Anetoderma: Another facet of Lyme disease?

Lyme disease has been suspected to be one cause of secondary anetoderma. We present a 25-year-old male patient with multiple lesions of anetoderma with a diameter of up to 2 cm that developed within the last 4 weeks without subjective symptoms. The histopathologic pattern was similar to the inflamma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2003-05, Vol.48 (5), p.S86-S88
Main Authors: Bauer, Jürgen, Leitz, Grete, Palmedo, Gabriele, Hügel, Heino
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Blotting, Western
Borrelia burgdorferi - genetics
Borrelia burgdorferi - isolation & purification
Borrelia burgdorferi - pathogenicity
Borrelia infections
DNA, Bacterial - analysis
Elasticity
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Lyme Disease - complications
Lyme Disease - drug therapy
Male
Medical sciences
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Skin Diseases - drug therapy
Skin Diseases - etiology
Skin Diseases - microbiology
Tropical bacterial diseases
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Summary:Lyme disease has been suspected to be one cause of secondary anetoderma. We present a 25-year-old male patient with multiple lesions of anetoderma with a diameter of up to 2 cm that developed within the last 4 weeks without subjective symptoms. The histopathologic pattern was similar to the inflammatory stage of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. Polymerase chain reaction analysis out of the paraffin-embedded tissue, confirmed by sequencing of the obtained nucleotide product, revealed a part of the 23 S ribosomal RNA gene of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed an increased serum IgG titer against B burgdorferi corroborated by Western blot analysis. After a treatment with oral doxycycline (100 mg twice a day) for 30 days the anti-B burgdorferi titer decreased significantly and no new lesions appeared. Some cases of anetoderma might be caused by Borrelia and patients with anetoderma should be examined for borreliosis including serology and polymerase chain reaction of lesional skin. In cases of Borrelia-induced anetoderma, early antibiotic treatment could prevent further progression of the disfiguring skin lesions and the underlying disease. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2003;48:S86-8.)
ISSN:0190-9622
1097-6787
DOI:10.1067/mjd.2003.165