Jean-Paul Ortonne – författare

Our knowledge about the function of the melanocyte has expanded beyond boundaries not previously imagined. The melanocyte is no longer considered merely a factory for the production of the pigment melanin. Old data do not contradict the new but must be reinterpreted in light of modern concepts of molecular and cellular biology, enzymology, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics. Diseases of the pigmentary system must be understood in terms of modern science. The editors, each with special knowledge of the pigmentary system, have combined their expertise and talents to produce a book that will serve as the ultimate resource for the study of all aspects of pigment cell biology. There is no comprehensive, scholarly reference available which compiles both old and new data into a single source. This book fills that void. There are monographs to assist dermatologists caring for individuals with disorders of pigmentation, and textbooks with an introductory chapter on the physiology of pigmentation and a clinical chapter on the disorders manifested by common abnormalities of the pigmentary system. These resources continue to be invaluable, however they are written for a specific type and level of audience. This volume is encyclopedic in scope, so that the biologist, chemist, cosmetic scientist, and clinician, whether novice or sophisticated expert, can peruse any section of the book with confidence that it contains most of the worlds knowledge on pigmentation, including historical work. The bibliographies are also prepared to be as comprehensive and all-inclusive as possible. The first part of the book brings together the molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, and physiology of the normal melanocyte as known in the 1990s. The second part continues this theme, presenting a comprehensive discussion of most disorders of pigmentation described to date. Information about pathophysiology, treatment and other clinical data is included. The goal of the editors is to provide the ultimate reference for practicing physicians who care for patients with the rarest or most common disorders of pigmentation, the laboratory scientist studying disease in order to help the study of basic processes which affect the pigmentary system, and the cosmetic scientist who seeks comprehensive information on the pharmacopoeia available for treating pigmentary disorders. All specialists interested in some aspect of the pigmentary system can seek current answers to questions related to their work.

Although vitiligo has traditionally been very difficult to treat, a new breakthrough surgical treatment is expanding options for practitioners and patients. Standard treatments depend on the severity of the condition and the patient's feelings of disfigurement. Cover-up cosmetics work well for some people. Other more sophisticated forms of treatment include gradually developing color back in the depigmented areas (repigmentation) by PUVA or other ultraviolet light treatments, but this is extremely slow and intensive, often requiring several hundred treatments.This new form of treatment, which involves surgically transplanting melanocytes into the white areas, is most successful in patients with stable vitiligo over less than 30% of their body surface area. It complements medical therapies in achieving complete and sustained repigmentation and is rapidly gaining popularity in all major centers.This is the first book available which describes this major advance in detail. Explains the new treatment of surgically transplanting melanocytes into the affected areas of the skin to provide dermatologists and surgeons with the latest state-of-the-art information Written by the international leaders who pioneered this treatment Presents all the latest information on the topic, eliminating the need to search through multiple sources for specific data

Leukoderma is a generic term for any pigmentary dilution, be it congenital or acquired, circumscribed or generalized, devoid of or partially lacking in pig­ mentation. In the approach to the diagnosis of leukoderma, we have generally first considered the age of onset, whether leukoderma was congenital or ac­ quired, the extent and pattern of involvement, and the degree of pigmentary dilution. The organization of this monograph reflects this approach. For ex­ ample, we have separated the section devoted to various disease entities into diffuse and circumscribed leukoderma and the latter into various etiologies such as genetic, metabolic, infectious, and endocrinologic. One of several justifications for this monograph is to present an approach to the diagnosis of leukoderma, as detailed in Part II. In formulating a guide for the physician, we have found some limitations to our previous approach; we therefore offer the following new classification based upon a clini­ cal-pathologic correlation. This could provide the means to describe both the clinical and pathologic findings in one term.