isotretinoin and Prurigo

A 53-year-old woman presented with a 25-year history of acne excoriée and prurigo excoriée. Her symptoms began in 1988 coinciding with her husband's death from a brain tumour when she was 27. The pruritus affected her quality of life and disturbed her sleep. She had scarring on her face and body resulting from persistent scratching. The pruritus proved refractory to treatment despite a multi-modal treatment approach including multiple topicals, phototherapy and systemic agents such as isotretinoin, antibiotics, anxiolytic agents and neuromodulators. She was extremely frustrated that various treatments had been ineffective at controlling the itch-scratch cycle. She was commenced on low dose naltrexone (LDN), 3 mg nocte, and she became itch free within a few weeks. She reports that the LDN has had a beneficial impact on her quality of life.

Topics: Female; Humans; Isotretinoin; Middle Aged; Naltrexone; Prurigo; Pruritus; Quality of Life

Prurigo pigmentosa (PP) is an uncommon inflammatory disease with pruritic reddish papules, papulovesicules or vesicules that are symmetrically localized on the trunk and nape, accompanied by reticular hyperpigmentation. Currently available therapeutic options seem somewhat unsatisfying. Herein, we report an 18-year-old female with PP successfully treated with low-dose isotretinoin.. The patient presented with a symmetrical pruritic eruption on the lateral sides of her trunk with erythematous papules on a hyperpigmented background. Based on the typical clinical and associated histological findings, the patient was diagnosed as PP and a treatment with low-dose isotretinoin 0.3 mg/kg/day (20 mg/day) was started.. After a total of 3 months of 20 mg/day isotretinoin therapy, all erythematous macules and papules resolved and the residual pigmentation had almost disappeared.. Low-dose isotretinoin is not only adequate for the improvement of erythematous lesions, it also helps resolve the reticular hyperpigmentation of PP. Further studies are needed to observe the efficacy of isotretinoin in the treatment of PP.

Topics: Adolescent; Dermatologic Agents; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Hyperpigmentation; Isotretinoin; Prurigo; Treatment Outcome

Prurigo pigmentosa is a rare inflammatory disease of unknown origin, first reported from Japan, with only 33 cases described in non-Japanese patients. We describe a 13-year-old girl with a pruriginous symmetrical eruption of papules and vesicles affecting her back, neck and chest of 1 month duration. She remembered a similar, but lighter eruption, 2 months before. As the initial diagnosis was of a vesiculobullous form of Darier disease, treatment with isotretinoin 40 mg/day was started with good response. Histological study showed a superficial perivascular and interstitial dermatitis composed predominantly of lymphocytes. The epidermis was spongiotic, with exocytosis of lymphocytes and some neutrophils and necrotic keratinocytes. All these findings were consistent with prurigo pigmentosa. The lesions resolved leaving a light brown reticulate hyperpigmentation. Prurigo pigmentosa has never been reported in prepubescent patients, the vesiculobullous forms are unusual, and the only treatments used previously are sulphonamides, tetracyclines and macrolides. We report a 13-year-old Caucasian girl with vesiculobullous prurigo pigmentosa successfully treated with isotretinoin.

Topics: Administration, Cutaneous; Adolescent; Back; Dermatologic Agents; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Isotretinoin; Neck; Prurigo; Thorax

The occurrence of acne in dialysed renal failure patients has rarely been reported and the clinical characteristics and therapeutic issues rarely studied in these patients.. Two men and two women, 33 to 56 years-old, with chronic renal failure and no past history of acne, developed severe acne under dialysis. The acne was excoriated in all cases and associated with prurigo-like lesions and intense pruritus, which made diagnosis difficult. Acne was profuse on the face and the trunk, but also on the neck (1 case) and the upper limbs (2 cases). No patient was taking acne-inducing substances. Various to therapies attempting to control pruritus were ineffective. However, anti-acne treatments (cyclines associated with local tretinoin in 1 case and oral isotreninoin in 3 cases) led to complete regression of the acne, pruritus and the prurigo-like lesions without relapse after a follow-up time of 4 months to 2 years.. Pruritus is frequent during renal failure. However, the occurrence of unexplained acne has only rarely been reported. Our patients' clinical picture was original, characterized by the late development, under dialysis, of severe and pruriginous acne, the pathogenesis of which is unknown. Because of the clinical and therapeutic implications (impaired quality of life, pigmentation or scarring and remarkable efficacy of oral isotretinoin) this clinical picture merits more attention, and the modalities for the prescription of isotretinoin in this context should be defined.

Topics: Acne Vulgaris; Administration, Oral; Adult; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Isotretinoin; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Male; Middle Aged; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory; Prurigo; Renal Dialysis