Zinc deficiency in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and the use of zinc supplementation is still controversial. We measured hair zinc levels in 58 children with AD and 43 controls (age range 2-14 years). We also investigated the efficacy of oral zinc supplementation in AD patients with low hair zinc levels by comparing eczema assessment severity index (EASI), transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and visual analogue scales for pruritus and sleep disturbance in patients receiving zinc supplementation (Group A) and others not receiving supplementation (Group B). At baseline, the mean zinc level was significantly reduced in AD patients (113.1 μg/g vs. 130.9 μg/g, p = 0.012). After 8 weeks of supplement, hair zinc level increased significantly in Group A (p < 0.001), and EASI scores, TEWL, and visual analogue scales for pruritus improved more in Group A than in Group B (p = 0.044, 0.015 and < 0.001, respectively). Thus, oral zinc supplementation may be effective in AD patients with low hair zinc levels.

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Periumbilical perforating pseudoxanthoma elasticum is a rare acquired disorder that usually occurs in obese, middle-aged, multiparous women. It is considered as a separate entity from the hereditary pseudoxanthoma elasticum due to lack of hereditary transmission and association with systemic disease. A 70-year-old multiparous woman presented with a 2-year history of a gradually enlarging, yellowish ulcerated plaque in the periumbilical region. The biopsy specimen showed irregularly altered elastic fibers with encrusted calcium salts that underwent transepidermal elimination. We report a rare case of periumbilical perforating pseudoxanthoma elasticum with no signs of hereditary pseudoxanthoma elasticum.