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Background Hypomelanosis of Ito is a rare genetic disorder characterized by whorled areas of hypomelanosis. The purpose of the present study was to revisit some aspects of Ito’s hypomelanosis. Methods Clinical observations included ultraviolet-light-enhanced visualization (ULEV) method. Histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy were performed on biopsy samples from the hypopigmented areas and the surrounding skin. Results Both the ULEV and microscopic examinations revealed the heterogeneity of the pigmentation. Hypomelanosis was characterized by a reduction in melanosomes, both in melanocytes and keratinocytes. These organelles were immature and atypical, showing a weak tyrosinase immunoreactivity. Melanosome macroautophagy was prominent in keratinocytes. Some clusters of the same cells exhibited strong immunoreactivity for the Mac 387 antibody (Ca2+-dependent calprotectin). Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1) decorated the superficial layers of the epidermis. Such features are typically found in functionally altered keratinocytes. A number of dermal cells exhibited intense phagocytic activity linked to lysozyme immunoreactivity. Conclusions Both the melanosome depletion and macroautophagy of immature melanosomes in keratinocytes appeared to represent prominent aspects of hypomelanosis of Ito. In sum, Ito’s hypomelanosis combines structural and functional changes affecting both the melanocytes and keratinocytes in the skin.

Skin colours are notoriously different between individuals. They are governed by ethnicities and phototypes, and further influenced by a variety of factors including photoexposures and sustained mechanical stress. Indeed, mechanobiology is a feature affecting the epidermal melanization. High-resolution epiluminescence colorimetry helps in deciphering the effects of forces generated by Langer's lines or relaxed skin tension lines on the melanocyte activity. The same procedure shows a prominent laddering pattern of melanization in striae distensae contrasting with the regular honeycomb pattern in the surrounding skin.

Corneocyte accumulation (hyperkeratosis, xerosis) commonly occurs in the stratum corneum (SC) of the feet of diabetic patients, as well as menopausal women.To compare the effects of a 2.5% chitin-glucan formulation with its placebo, and commercially available glycerol formulations.This two-step controlled double-blind, randomized, intra-individual study was performed in 30 type 1 and 2 diabetic menopausal women suffering from xerosis of the feet. The formulations were applied once daily for 3 weeks. Electrometric assessments were performed on three sites of the feet at entry in the study, at weekly intervals during the treatment phase, and in a 2-week follow-up out of treatment. Positive controls consisted in two commercially available formulations enriched in glycerol.Data revealed an unequivocal benefit provided by the 2.5% chitin-glucan formulation compared with placebo. The electrometric values were significantly higher at each evaluation time during both treatment and follow-up phases. The two glycerol-enriched formulations showed slightly different kinetics of SC moisturization. A steep increase was followed by a plateau level and a rapid decline after stopping the treatments.The increased moisturization of the SC of the sole probably improves the desquamation process and reduces xerosis of the soles.

Dermatological emergencies encompass a series of distinct diseases of infectious, autoimmune and environmental origins. They account for a number of consultations at the general practitioner's office and in emergency units of medical centers. The concerned first line medical staffs are then facing some conditions with a dramatic potential. We review the most common conditions including urticaria, angioedema, infectious cellulitis, acute photodermatoses, the Lyell syndrome, some other paroxysmal severe adverse drug reactions, burns, erythroderma and the Kaposi-Juliusberg varicelliform eruption.

International audience; Safety is one of the concerns which may limit a fast and large increase in the use of GHz as a fuel for engines in the future. Furthermore, for a given autonomy of a vehicle, the choice of a storage pressure of several hundreds of bars will significantly reduce the volume of the necessary tank(s). Whatever this pressure and whatever the volume of the tank(s), the storage System must be designed in such a way that the consequences of an accident, in which this system would be submitted to a thermal or mechanical impact, would be as low as possible.