Japanese familial anetoderma: A report of two cases and review of the published work

Abstract

Anetoderma is a rare cutaneous disorder characterized by focal loss of dermal elastic tissue, resulting in macular atrophy or herniated saclike skin. Some families with hereditary anetoderma have been described, but there have been no reports on Japanese familial anetoderma so far. We herein report two Japanese sibling cases of primary anetoderma. A healthy 13‐year‐old Japanese girl and a healthy 15‐year‐old Japanese girl presented to our hospital with a 6‐month history of small atrophic pittings on their arms and trunks. All lesions were less than 0.5 cm in diameter, which are relatively small for non‐familial anetoderma. Preceding infections or skin lesions were not observed. A skin biopsy revealed a focal, complete loss of elastic tissue in the superficial to mid‐dermis which was surrounded by fine, irregular or twisted elastic fibers. Based on these findings, the diagnosis of anetoderma was made. Review of published works demonstrated that the mode of inheritance of familial anetoderma is not simple, suggesting that it is important to survey any family member of the patients with anetoderma.

A case of primary anetoderma of Schweninger–Buzzi type

“…3,4 Primary anetoderma has historically been subdivided into two subtypes: the Jadassohn-Pellizzari type, with preceding inflammation and the Schweninger-Buzzi type, which appears spontaneously without inflammation. 4,5 A 24-year-old woman presented with increasing numbers of multiple atrophic and sac-like whitish macules on her back for 1 year (Figure 1a,b). She had no history of preceding inflammatory skin diseases and did not show any symptom associated with the skin lesions.…”

“…1,2 Anetoderma is classically divided into two forms: primary anetoderma, in which the elastolysis develops in clinically normal skin, and secondary anetoderma that arises at the site of various well-defined skin diseases, such as acne and varicella. 3,4 Primary anetoderma has historically been subdivided into two subtypes: the Jadassohn-Pellizzari type, with preceding inflammation and the Schweninger-Buzzi type, which appears spontaneously without inflammation. 4,5 A 24-year-old woman presented with increasing numbers of multiple atrophic and sac-like whitish macules on her back for 1 year (Figure 1a,b).…”