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Successful thalidomide therapy for actinic prurigo in a European woman
Author(s) -
Holzer Anna,
Wolf Peter,
Legat Franz J.,
Kerl Helmut,
Hofer Angelika
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
jddg: journal der deutschen dermatologischen gesellschaft
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.463
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1610-0387
pISSN - 1610-0379
DOI - 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2006.06125.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dermatology , thalidomide , prurigo , photodermatosis , population , immunology , xeroderma pigmentosum , dna , genetics , environmental health , biology , multiple myeloma , dna damage
Summary Actinic prurigo is a rare, often difficult‐to‐treat, idiopathic photodermatosis. Actinic prurigo is divided into a hereditary form appearing in the Native American population and a sporadic form occurring in non‐Native Americans. We present a 28‐year‐old Caucasian woman who developed typical clinical signs and symptoms of actinic prurigo, just as had her mother and grandmother. The patient and her mother were HLA‐A24 and HLA‐DR 4 with the subtype HLA‐DRB1*0408. Based on clinical symptoms and the HLA pattern, the diagnosis of actinic prurigo was made. Treatment with thalidomide led to resolution of the disease. This case report of a Caucasian woman suffering from a hereditary form of actinic prurigo questions the established classification of actinic prurigo into a hereditary Native American form and a sporadic form occurring in the non‐Native American population.