Agostino Crosti

Biography

• Born on February 16, 1896
• 1920 – Graduated medicine from Pavia University
• 1924 – Dermosyphilopathic Clinic under Agostini Pasini (1875-1944), the first chair of the School of Dermatology, Milan
• 1930 – Professor of Clinical Dermatology and Syphilology at the University of Perugia
• 1939 – Chair of dermatology and dean of faculty, University of Palermo
• 1945-1966 Chair of the School of Dermatology, Milan as first successor to the Pasini.
• Died on September 22, 1988

Medical Eponyms

Crosti syndrome (1951): reticulohistiocytoma of the back

Crosti reported on seven patients with ‘reticulo-histiocytoma of the back’ who presented with figurate erythematous plaques and nodules on the back or lateral trunk. Reticulohistiocytoma of the back was later classified as a primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma (PCFCL).

Gianotti-Crosti syndrome (1955): AKA papular acrodermatitis of childhood or infantile papular acrodermatitis

A non-itching erythematous papular eruption on the face and limbs associated with enlarged lymph nodes and an enlarged liver. [aka Crosti-Gianotti syndrome; Gianotti disease; Gianotti syndrome]

In 1953 Ferdinando Gianotti (1920-1984), a resident in Crosti’s department, examined a child with a monomorphous erythematous papular rash confined to the extensor surfaces of the arms and legs. In the following months, he saw a number of patients with identical skin findings. Gianotti published the first reports as a solo author in 1955.

Crosti and Gianotti identified 8 additional cases and the two published an article together titled “Dermatosi infantile eruttiva acroesposta di probabile origine virosica” [Acro located infantile eruptive dermatosis probably of viral origin] in 1956 and 1957. Crosti, as department head, was listed as first author and the condition was initially identified as Crosti-Gianotti syndrome

1979 – Gianotti stated that this eruption was exclusively associated with hepatitis B virus and proposed the term papulovesicular acro-located syndromes for similar eruptions not associated with hepatitis B virus

1992 – Caputo et al examined 308 case of patients hospitalized. Photographs were examined by a panel of experts to determine whether it was possible to distinguish between papular acrodermatitis of childhood and papulovesicular acrolocated syndromes solely on the basis of cutaneous signs. a They found a significant overlapping of the two types of the disease and that the blind survey of photographs of the patients revealed that a distinction between the forms was not clinically possible.

This prompted investigators to propose the term Gianotti-Crosti syndrome for all similar acrally
located eruption

Gianotti-Crosti syndrome is considered a distinctive but nonspecific, cutaneous, eruptive pattern with valid and reproducible diagnostic criteria. In addition to hepatitis B virus, the syndrome has been related to an increasing number of underlying viral and bacterial sources, most commonly Epstein-Barr virus and occasionally immunization (polio, diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus, and measles-mumps-rubella vaccines)

Major Publications

• Gianotti F. Rilievi di una particolare casistica tossoinfetiva caratterizzata da una eruzione eritematoinfiltrativa desquamativa a focolai lenticolari, a sede elettiva acroesposta. G Ital Dermatol. 1955; 96: 678 [Crosti syndrome]
• Crosti A, Gianotti F. Dermatosi infantile eruttiva acroesposta di probabile origine virosica. Minerva dermatologica 1956; 31(Suppl): 483.
• Crosti A, Gianotti F. Dermatose éruptive acro-située d’origine probablement virosique. Acta dermato-venereologica 1957; 2: 146-149
• Crosti A, Gianotti F. Dermatose éruptive aero-située d’origine probablement virosique. Dermatologica 1957; 115: 671–677 [Gianotti-Crosti syndrome]
• Crosti A, Gianotti F. Ulteriore contributo alla conoscenza dell’acrodermatite pupulosa infantile [Further contribution to the knowledge of infantile papulous acrodermatitis]. Giornale italiano di dermatologia. 1964;105:477-504.
• Crosti A, Gianotti F. Acrodermatite papulosa infantile e virosi linforeticulotrope [Infantile papular acrodermatitis and lymphoreticulotropic viroses]. Minerva Dermatol. 1967;42(7):264-278.
• Gianotti F. Papular acrodermatitis of childhood an Australia antigen disease. Arch Dis Child. 1973; 48: 794-799.
• Gianotti F. Papular acrodermatitis of childhood and other papulo-vesicular acro-located syndromes. Br J Dermatol. 1979 Jan;100(1):49-59

References

Biography

• Agostino Crosti. G Ital Dermatol Minerva Dermatol. 1966;107(5):399-412.
• Bagherani N, Smoller BR, Lotti T. The history of dermatology, venereology, and dermatopathology in different countries – Italy. Glob Dermatol 2015
• Bibliography. Crosti, Agostino. WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Sonck CE. Milker’s nodules with allergic secondary eruptions. Acta Allergol. 1951;4(3):241-52
• Caputo R, Gelmetti C, Ermacora E, Gianni E, Silvestri A. Gianotti-Crosti syndrome: a retrospective analysis of 308 cases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1992 Feb;26(2 Pt 1):207-10.
• Chuh AA. Diagnostic criteria for Gianotti-Crosti syndrome: a prospective case-control study for validity assessment. Cutis. 2001 Sep;68(3):207-13.
• de la Torre C. Gianotti-Crosti syndrome following milkers’ nodules. Cutis. 2004 Nov;74(5):316-8.
• Brandt O, Abeck D, Gianotti R, Burgdorf W. Gianotti-Crosti syndrome. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006;54(1):136-145.
• Skin Deep. Gianotti-Crosti syndrome. DFTB