Protective effects of various types of clothes against UV radiation

The UV protection factors of twenty commonly used textiles were determined. Protection factors varied between 1.3 and 1700, which shows the importance of giving careful advice to light-sensitive and psoralensensitized patients, regarding suitable clothes.

Plasma concentrations after bath treatment and oral administration of trioxsalen

An analytical method comprising homogenous extraction and determination by gas chromatography mass spectrometry has been developed for the quantitation of trioxsalen in plasma. The limit of sensitivity of the method has been 2 ng/ml of trioxsalen. The method was used to monitor concentrations of trioxsalen in plasma after a 40 mg oral dose or after trioxsalen bath treatment. The concentrations in plasma after oral administration did not exceed 3 ng/ml, while in 2 patients after bath treatment trioxsalen could be determined (2-3 ng/ml). The low plasma concentrations found throw light on the poor UV-sensitizing properties found after oral trioxsalen therapy.

Aspects of the treatment of mycosis fungoides. A report from the Scandinavian Mycosis Fungoides Study Group

The Scandinavian Mycosis Fungoides Study Group includes dermatologic clinics in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The results of the first three years of activity are presented herein. In plaque stage, topical nitrogen mustard was highly effective. Preceding intravenous tolerance induction seems to be of no value. PUVA induced equally high remission rates. Both modalities were also highly effective in cutaneous tumor stage. In advanced tumor stage and in case of extracutaneous involvement systemic chemotherapy was given. Topical treatment alone was more effective on the cutaneous lesions including tumors than systemic chemotherapy alone. Therefore a combination of topical and systemic treatment is recommended in advanced stages of mycosis fungoides.

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex and mottled pigmentation: a new dominant syndrome. I. Clinical and histological features

A family is reported in which 11 members presented epidermolysis bullosa simplex with some unusual features, and 10 of whom had congenital mottled hyper- and hypopigmentation of the skin. Both anomalies are inherited together in an autosomal dominant fashion, although dominant X-linkage cannot be excluded. The epidermolysis without dyspigmentation in the 11th individual suggests that the syndrome in the other 10 members is due to genetic linkage of two independent genes and not to pleiotropism of a single mutant gene. The mottled pigmentation seems distinct from previously known dyspigmentations and is also suggestive of autosomal inactivation in man. (See addendum).

[Passive smoking]

Passive smoking is the involuntary inspiration of smoky indoor air. Based on the information available today, it may be assumed that passive smoking normally is no health hazard as far as the classical smoker's diseases (lung cancer, myocardial infarct, etc.) are concerned. Nevertheless, it is probable that irritations caused by tobacco smoke have an unfavorable influence on the health of small children and that of already sick persons. The main problem of passive smoking is annoyance due to odor and irritations of eyes and respiratory organs. Our investigations in a climatic chamber with healthy subjects show that air pollution caused by tobacco smoke as indicated by 5 ppm CO leads to marked eye irritations--objectively as well as subjectively--in 15 to 20% of the subjects. This corresponds to smoking 10 cigarettes per hour in a small room with an air ventilation rate of four times per hour. If air pollution caused by tobacco smoke lies below the level of 2 ppm CO, irritations and annoyance for healthy persons are regarded as low and tolerable. This corresponds to about four cigarettes per hour under the same circumstances.

[Passive smoking under experimental conditions and in field studies]

The degree of annoyance and irritations has been investigated on subjects exposed for 1 hour to constant concentrations of cigarette smoke as well as in 3 restaurants of Zurich.

Development of narrow-band lamps for testing and clinical use

A compact narrow band lamp for high intensity irradiation has been developed. It consists of a high-pressure mercury lamp, a shutter and water cooled filters for spectral isolation of the light. A mixing device permits simultaneous irradiation with two different wavelenghts by using two lamps. The spectral distribution of the light within the bands is given for seven filter combinations. The construction and calibration of a power meter is also described.

[Air pollution due to cigarette smoke: physiological and irritating effects]

We assessed the effects on the judgement of air quality, eye blinking rate,and lung functions of air pollution due to cigarette smoke. At the same time, subjective irritations were recorded. The measured effects were brought into relationship with the concentration of some pollutants in the air.

[Allergic cobalt reaction (metallosis) following knee arthroplasty with vitallium endoprosthesis ad modum Walldius (author's transl)]

A case report is given on a woman with rheumatoid arthritis and deformed knee joints. She got a knee arthroplasty with a metal-to-metal Vitallium endoprosthesis ad modum Walldius. About one year after the arthroplasty she showed both a sterile fistulation from the knee joint and an eczema of the skin of the operated knee. An epicutaneous test for cobalt was positive. It is suggested that the metal-to-metal contact in the prosthesis and the proximity of the prosthesis to the skin is a possible explanation to the allergic reaction.

Microrheology and light transmission of blood. III. The velocity of red cell aggregate formation

The formation of primary (rouleaux) and secondary (rouleaux networks) RCA was studied by microcinematography (12 frames/sec) and photometry in a counterrotating "rheoscope" chamber. The blood was first subjected to rapid viscometric flow (460 sec-1, all RBC dispersed and aligned in flow) and then brought abruptly to full stop. In normal human blood, primary and secondary RCA occurred simultaneously, and were completed within 8 to 10 sec after stop. Blood from pregnant women at term, known for its pronounced red cell aggregation, shows a dissociation between the formation of short primary rouleaux (initiated even before full stop and completed 1-2 see thereafter) and secondary RCA completed 3-5 see after stop. RCA increases the light transmission of blood (measured by an increase in photovoltage V), the process and its first derivative (dV/dt equals I) can be recorded. After flow stop, there is an exponential decay of I(I equals t-I-o with e-lambda-t). The half time of this decay is recorded and correlated to the kinetics of red cell aggregate formation In human blood the half time of this process varies between 1.0 and 6.0 sec. In suspensions of human RBC in artificial plasmas, t-1/2 decreases with increasing concentration of fibrinogen and/or Dextran 250000, the second component appearing at concentrations above 500 mg-%. The method lend sitself for the quantification of RCA in small blood samples (20 mul).

On 8-hydroxyquinoline-zinc oxide incompatibility

Although it is well known that zinc ions and the oxines form practically insoluble chelates, oxines are commonly used in combination with zinc oxide in ointment form. 13 patients who had shown allergic responses after epicutaneous testing with oxines were tested with iodochloroxine and certain combinations of it with starch, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The allergic reaction to iodochloroxine was suppressed when zinc oxide was present but was uninhibited in the other tests. Certain metal ions lower the fungicidal and bactericidal effects of oxines. Zinc oxide alone showed some inhibitory effect upon Trichophyton and Epidermophyton but stimulated the growth of Candida strains. The propagation of dermatophytes was greater with a combination of iodochloroxine and zinc oxide than with either substance alone. If the concentration of iodochloroxine was considerably higher, Candida grew when zinc oxide was also present.

Treatment of psoriasis with trioxsalen baths and dysprosium lamps

Photochemotherapeutic treatment of psoriasis with trioxsalen baths (0.5 mg/1) for 15 minutes followed by irradiation with dysprosium lamps (Osram HQI-TS) healed or nearly healed the psoriatic lesions in 18 patients within 3-5 weeks. A control area treated with the Ingram method showed a slower healing in 9 of these patients. Methoxsalen bath was not as effective in healing at the concentration used (1 mg/l). The bath method is easy to administer and cosmetically acceptable. Sensitisation to light is maximal immediately after the bath and disappears more quickly than after painting with an alcoholic trioxsalen solution. By using baths, there is less risk of accidental burns or uneven pigmentation than with the often time-consuming local application of psoralen solutions. Toxic systemic effects, which are possible with oral treatment, are less apt to occur. The dysprosium lamps give high intensity in the UV-A region. Exposure times of 10 seconds to 8 minutes are effective in the treatment of psoriasis, where both the UV-B region itself and the UV-A in combination with trioxsalen have psoriasis-healing properties.