No abstract

The results of treatment of 29 patients with Darier’s disease with the aromatic retinoid Ro 10–9359 are reported. Therapeutic tests for a period of more than 18 months seem to justify its use in Darier’s disease. With a modest dose it is possible to keep the symptoms at an acceptable level, i.e., 50% clearing or more without too troublesome side effects. Because of the side effects the dosage must be fixed individually. It is pointed out that with the development of Ro 10–9359, an efficient remedy for Darier’s disease has become available for the first time.

A randomized trial with 146 psoriatic patients studied the relative merits of (1) oral etretinate (daily dose approximately 1 mg/kg body weight); (2) 0,1% betamethasone valerate cream twice daily, and (3) a combination of treatments 1 and 2. The combined treatment was the best and betamethasone valerate alone was on the whole inferior.

The composition of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) was analyzed in skin samples of eight patients suffering from localized scleroderma, i.e., three having generalized morphoea and five localized morphoea plaques. From each patients, biopsies were obtained from sclerotic and perilesional areas, and from clinically uninvolved skin of the same region. In the perilesional areas hyaluronic acid concentration was increased (p less than 0.05), while it was decreased (p less than 0.01) in sclerotic areas. Dermatan sulfate concentration was increased in the perilesional (p less than 0.05) as well as in the sclerotic (p less than 0.01) areas. Chondroitin 4/6 sulfate was increased in the sclerotic areas (p less than 0.05). Heparan sulfate showed no changes. No major differences were found in the total concentrations of uronic acid and hexosamine. This study demonstrates that changes in GAG composition in localized scleroderma follow previously described sequences of events of inflammation and fibrosis of connective tissue.

162 consecutive gentamicin courses have been evaluated retrospectively with respect to nephrotoxicity of gentamicin (GM). Of these, 120 courses were administered in 106 patients for more than 2 days and under adequate control of plasma creatinine (PCr). In 62 of these 120 courses, PCr concentrations increased. In 17 courses (14%), GM therapy was found to be the only demonstrable etiology to the rise in PCr. The 17 courses with GM-induced reduction in kidney function were characterized by a prolonged duration of treatment, a high total dose of GM and a somewhat higher level of serum GM than the 58 courses of GM treatment in which PCr remained unchanged. No significant differences were found with regard to age, average daily dose of GM, average daily dose per kg and average daily dose in proportion to average diuresis. Additional administration of other nephrotoxic drugs did not increase the incidence of GM-induced nephropathy. When GM was the only demonstrable cause of nephropathy, the elevation in PCr concentrations were generally mild and transient, while the nephropathy when other factors were involved more often became severe and occasionally irreversible.