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Roger W. Pearson, MD

JAMA. 1981;245(21):2183-2184.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Advances in the diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of skin diseases, like those in most areas of medicine, have become increasingly dependent on new technology or new basic science observations. Three examples of this general trend, with some exceptions, will be briefly considered.

In Utero Biopsy for Cutaneous Disease: Accomplishments and Potential

Refinement of the techniques of fetoscopy and fetal skin biopsy has permitted the diagnosis of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis in a fetus at the 20th week of gestation.¹ Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. It is usually classified as a type of ichthyosis and is manifested in early postnatal life by erosions, blisters, and thickening of the horny layer of the epidermis. Lesions may be produced in apparently uninvolved areas of skin by mild frictional trauma. The disease is especially suited for prenatal diagnosis because, in affected families, it has a 50% chance of occurrence with each . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Chicago

From the Department of Dermatology, Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago.

Footnotes
Member, editorial board, The Journal.

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