Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0851184 (thinning)
 11,252 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 74-year-old patient sought treatment for visual obscuration and clinically had signs of Graves orbitopathy. Past medical history was unremarkable except for the use of antihypertensive medication. During the hospital admission, a fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test was reactive, indicating infection with syphilis at some time in the past. Visual deterioration despite oral corticosteroid therapy prompted orbital decompression. At the time of surgery, she sustained a globe rupture. Presumably, syphilitic scleritis was responsible, in part, for scleral thinning and weakening, predisposing her to this complication. To the authors' knowledge, globe rupture has not been previously reported during orbital decompression.
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PMID:Ruptured globe during orbital decompression surgery. 978 85

A 52-year-old black woman presented with a 5-year history of gradual swelling and slowed hair growth involving the vertex and both parietal regions of the scalp. Gradually, the swelling progressed to involve the entire scalp, only sparing a peripheral crown. She reported no history of trauma or medications. Slight pruritus of the involved area was the only accompanying symptom. There was no family history of a similar condition. Her past medical history included surgery for ovarian cysts, 10 years previously, and cholelithiasis. Physical examination revealed diffuse hair thinning and alopecia, more prominent along the vertex and parietal regions (Fig. 1a). There was no evidence of scalp inflammation, scaling, or increased hair fragility. The scalp was mildly tender on palpation and had a boggy, spongy consistency. The hairs which still remained in the involved areas were thin, short, and soft (Fig. 1b). The involved area was slightly hypopigmented when compared with adjacent noninvolved scalp. The rest of the physical examination was within normal limits. No abnormalities of the hair shaft were observed on microscopic examination of several plucked hairs. Laboratory investigations, including a complete blood cell count, blood chemistry, urinalysis, sedimentation rate, antinuclear antibodies, and serologic tests for syphilis, hepatitis B and C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus, were negative. A computed tomography scan of the skull demonstrated diffuse and regular thickening of subcutaneous fatty tissue of the scalp, disclosing a maximum scalp thickness of 15 mm at the vertex (Fig. 2). The biopsy from the vertex revealed a normal epidermis and dermis, with diffuse loss of hair follicles. The most striking feature consisted of a large increase in thickness of the subcutaneous fatty tissue (Fig. 3a). Pre-existing hair follicles were replaced by vertical fibrous tracts of lamellar fibroplasia with no inflammatory infiltrate (Fig. 3b). Adipocytes showed a normal size and shape, but the connective tissue septa, which are normally present separating the subcutaneous tissue into fat lobules, were lacking, and subcutaneous fatty tissue consisted of a continuous and diffuse sheet of mature adipocytes (Fig. 3c). Orcein stain revealed normal contents of elastic fibers with foci of condensation at the sites of disappeared pre-existing hair follicles (Fig. 3d). Colloidal iron and Alcian blue (pH 2.5) stains revealed no mucin deposits.
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PMID:Lipedematous alopecia: an uncommon clinicopathologic variant of nonscarring but permanent alopecia. 1847 57

Peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK) is a sight-threatening condition characterized by an epithelial defect, crescent-shaped stromal inflammation, and progressive stromal thinning. Peripheral ulcerative keratitis as a purely inflammatory entity is most commonly associated with collagen vascular diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, polyarteritis nodosa, Wegener granulomatosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and relapsing polychondritis. PUK can also be associated with infectious and inflammatory conditions such as hepatitis, syphilis, herpes simplex keratitis, fungal keratitis, Mooren ulcer, and marginal keratitis. We describe a case report of PUK associated with the inflammatory condition of sarcoidosis.
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PMID:Peripheral ulcerative keratitis in association with sarcoidosis. 2399 5

Alopecia is an uncommon manifestation of syphilis, simulating other common forms of hair-loss, but representing a crucial complaint for the patient, who might by converse have not noticed other signs and symptoms of the disease. Esthetic issues undervaluation might prolong illness, and postpone appropriate treatment. A 42-year-old patient, HIV negative, presented with a 2-month history of progressive generalized thinning of the hairs and small non-scarring irregular alopecia patches of the parietal-occipital areas of the scalp. The patient was under sertraline hydrochloride therapy for a recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and expressed the concern that the drug was causing the hair-loss. Accurate anamnesis and visiting of the patients revealed asymptomatic pale pink speckles of the trunk and limbs, and a bilateral psoriasis-like palmo-plantar hyperkeratosis, suggestive of secondary syphilis, further confirmed by serology. Specific antibiotic treatment healed all skin and scalp manifestations, but also the moodiness disorders, which allowed complete psychiatric drug dismissing. Skilled expertise and careful patient's examination are the clue to recognize minimal signs of serious systemic disease, such as syphilis, considered disappeared for decades. The risk of minimizing esthetic complaints, such as hair-loss can deceive a not trained eye, or escape in busy daily practice. Physicians should maintain a high level of clinical suspicion to contain the disease burden, especially among heterosexual apparently not at risk patients.
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PMID:Alopecia as unique clue to syphilis in a patient. 2890 89

Ocular syphilis has varied manifestations in the eye. Peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK) is a crescent-shaped ulcer involving the peripheral cornea and associated with thinning. PUK is caused by both autoimmune and infectious diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, and herpes. Here, we report a rare case of bilateral PUK caused by syphilis. A 55-year-old man presented with recurrent pain and redness in both eyes for 2 months. The cornea of both eyes had bilateral peripheral crescent-shaped ulcers suggestive of PUK. The patient was started on topical steroids elsewhere, but the lesion was not showing any signs of healing. A series of investigations were performed, with positive venereal disease research laboratory and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption tests. The patient was then started on systemic penicillin, as well as topical steroids. The response to the treatment was good and the ulcer began to heal. PUK as the presenting feature of acquired syphilis is a rare scenario. Such infective causes should be managed with systemic antimicrobials for optimal outcomes.
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PMID:Ocular syphilis masquerading as bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis. 2901 44

Purpose: Overview of the evolving epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related ocular disease over time. Method: Narrative review. Results: HIV enhances susceptibility to opportunistic eye infections, has direct pathogenic effects, and places patients at risk of immune recovery inflammatory syndromes in previously infected eyes after starting highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Widespread availability of HAART has resulted in a decrease of infectious ocular conditions such as cytomegalovirus retinitis, toxoplasmic retinitis, squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva, and microvascular retinopathy. However, large coexisting burdens of tuberculosis, herpesvirus infection and syphilis (among others) continue to contribute to the burden of ocular disease, especially in low-resource settings. Growing risks of cataract, retinopathy and retinal nerve fiber thinning can affect patients with chronic HIV on HAART; thought due to chronic inflammation and immune activation. Conclusion: The changing epidemic of ocular disease in HIV-infected patients warrants close monitoring and identification of interventions that can help reduce the imminent burden of disease.
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PMID:The Changing Global Epidemic of HIV and Ocular Disease. 3239 27