Björnstad syndrome and pili torti

Phthirus pubis in a sexually transmitted diseases unit: a study of 14 years

BACKGROUND

There have been few epidemiologic studies of pubic lice in recent times, and the exact incidence is unknown.

GOAL

The goal was to determine the trends of pubic lice infestation in a risk group of males and female prostitutes in an STD unit in Spain.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a prospective 14-year study, from 1988 to 2001, of all patients attending the STD unit in Gijón (Asturias, Spain), investigating crab lice and other STDs.

RESULTS

One hundred ninety-seven patients (2.2%) had pubic lice, with a male/female proportion of 1.8/1. The yearly infestation rate ranged from 1.3% to 4.6%. The mean age was 30.3 years, and 18.8% of patients were older than 35 years. There were more cases involving men who had sex with men (MSM) (P < 0.001) than those involving heterosexual men. Reinfestation occurred in 7.6% of patients, more often in males (P < 0.05) and mainly in MSM (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Infestation rates were stable during the period of study, with more older patients involved than reported previously, and infestation frequently was associated with STDs. MSM were infested and reinfested more often than heterosexual men, and in general reinfestations occurred more frequently in males than in females.

Three members of a family with pili torti and sensorineural hearing loss: the Bjornstad syndrome

Thirty cases of the Bjornstad syndrome (sensorineural deafness and pili torti) have been reported between 1965, when it was first described, and 1999. Both autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance patterns appear in the literature. We describe a family in which 3 members have the combination of pili torti and varying degrees of hearing loss inherited in an apparently autosomal dominant fashion. Hairs from the father and son of this family showed the classic features of pili torti under scanning electron microscopy.

Pili torti with congenital deafness (Bjornstad syndrome): a case report

We report Bjornstad syndrome in a 5-year-old girl with severe bilateral congenital loss of hearing and pili torti. The mode of inheritance of this rare syndrome seems to be heterogeneous. A maternal uncle of the patient was deaf from birth and his hair had shown the same abnormalities at the same age; an autosomal recessive transmission can be assumed.

The Bjornstad syndrome (sensorineural hearing loss and pili torti) disease gene maps to chromosome 2q34-36

We report that the Bjornstad syndrome gene maps to chromosome 2q34-36. The clinical association of sensorineural hearing loss with pili torti (broken, twisted hairs) was described >30 years ago by Bjornstad; subsequently, several small families have been studied. We evaluated a large kindred with Bjornstad syndrome in which eight members inherited pili torti and prelingual sensorineural hearing loss as autosomal recessive traits. A genomewide search using polymorphic loci demonstrated linkage between the disease gene segregating in this kindred and D2S434 (maximum two-point LOD score = 4.98 at theta = 0). Haplotype analysis of recombination events located the disease gene in a 3-cM region between loci D2S1371 and D2S163. We speculate that intermediate filament and intermediate filament-associated proteins are good candidate genes for causing Bjornstad syndrome.

Scalp infestation by Phthirus pubis in a 6-week-old infant

This case report describes a 6-week-old infant with a Phthirus pubis infestation of the scalp. It is believed this patient is the first reported case in this age group. Treatment is discussed, as are the family dynamics that put this infant at risk. The authors address the possible association between infestation and child abuse.

Woolly-hair nevus: a case report and study by scanning electron microscopy

Woolly-hair is a congenital defect that produces a localized patch of lightly colored, curly scalp hair. Scanning electron microscopy of the abnormal hairs demonstrates twisting of the hair shaft and abnormal cuticle formation.

Menkes's syndrome

Menkes's syndrome (trichopoliodystrophy) is an x-linked, recessive genodermatosis characterized by hair defects, severe retardation, convulsions, progressive neurologic deterioration, and early death. Recent studies in copper metabolism suggest that Menkes's syndrome may be a storage disease in which copper is irreversibly trapped in some tissues by metallothionein, a heavy-metal-binding protein. This then gives rise to a deficiency elsewhere, particularly in the brain, causing irreversible damage in the fetus. We present a patient with Menkes's syndrome and review the clinical and metabolic aspects of this disease.