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PERIFOLLICULAR ELASTOLYSIS
Author(s) -
VARADI DAVID P.,
SAQUETON ANGELITO C.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1970.tb15037.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dermatology
SUMMARY.— We report a skin disease in 3 women characterized clinically by small, grey or white, finely wrinkled, round or oval lesions with a central hair follicle, occurring on the neck, ear‐lobes, arms and upper trunk. Balloon‐like bulging of some lesions was present. Histologically, there was loss of elastic fibres immediately surrounding hair follicles, without inflammation or decrease in collagen. A bacterial aetiology of this condition, a perifollicular variant of primary macular atrophy, was suggested when an elastase‐producing strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis was found in the hair follicles located within lesions. A selective loss of elastic fibres without collagen breakdown was produced by in vitro incubation of normal human skin in bacteria‐free extracts of culture media on which elastase‐positive Staph. epidermidis had been grown.