Acrodermatitis Continua Suppurativa of Hallopeau: Who was Hallopeau ?

Also known as dermatitis repens, acrodermatitis continua suppurativa is a acral pustular psoriasis considered as an uncommon type of pustular psoriasis. It was described by the French dermatologist Dr François Henri Hallopeau (1842-1919) described this condition in 1890 and named it then: Polydactylitis Continua Suppurativa (French: “polydactylie suppurative et continue”). Thereafter three particular forms were…

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Sarcoma, Sarcoidosis: the Story behind the Name

The prefix comes from Greek: σαρξ = sarx = flesh The word “sarcoma” served initially to give a name to tumors which developed from the “conjunctive tissue” Later, the Hungarian-Born Austrian dermatologist Dr Moriz Kaposi (1837-1902) transformed the word sarcoma into sarcoidosis to designate still badly-defined cutaneous diseases. (Unrelated, his name was heard again in…

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Pellagra: how did it come to stand from clinical changes to vitamin deficiency ?

The words of origin are: pellis (Latin) = skin aegre (Latin) = sick, diseased …or… aγρa (Greek) = affection, condition This condition can be summarized by the 4 d’s: dermatitis diarrhea dementia death The skin is characterized by the following: photosensitivity of exposed areas erythema accompanied sometimes by skin sloughing, followed by pigmentation and lichenification…

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Oral steroids in dermatology: the story behind it

The use of steroids in dermatology was initiated by two American New-York based dermatologists: Drs Marion Sulzberger and Victor Witten. Oral steroids: results of orally administered cortisone acetate were published in the Archives of Dermatology (now JAMA Dermatology) in 1951 and served the following purposes: “1. to get over the hump for an inflammatory dermatosis”…

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What did Dr Hutchinson describe ?

Teeth deformities in congenital syphilis ? Yes, Hutchinson’s as well as the triad of signs he considered pathognomic: notched teeth, 8th nerve deafness, interstitial keratitis. Lentigo Maligna ? Yes, called Hutchinson’s melanotic freckle (HMF) by Australian dermatologists. A sign of nail melanoma ? Yes, called Hutchinson’s sign (when pigment is present  on the proximal nail…

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