In a left-right comparative study, the Philips TL-01 sunlamp, a new UVB fluorescent lamp, was evaluated in 15 patients with symmetrical psoriasis. One half of the body was treated in a cabin containing TL-01 lamps, and the other half in a cabin containing TL-12 lamps. The patients were treated three times/week, and the study was conducted in a randomized, double-blind fashion. The percentage response of psoriatic lesions was determined on the tenth and twentieth exposures. The therapeutic effect of the TL-01 lamps was superior to that of the TL-12 lamps, and treatment was better tolerated, particularly with regard to episodes of burning. This new lamp appears to provide more effective and safer phototherapy for psoriasis.

We performed patch tests with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) antigens from 2 different sources in 355 non-randomly selected patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and 398 subjects of a control group. The study demonstrated that contact sensitization to mites occurred in an appreciable % of AD cases (20.8%), using commonly available assay products. The differences recorded between the 2 materials tested were related to the concentration of P1 antigen. Non-atopic patients rarely showed positive reactions to Dp (0.75%), when strict criteria for readings were applied and if 2 readings were performed. Patients with positive patch tests did not necessarily show positive immediate skin tests. It would be useful to carry out tests systematically in atopic patients, even if it is not yet known what modern treatment would be best for the patient. Laboratories still do not provide standardized house dust mite preparations--measuring and codifying their biological activity--for use in patch tests. It is to be hoped that the extension of this type of test will lead to the production of better test materials, in syringes with homogeneous dispersion and concentration.

Acquired progressive lymphangioma (APL) is a rare, benign proliferation of lymphatic capillary origin, which is characterized histologically by dermal vascular channels and a 'dissection of collagen' appearance. We describe a 30-year-old patient with an extensive, refractory APL on the right breast, which slowly developed over a period of 23 years. Pathologists and dermatologists should be aware of this entity, as early surgical treatment may be totally curative when the lesion is limited in size.