No abstract

MAL-PDT using a 1-h incubation may be sufficient for successful treatment of selected AK lesions.

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by an obligate intracellular protozoa, Leishmania, which resides in macrophages. The parasite is transmitted by an infected female sandfly. The incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis approaches 2 million new cases per year with 90% of the cases occurring in the "Old World", while the "New World" accounts for the rest. Infection may be restricted to the skin with development of characteristic ulcers, or may affect the mucous membranes in its mucocutaneous form. The clinical diagnosis is verified by the presence of amastigotes in slit-skin smears. Therapeutic modalities include systemic treatments such as the pentavalent antimony compound sodium stibogluconate, liposomal formulations of amphotericin B, oral ketoconazole or itraconazole, as well as topical paromomycin sulphate, local heat, freezing with liquid nitrogen, or photodynamic therapy. An effective vaccine is not available.

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is the most frequent porphyria in humans. The familial type is in contrast to the sporadic type due to an inherited defect of the uroporphyrinogen-II-decarboxylase (URO-D) and both types need additional porphyrinogens to lead to the clinical manifestation of the disease. Various factors such as xenobiotics (i.e. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), alcohol, hormones and viral liver infections (hepatitis B and C) are known to induce porphyria. Cytochrome p450 enzymes play a crucial role in the metabolism of porphyrogens and therefore might have an important influence on the pathogenesis of hepatic porphyrias. Association of CYP1A2 polymorphisms with susceptibility to both types of PCT has already been described in Danish patients. We investigated 65 caucasian patients with PCT in comparison to a healthy control group concerning the tpe of PCT and the cytochrome p4501A1 polymorphisms (m1, m2 and m4) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a restriction fragment length polymorphism. We found an increased incidence of the m4 polymorphism in the familial type of PCT (odds ratio 5.5, P-value 0.01), whereas the m1 and m2 mutations, might be provoked by a higher susceptibility to porphyrogens via the cytochrome p4501A1 m4 polymorphism.