, we observed a positive CKS association with Cw7,
DRB1*1104, DRB1*1302, DQA1*0302, and DQB1*0604, and a negative CKS association
with A30, B58, Cw5, DRB1*1601, and DQB1*0502.
Conclusions
The strong positive CKS association with DRB1*1104 and DQB1*0604 and
negative association with B58 are particularly significant and further support the notion of a
genetic predisposition to CKS
Human herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence and evaluation of nonsexual transmission routes by detection of DNA in clinical specimens from human immunodeficiency virus-seronegative patients from central and southern Italy, with and without Kaposi's sarcoma
No full textIn order to investigate the seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection in central and southern Italy, sera from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seronegative subjects, with and without Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), were analyzed by immunofluorescence assay, using BC-3, a cell line latently infected with HHV-8. High titers of antibody against HHV-8 lytic and latent antigens were detected in all 50 KS patients studied, while in 50 HIV-seronegative subjects without KS, 32 (64%) were found positive for HHV-8 antibodies. Titers in the sera of these patients were lower than those for KS patients. This data suggests that HHV-8 infection is not restricted to KS patients and that the prevalence of HHV-8 infection in the general population may be correlated with differing rates of prevalence of KS in different parts of the world. In view of these findings, possible nonsexual transmission routes were evaluated. Nested PCR was used to test for the presence of HHV-8 DNA in saliva, urine, and tonsillar swabs from KS and non-KS patients. In KS patients, 14 out of 32 tonsillar swabs (43.7%), 11 out of 24 saliva samples (45.8%), and just 2 out of 24 urine samples (8.3%) tested positive for HHV-8 DNA. In the control group, on the contrary, none of the 20 saliva and 20 urine specimens was positive for HHV-8 DNA; only 1 out of 22 tonsillar swabs gave a positive result. This data supports the hypothesis that HHV-8 infects the general population in a latent form. The reactivation of viral infection may result in salivary shedding of HHV-8, contributing to viral spread by nonsexual transmission routes
Long latency of human herpesvirus type 8 infection and theappearance of classic Kaposi's sarcoma
No full textHigh prevalence of antibodies to human herpesvirus 8 in relatives of patients with classic Kaposi's sarcoma from Sardinia
No full textA survey for antibodies to a recombinant small viral capsid antigen (sVCA) of human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV‐8) was conducted in Sardinia, one of the world's highest incidence areas for classic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Prevalence of antibodies to HHV‐8 sVCA was greatest in patients with KS (95%), followed by family members (39%) and a Sardinian control population age‐ and sex‐matched to the relatives (11%). Within families, prevalence of antibodies was about equal among spouses, children, and siblings of KS patients, a finding that raises the possibilities of intrafamilial person‐to‐person or vertical transmission. Antibodies were detected 2–3 times more frequently in males than in females. The data show that prevalence of antibodies to HHV‐8 sVCA correlates with the distribution of classic KS in a high‐ incidence area. Clustering of seroprevalence within some families suggests the presence of familial risk factors for active HHV‐8 infection
High rate of human herpesvirus-8 seroprevalence in thalassemic patients in Italy
No full textBackground: The potential risk of acquiring infection by the novel human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) through blood derivatives is still debated. Objectives: In the present study, we determined HHV-8 seroprevalence in beta-thalassemic patients living in Italy. Study design: We have analysed 86 patients from Sardinia, an island characterised by a high diffusion of HHV-8, as well as 33 thalassernics from the area of Rome, where a lower rate of HHV-8 infection has been reported. These data have been compared with HHV-8 seroprevalence found in healthy controls living in the same areas of the assayed patients. Results and conclusions: A three-fold increase in HHV-8 seroprevalence was found among thalassemic patients when compared to control groups taken from the same regions (17.6% versus 5.1%). This risk factor was statistically significant when considering the Sardinians alone (P = 0.01) and the entire population analysed in the present survey (P = 0.0006). In the Roman area also an increased seroprevatence in thalassemic subjects was found (12.1% versus 4.6%) but it was not statistically significant (P = 0.2). HHV-8 is sporadically present in the blood of healthy individuals and it is unknown whether the virus eventually present in donors' blood is completely cleared by the treatments which blood undergoes before red cells are transfused. Based on these considerations, we hypothesise that multiply transfused subjects living in areas at high HHV-8 prevalence present an increased risk of being infected. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Direct correlation between human herpesvirus-8 seroprevalence and classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence in northern Sardinia
No full textThe human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) has been associated with the development of Kaposi's sarcoma. A high incidence of classic Kaposi's sarcoma has been described in Sardinia, an island West of Italy's mainland. Different seroepidemiological analyses have reported that prevalence of HHV-8 infection varies worldwide: a high HHV-8 seroprevalence has been shown in Italy. The present survey was carried out to evaluate the correlation between HHV-8 infection and classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence in northern Sardinia. Blood samples were collected from 226 healthy donors born and resident in five different areas of North Sardinia. Seroprevalence to HHV-8 was determined searching antibodies to viral lytic proteins by immunofluorescence in sera diluted at 1:10. Classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence data spanning a period of 23 years were examined in the areas studied. The present screening revealed that seroprevalence was 35%, within a range of 15.346.3% in the five areas, although it should be considered that the seroprevalence to HHV-8 can be established more accurately by the combined use of different assays. Age emerged as an important risk factor. Indeed, subjects aged > 50 years showed a higher seroprevalence to HHV-8 as compared with younger individuals. A strong direct correlation between HHV-8 prevalence and classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence has been also observed. The wide diffusion of HHV-8 in Sardinia appears to represent an important factor in the high incidence of classic Kaposi's sarcoma reported in the island. However, additional co-factors, such as age, sex, genetic traits, or viral strain pathogenicity, are likely to play a role in the development of the disease. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc
urocanic acid isomers in patients with non-melanma skin cancer
No full textBACKGROUND: Cis-urocanic acid (cis-UCA), formed from the naturally occurring trans-isomer in the epidermis on ultraviolet (UV) radiation, initiates some of the changes leading to UV-induced immunosuppression, but its role in cutaneous carcinogenesis has not been fully investigated.
OBJECTIVES: To measure the concentration of UCA isomers in the photoexposed and non-photoexposed skin of patients with multiple non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), enrolled in different periods of the year, in comparison with control subjects.
PATIENTS/METHODS: UCA isomers were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis in samples from the outer arm (photoexposed site) and buttock (non-photoexposed site) obtained from 20 patients and 19 controls during the winter period (October to April), and from five patients and 11 controls during the summer period (June to September).
RESULTS: In the winter months, no difference was found between patients and controls in the concentration of UCA or the percentage of cis-UCA in either site. In the summer months, the percentage of cis-UCA in the buttock of patients and controls was similar but it was significantly higher in the arm of the controls (42%) than in the patients (17%).
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that different behaviour regarding sun exposure is the most likely explanation for these results, and that the concentration of UCA and its isomers does not reflect a tendency for individuals to develop NMSC
Post-Traumatic Localization of Hiv-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma: Á Case Report
No full text A case is reported of HIV-related Kaposi's sarcoma of the skin which occurred on a traumatized area. Such a case has not been previously described. The probable pathogenetic role of vasal growth factors produced by platelets, macrophages and lymphocytes' is emphasized. </jats:p
Human herpesvirus 8 in Italian HIV-seronegative patients with Kaposi sarcoma
No full textObjective: To evaluate the prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) DNA detection in a large series of human immunodeficiency virus-seronegative patients with and without Kaposi sarcoma (KS) from the central and southern regions of Italy where classic KS is prevalent.
Design: Samples of lesional, peripheral unaffected, and distant normal skin and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 33 patients with KS and PBMCs from 42 control subjects were analyzed using single and nested polymerase chain reaction techniques for the presence of HHV-8 DNA.
Patients: A total of 33 patients with KS not related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (26 patients with classic KS and 7 patients with iatrogenic KS) were studied. Furthermore, 2 control groups were enrolled. The first group consisted of 13 healthy volunteers, the second of 29 patients affected by different dermatological diseases.
Results: Human herpesvirus 8 sequences were found in 100% of lesional and perilesional specimens, in 33% of the distant normal skin samples, and in 69.6% of the PBMCs from patients with KS. A possible correlation between HHV-8 DNA in PBMCs and the clinical stage of the disease was observed. Moreover, the prevalence of viral DNA in PBMCs from the total control group was 23.8%. No viral DNA was detected in tissue biopsy specimens taken from the control group.
Conclusions: Our data suggest that HHV-8 could be a widespread virus, at least in Mediterranean regions where KS is more prevalent, such as southern and central Italy. As with other herpesviruses, it may be present lifelong in latent form somewhere in the body and may contribute to the pathogenesis of KS when other predisposing conditions are present
