Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis with generalized systemic involvement

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH): case report with review of literature between 1991 and 2014 with in depth analysis of various treatment regimens and outcomes

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is a rare disease affecting skin and joints primarily and rarely other organs. We present a case report of this disease and an extensive review of the literature. We reviewed the data between 1991 and 2014 and extracted 52 individual cases. Only articles in English were chosen after checking for relevance. The articles were studies and data was extracted into excel spread sheets and later used to compute such variables like frequency, mean and percentage of distribution of various clinical manifestations. The treatments used in these articles were critically analyzed and graded for their relative efficacy for skin and joint manifestations. The grades were 0 = worse, 1 = no benefit/condition remained same, 2 = improvement without resolution, and 3 = resolution. This article also reports the demographic, clinical, laboratory and pathological data from the reviewed articles. Authors attempted to discuss the findings of this review in depth to help manage this condition and proposed a treatment algorithm to help clinicians approach this rare and challenging disease.

Cyclophosphamide in dermatology

Cyclophosphamide is a chemotherapeutic agent which was first discovered in experimental tumours in rats, and it has since been widely used to treat malignancies and severe manifestations of various auto-immune diseases. High-dose chemotherapy and continuous daily oral regimens are associated with significant toxicity profiles, but i.v. pulsed regimens have lowered the rates of adverse effects in rheumatological studies. Cyclophosphamide has been shown to be useful in the treatment of severe autoimmune conditions due to its powerful immunosuppressive ability; however, it remains a relatively underused modality in dermatology. This article reviews the current literature on cyclophosphamide and its clinical applications in dermatology.

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis with extra-mammillary Paget's disease: a case report

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) is a very rare systemic disease with variable phenotypic presentation and a high rate of misdiagnosis. Here we describe a patient with MRH and extra-mammillary Paget’s disease (EMPD), a diagnosis that has not previously been described in the literature.

Hand surgery for Multicentric Reticulohistiocytosis: A new avenue of treatment and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION

Multicentric Reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) is a rare non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis characterised by destructive polyarthritis and violaceous skin papules.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

In 2010, a 70-year-old woman with Palindromic Rheumatism was diagnosed with MRH. Within a few months, she developed ankylosis of the small joints of both hands which resulted in severe fixed flexion deformities of the fingers and thumbs. The joint disease failed to respond to medical therapies and the palmar skin of her left hand was becoming increasingly macerated. Therefore, she elected to undergo arthrodesis of the metacarpophalangeal joints to allow hand hygiene.

DISCUSSION

To-date, this is the first report of a surgical intervention for this rare condition and represents a novel avenue of potential therapy. Medical therapies for MRH are usually ineffective in preventing the debilitating small joint disease which often develops and there is on-going research into newer agents and alternative surgical techniques.

CONCLUSION

Once medical therapies are exhausted, clinicians should consider the input of Hand Surgeons in managing the inevitable and mutilating joint disease of this rare condition.

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis and fibroblastic rheumatism

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) and fibroblastic rheumatism (FR) are uncommon disorders with similar joint and skin manifestations. They are usually included among the non-Langerhans histiocytoses, but recent insights drive some criticism. The diagnosis is often challenging and must be confirmed by the histological typical features. If the skin manifestations are missing, the arthritic complaints may be confused with those of other rheumatic disorders. In these cases, only a careful clinical and radiological evaluation leads to the correct diagnosis. The natural course of the diseases may rapidly develop into disabling manifestations, making an aggressive treatment strongly recommendable. There is emerging evidence that anti-tumour necrosis factor-α agents and bisphosphonates are promising drugs for MRH, while a course of methotrexate and steroids seems to be the best option for FR. Finally, the clinician should be aware that in many cases MRH, but not FR, is associated with a large number of systemic manifestations and with malignancy. This eventuality must be accurately ruled out.

The usefulness of the scan with 67Ga-citrate in the multicentric reticulohistiocytosis

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is a rare systemic disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by erosive arthritis and skin lesions. Diagnosis and treatment should be performed early to avoid sequelaes. We report the case of a 67-year-old man diagnosed with multicentric reticulohistiocytosis and left hip arthorplasty. The patient consulted for local pain in his left leg. Final diagnosis was left prosthetic dislocation. During admission, a bone scintigraphy with (99m)Tc-HDP and scintigraphy with (67)Ga-citrate was performed, showing no evidence of inflammatory activity in pelvis that contraindicating surgery. Besides it showed bilateral uptake in soft tissue of large joints compatible with persistent inflammatory activity secondary to multicentric reticulohistiocytosis. In this case scintigraphy with (67)Ga-citrate, is a useful tool to assess the recovery and extent of disease.

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis with elevated cytokine serum levels

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) is an uncommon non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis of unknown etiology. It is a multisystem disorder characterised by a papulonodular skin eruption, mainly in the extensor surfaces, and destructive polyarthritis. Histologically, either cutaneous lesions or the synovium show a dense dermal infiltrate of histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells with an eosinophilic granular material in the cytoplasm. In the immunohistochemical analysis these cells stain positively with monocyte/macrophage markers (CD68 and CD45), as well as with certain cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 1β and interleukin 6). Moreover, recent reports suggest an osteoclastic nature of the infiltrating cells, as they stain strongly with osteoclast tissue lytic markers including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and cathepsin K. We report a case of MRH presenting with clinical features of dermatomyositis. Furthermore, the patient showed elevated cytokine serum levels that lowered after therapy.

Remissão de retículo-histiocitose multicêntrica com terapia combinada com infliximabe

A retículo-histiocitose multicêntrica é doença sistêmica rara e de etiologia desconhecida. Caracterizase por poliartrite simétrica, que pode evoluir para artrite mutilante, e por lesões papulonodulares na pele e nas mucosas. O diagnóstico definitivo é histopatológico. Em aproximadamente um terço dos casos de retículo-histiocitose multicêntrica em adultos, observa-se associação com malignidade. Ainda não foi estabelecida uma terapia-padrão. Descreve-se o caso de mulher de 46 anos com quadro clínico característico de retículo-histiocitose multicêntrica. Realizou-se tratamento inovador à base de infliximabe, obtendo-se ótimos resultados.

Skin disorders with arthritis

Many inflammatory, metabolic and infectious diseases affect the skin and joints. Most of these, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythaematosus, are considered to be rheumatic conditions with secondary skin involvement. However, several primary cutaneous diseases are associated with arthritis and may even present with joint symptoms prior to cutaneous lesions. Common skin disorders, such as acne and psoriasis, have well-known musculoskeletal manifestations. Other less common conditions, such as dermatomyositis, multicentric reticulohistiocytosis, pyoderma gangrenosum, Sweet's syndrome and various cutaneous vasculitides, also have frequent joint involvement. This review will discuss the clinical presentation, both cutaneous and musculoskeletal, diagnosis and management of these disorders.