Seborrheic dermatitis in otherwise healthy patients and in patients with lymphadenopathy syndrome/AIDS-related complex: treatment with 1% bifonazole cream.

Recent studies reported in the literature have repeatedly pointed out the utility of imidazole derivatives, one of which is bifonazole, in the therapy of seborrheic dermatitis (SD). The cause of this pathological situation is still under discussion but the therapeutic success obtained with antimycotics speaks in favor of the pathogenetic importance of Malassezia ovale in this context. There is a high frequency of SD type complaints in patients with HIV infections in whom immune defenses against various pathogens, including yeasts, are deficient. We therefore verified the clinical efficacy of 1% bifonazole cream on 15 subjects with SD of the face, 9 of whom were affected with lymphadenopathy syndrome/AIDS-related complex (LAS/ARC). The treatment was administered over a four-week period and gave good results in 12 patients. The best results, however, were observed in those suffering from LAS/ARC.