An investigation into the incidence of auto-immune disorders in patients with lichen sclerosus and atrophicus

Abstract

Patients with lichen sclerosus and atrophicus have an increased incidence of organ specific antibodies, and these patients and their relatives have a significantly higher incidence of associated autoimmune diseases than a control population. The incidence of other auto-immune diseases in patients with lichen sclerosus is highest when the onset is between the ages of 41 and 60 years, but is not related to the duration or site of the lesions. These findings suggest an immunological basis for the disease and indicate that the patients should be investigated and followed up to detect the existence of other auto-immune disorders.

Development of antigen-specific ELISA for circulating autoantibodies to extracellular matrix protein 1 in lichen sclerosus

“…For example, some reports have described a disease association with HLA class II antigen DQ7-DQ9 (7,8), as well as an increased incidence of other autoimmune diseases and autoantibodies in some patients. Associated disorders include thyroid disease, pernicious anemia, diabetes mellitus, alopecia areata, vitiligo, and mucous membrane pemphigoid (1,4,9). Historically, data implicating a humoral autoimmune response in lichen sclerosus have been limited to a single 90-year-old case report of probable lichen sclerosus being induced by injection of serum from an affected individual into nonlesional skin (10).…”

The Association of Lichen Sclerosus and Erosive Lichen Planus of the Vulva With Autoimmune Disease

“…4 The evidence for an increased association with other autoimmune disorders is thus far weak. One small controlled study 2 compared the prevalence of autoimmune disorders and serum autoantibodies in 50 patients with LS and 50 healthy controls and found an increased prevalence of both autoimmune disorders and autoantibodies in those with LS. A larger study of 350 women with LS did not have a control group 1 but reported a high prevalence of associated autoimmune disorders (21%).…”

Current views on the diagnosis and treatment of genital lichen sclerosus

“…Choroby autoimmunologiczne towarzyszące LS opisywano częściej u kobiet (19-54%) niż u męż-czyzn (3-5%) [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. U niektórych kobiet LS współ-występował z bielactwem, łysieniem plackowatym, nietolerancją glukozy czy anemią złośliwą.…”