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Melanin Pigmentation, Women, and Levodopa

Melanin Pigmentation, Women, and Levodopa Abstract To the Editor. — In the November 1977 issue of the Archives (113:1533-1538), C. Anders Hedin, DDS, found that women constituted a high proportion of subjects with gingival melanosis due to tobacco smoking, even though these women had a lower cigarette consumption than the affected men.This female preponderance has been observed in other instances of hyperpigmentation, such as that induced by hydantoin anticonvulsants.1 In a survey of 70 patients with chlorpromazine melanosis, all were female.2 A reflectance spectrophotometry study of subjects under prolonged therapy with phenothiazines and/or hydantoins showed that women (both white and black) had a strikingly greater pigmentary response to these drugs than did their male counterparts.3 A comparison of blue-eyed and brown-eyed whites revealed that only the women tended toward a skin melanin difference in the expected direction.4As levodopa is a precursor of melanin, I recently conducted a small pilot study References 1. Kuske H, Krebs A: Hyperpigmentierungen vom Typus des Chloasmas nach Behandlung mit Hydantoin-Präparaten . Dermatologica 129:121-129, 1964.Crossref 2. Greiner AC, Berry K: Skin pigmentation and corneal and lens opacities with prolonged chlorpromazine therapy . Can Med Assoc J 90:663-665, 1964. 3. Robins AH: Phenothiazine melanosis in schizophrenic patients . Psychopharmacologia 27:327-342, 1972.Crossref 4. Robins AH: Skin melanin content in blue-eyed and brown-eyed subjects . Hum Hered 23:13-18, 1973.Crossref 5. Bischitz PG, Snell RS: A study of the effect of ovariectomy, estrogen and progesterone on the melanocytes and melanin in the skin of the female guinea-pig . J Endocrinol 20:312-319, 1960.Crossref 6. Hall PF: The influence of hormones on melanogenesis . Australas J Dermatol 10:125-139, 1969.Crossref http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Dermatology American Medical Association

Melanin Pigmentation, Women, and Levodopa

Archives of Dermatology , Volume 115 (7) – Jul 1, 1979

Melanin Pigmentation, Women, and Levodopa

Abstract

Abstract To the Editor. — In the November 1977 issue of the Archives (113:1533-1538), C. Anders Hedin, DDS, found that women constituted a high proportion of subjects with gingival melanosis due to tobacco smoking, even though these women had a lower cigarette consumption than the affected men.This female preponderance has been observed in other instances of hyperpigmentation, such as that induced by hydantoin anticonvulsants.1 In a survey of 70 patients with chlorpromazine melanosis,...
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References (6)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1979 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-987X
eISSN
1538-3652
DOI
10.1001/archderm.1979.04010070003006
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract To the Editor. — In the November 1977 issue of the Archives (113:1533-1538), C. Anders Hedin, DDS, found that women constituted a high proportion of subjects with gingival melanosis due to tobacco smoking, even though these women had a lower cigarette consumption than the affected men.This female preponderance has been observed in other instances of hyperpigmentation, such as that induced by hydantoin anticonvulsants.1 In a survey of 70 patients with chlorpromazine melanosis, all were female.2 A reflectance spectrophotometry study of subjects under prolonged therapy with phenothiazines and/or hydantoins showed that women (both white and black) had a strikingly greater pigmentary response to these drugs than did their male counterparts.3 A comparison of blue-eyed and brown-eyed whites revealed that only the women tended toward a skin melanin difference in the expected direction.4As levodopa is a precursor of melanin, I recently conducted a small pilot study References 1. Kuske H, Krebs A: Hyperpigmentierungen vom Typus des Chloasmas nach Behandlung mit Hydantoin-Präparaten . Dermatologica 129:121-129, 1964.Crossref 2. Greiner AC, Berry K: Skin pigmentation and corneal and lens opacities with prolonged chlorpromazine therapy . Can Med Assoc J 90:663-665, 1964. 3. Robins AH: Phenothiazine melanosis in schizophrenic patients . Psychopharmacologia 27:327-342, 1972.Crossref 4. Robins AH: Skin melanin content in blue-eyed and brown-eyed subjects . Hum Hered 23:13-18, 1973.Crossref 5. Bischitz PG, Snell RS: A study of the effect of ovariectomy, estrogen and progesterone on the melanocytes and melanin in the skin of the female guinea-pig . J Endocrinol 20:312-319, 1960.Crossref 6. Hall PF: The influence of hormones on melanogenesis . Australas J Dermatol 10:125-139, 1969.Crossref

Journal

Archives of DermatologyAmerican Medical Association

Published: Jul 1, 1979

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