Oral mucosal diseases

Abstract

S Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Q. Desquamative gingivitis is not a disease sui generis but is a reaction pattern. The cause must be ascertained by tissue study. Desquamative gingivitis may be an early presentation of mucous membrane pemphigoid or of other blistering diseases such as pemphigus. Over time, about one half of patients with desquamative gingivitis will develop extragingivaI disease. R. Benign mucous membrane pemphigoid is neither benign (it may cause blindness) nor limited to the mucosa (it may involve the skin). Some prefer to call the disease cicatricial pemphig·oid. Cicatricial pemphigoid responds nicely to dapsone and/or sulfapyridine therapy in the majority of patients. Ketoconazole metamorphosis: An antimicrobial becomes an endocrine drug Stevens DA: Arch Intern Med 145:813-815, 1985 In addition to its antifungal activity, ketoconazole reduces androgen and adrenocorticoid synthesis. The drug has been found useful in treatment of prostatic carcinoma and hyperadrenalism and is under study in breast cancer. Italso reduces serum cholesterol. J. G. S. The effects of a shampoo containing zinc pyrithione on the control of dandruff Marks R, Pearse AD, Walker AP: Br J Dermatol 112:415-422, 1985 In a comparison study of zinc pyrithione shampoo with its base in the same patient, forty-eight patients were studied. Despite the progressive reduction in dandruff on the sides of the head treated with the zinc pyrithione shampoo, there were no significant differences in the labeling index and mean epidermal thickness on the two sides, whereas there was a significant reduction in the number of periodic acid-Schiff staining organisms but not in the number of gram-positive staining organisms. The authors suggest that the improvement in clinical dandruff correlates better with the reduction in numbers of yeast microorganisms in the· scalp area. J. G. S. Steroid sulphatase deficiency in patients initially diagnosed as ichthyosis vulgaris or recessive Xlinked ichthyosis Yoshiike T, Matsui T, Ogawa H: Br J Dermatol 112:431-433, 1985 Steroid sulphatase assay of plantar callus and peripheral leukocytes was carried out on five patients with ichthyosis vulgaris and sixteen cases of recessive X-linked ichthyosis. When deficiency of steroid sulphatase was used as a pathognomonic feature of recessive X-linked ichthyosis, it was found that some cases initially resembling ichthyosis vulgaris were actually recessive X-linked ichthyosis, although it was unlikely that a case initially diagnosed as recessive X-linked ichthyosis will prove to be ichthyosis vulgaris by steroid sulphatase assay. J. G. S.