The annual incidence for pemphigus in Macedonia is 0.44 cases/100,000 inhabitants. Most common form was pemphigus vulgaris. An epidemiological peak occurred in 2001 during the local armed conflict. Macedonian Roma had a sixfold higher incidence of pemphigus compared with the overall population; ethnic Albanians had a fourfold lower incidence.

Keratoacanthoma centrifugum marginatum (KCM) is an extremely rare variant of keratoacanthoma (KA), with about 30 cases reported since it was first described in 1962. Clinically, KA is an exoendophytic lesion of 10-25 mm with a horn-filled crater that resolves spontaneously within 6 months. In contrast, KCM is characterized by a larger diameter continuous centrifugal spread, concurrent central atrophy and lack of spontaneous remission. Histologically, KCM is similar to KA, with a central keratin-filled crater, overhanging lips of epithelium, a sharp outline between the tumour nests and stroma, and lack of anaplasia and stroma desmoplasia. We describe a 63-year-old agricultural worker with a 9-month history of a multinodular tumour, 70-75 mm in size, on his right hand. The clinical diagnosis of KCM was confirmed by histological examination. Local radiotherapy proved effective, with no recurrence during a 4-year follow-up.

Pustulosis palmoplantaris (PPP; synonyms: pustulosis palmaris et plantaris, palmoplantar amicrobic pustulosis) is a common chronic, relapsing, pustular eruption affecting the palms and soles. The authors report the successful treatment of six therapy-experienced patients with histologically confirmed PPP with oral itraconazole (100 mg/day for 1 month, followed by a month of 100 mg/day every other day). Three of six patients showed complete clearance of pustules, significant reduction of erythema, and unnoticeable desquamation, whereas the other three patients had no new pustules appearing and had modest reduction of erythema and desquamation. All patients experienced relapses within a month of therapy cessation. Two of the three complete responders reinitiated itraconazole therapy at 100 mg/day for another 2 weeks, followed by a maintenance dose of 50 mg/day until achieving remission. As complete responses are not commonly observed in placebo treatments in placebo-controlled trials for PPP, the authors believe that the present study shows that itraconazole is an effective treatment for treatment-resistant PPP.

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