Jacques Drieghe

Fragrance allergens in 'specific' cosmetic products

Objectives. Reports about the nature of the ingredients responsible for allergic contact dermatitis caused by specific cosmetic products are scarce.

Frequency of and trends in fragrance allergy over a 15‐year period

Background:  The widespread use of fragrance‐containing products is probably the most important reason for its high impact in allergic contact dermatitis.

Delayed hypersensitivity to corticosteroids in a series of 315 patients: clinical data and patch test results

Background: Corticosteroids may cause immediate or delayed hypersensitivity. In 1989, based on structural and clinical characteristics, we put forward a classification of corticosteroids into four cross‐reacting groups, namely group A, B, C, and D, the latter later subdivided into two subgroups, i.e. D1 and D2. The constituents on the D‐ring of the corticosteroid‐molecule are considered to have a central role for binding to skin proteins and for cross‐reactions patterns; however, halogenation of the molecules is also interfering.

Contact allergy to imidazoles used as antimycotic agents.

The present article reviews the literature (up to 1994) on contact sensitivity to imidazoles and presents the results obtained from 15 patients observed at the Contact Allergy Unit in Leuven. The frequency as well as the cross‐reaction patterns described are analyzed. Although allergic contact reactions may have been missed in the past (mainly because of problems with the correct choice of vehicle for patch testing), they seem to be relatively infrequent in view of their widespread use. The imidazole derivatives most frequently reported 10 be allergens are miconazole, econazole, tiocanozole, and isoconazole. As far as cross‐reactivity is concerned, statistically significant associations were found in the patient data between miconazole, econazole, and isoconazole: between isoconazole and miconazole and econazole: and also between isoconazole and tioconazole. Patients sensitive to phenylethyl imidazoles (except ketoconazole) needing antimycotic therapy should be advised to use ketoconazole, clotrimazole, bifonazole, or, perhaps, the new flutrimazole. Clearly, non‐imidazole antifungals can also be used.

The relation between the localization of foot dermatitis and the causative allergens in shoes: a 13‐year retrospective study

The purpose of this retrospective study was to test whether the initial pattern of clinical presentation of shoe dermatitis could indicate the causative allergen(s) and to estimate the odds on foot dermatitis in patients with a positive patch test versus those with a negative patch‐test result. Between 1990 and 2002, 8543 patients were patch tested with the standard series (and additional allergens, if appropriate). Of them, 1168 (14%) had been referred because of foot dermatitis and 474 of these patients (5.5% of the total group) presented a positive reaction to one or more substances related to shoes. We found that 6 standard allergens in the male group and 8 standard allergens in the female group were statistically significant for the shoe dermatitis group. The data showed a relationship between the distribution pattern of the foot lesions and most of the allergens. These results have clinical applications since the gender of the patients and the localization of the foot eruptions can, indeed, indicate what allergen is involved.

Results of patch testing with fragrance mix 1, fragrance mix 2, and their ingredients, and Myroxylon pereirae and colophonium, over a 21‐year period

Background.

Allergic contact dermatitis from fragrance components in specific topical pharmaceutical products in Belgium

Objectives:  To determine which topical pharmaceutical products marketed in Belgium contain fragrances and to examine the nature of the fragrance allergens in specific pharmaceutical products having caused iatrogenic contact dermatitis.

Case–control study to identify melanoma risk factors in the Belgian population: the significance of clinical examination

Background  Although numerous studies have evaluated risk factors associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), no such study has been carried out in Belgium.

Artificial Intelligence in Contact Dermatitis: The Codex/E System

In the course of one’s life, one is intimately exposed to a vast chemical environment. In exceptional cases, contact of chemicals with the skin gives rise to adverse reactions, such as allergic contact dermatitis (or contact allergy). Clinically, this condition is manifested by eczematous skin lesions that appear several hours to several days after exposure to the allergen or allergens to which the individual has been previously sensitized.