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Anetoderma is a benign condition characterized by round or oval macular lesions with focal loss of dermal elastic tissue resulting in localized areas of flaccid or herniated saclike skin. Often, the anetoderma is associated with immuno-mediated pathogenetic mechanism. In this article, we describe the association between anetoderma and autoimmune diseases, by underlining the role and the action of macrophages as a possible etiopathogenesis.

Chronic urticaria (CU) is defined as the occurrence of spontaneous wheals for a duration of more than 6 weeks and is the most frequent skin disease, with prevalence ranging between 15 and 25%, and is a seriously disabling condition, with social isolation and mood changes causing a significant degree of dysfunction and quality of life impairment to many patients. The main clinical features of CU are the repeated occurrence of transient eruptions of pruritic wheals or patchy erythema on the skin that last less than 24 hours and disappear without sequelae. CU is often defined as Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) because the causes of CU remain unknown in the great majority (70-95%) of patients. Drugs, food, viruses, alimentary conservative substances or inhalant substances often seem to be involved in determining CIU skin flare. Despite a general agreement that bacteria infections and parasitic infestations can be involved in the pathogenesis of CIU, proven evldence of these relationships is lacking. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection, and the extension and severity of gastritis in a group of CIU patients compared to controls and to evaluate the effectiveness of eradication of Hp on the CIU symptomatology, and the role of Hp infection in pathogenesis of CIU.Helicobacter pylori (Hp), a microaerophilic gram negative bacterium, was first isolated from the human stomach by Marshall and Warren in 1983. It is an ubiquitous infection in the adult population. The prevalence among middle-aged adults is over 80% in many developing countries, as compared with 20% to 50% in industrialized countries. Mainly, the infection is acquired in infancy and is generally transmitted within families in early childhood. Hp has been demonstrated as the cause of gastritis and peptic ulcer and as being associated to gastric cancer and mucosa-associated-lymphoma i.e. MALT lymphoma (1-3). There is evidence that Hp infection is associated with extra-digestive pathologies such as autoimmune, vascular and skin diseases. The pathogenic mechanisms involved are related to the persistent inflammatory response to Hp infection with release of immune associated substances, increase in gastric permeability and/or release of mediators acting on cutaneous sensitivity. In recent studies a possible association between Hp infection and CIU has been suggested. In fact, in some studies,