Vitamin a in Darier's Disease

SINCE the first description by Darier 1 in 1889 more than three hundred and fifty papers have been published dealing with Darier's disease, a relatively rare condition, the cause of which, in spite of numerous investigations, remains undetermined. New knowledge of vitamin deficiency states brought promise of a fresh attack on the problem. Peck, Chargin and Sobotka (1941), 2 having noted the resemblance between the appearance of the skin in naturally occurring vitamin A deficiency and Darier's dyskeratosis, treated a patient with vitamin A and reported improvement. Since then many other patients have been similarly treated, many with benefit. The object of this paper is to describe our studies on the effect of vitamin A in 7 cases of Darier's disease and to compare our results with those of others. Brief notes of our own series of cases are as follows: REPORT OF PRESENT SERIES OF CASES Case 1.— Mr.