Morphea – selected local treatment methods and their effectiveness

Abstract

Localised scleroderma is an uncommon connective tissue disease of multifactorial aetiology occurring in the paediatric and adult population. It is relatively difficult to conduct any research on the subject of this disease entity treatment due to the low number of patients suffering from morphea, a tendency of the disease to remit spontaneously, and not yet well recognised aetiology. Hence, there has been developed no causal treatment of well-proven effectiveness, and schedules of symptomatic therapy are not yet clearly determined. The paper depicts most widely used topical treatment methods in morphea therapy, which due to minor risk of systemic adverse effects seem to be a beneficial therapeutic alternative. The main aim of this article was to analyse different topical treatment options used in localised scleroderma therapy and to indicate the most appropriate, safe, and effective one.

Morfea inducida por radioterapia: una complicación inusual

“…El tratamiento quirúrgico tiene muy poca utilidad y se usa en casos seleccionados. 16,17 CONCLUSIÓN La morfea es una complicación rara y de comportamiento incierto que se diagnostica por exclusión. Es importante que se detecte en la fase temprana para iniciar el tratamiento adecuado buscando limitar la fibrosis y la atrofia para mejorar la calidad de vida…”

Morphea masquerading as cellulitis

“…Topical corticosteroids, antimalarials, etretinate, penicillin, D-penicillamine, phenytoin, vitamin E and griseofulvin have all been used to manage morphea but there is no consensus on its treatment. Other treatment options include oral calcitriol, ultraviolet A alone or combined with topical and systemic psoralens 8–11…”

Autoimmune Connective Tissue Diseases-Related Pruritus: Proper Diagnosis and Possible Mechanisms

“…Therefore treatment mainly targets anti-inflammation for morphea itself. Phototherapy is one of the most well-studied therapies in treatment of morphea [ 60 ]. A case series revealed initial response for itching measured by VAS scores with narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) at 5 to 9 sessions in different types of morphea [ 61 ].…”