Morphoea in three siblings

Progressive Hemifacial Atrophy and Linear Scleroderma En Coup de Sabre: A Spectrum of the Same Disease?

Similar clinical and histhopathological features in progressive hemifacial atrophy and linear scleroderma en coup de sabre are well known. Trauma may predispose to the development of both diseases. The lack of association with anti-Borrelia antibodies was shown in both cases as well. The otolaryngological and endocrine disorders may be associated findings in both diseases. However, there are certain differences in neurological and ophthalmological changes in the diseases.

Frontal linear scleroderma en coup de sabre associated with epileptic seizure

Linear scleroderma is a rare variant of localised scleroderma, which is usually seen in childhood and during the adolescent period, and can cause severe functional morbidity as well as cosmetic and psychological problems. Although its ethiopathogenesis is yet obscure, autoimmunity, local ischaemia and injuries, vaccination, irradiation, vitamin K injections, Borrelia burgdorferi and Varicella infections have been incriminated. A 4-year-old girl who had been followed up for about 18 months with diagnosis of epilepsy had a colour discolouration and depression that first appeared 1 year ago and then progressed on her left frontal region. Her CT scan showed a thinning in the frontal bone and depression in the frontal region. These findings are described as 'en coup de sabre' a rare form of linear scleroderma localised at the frontal region of the scalp. In this paper, we present clinical and radiological findings of a 4-year-old girl with epileptic seizures that started 1 year before the onset of the lesion of linear scleroderma.

Morphea affecting a father and son

Morphea, also known as localized scleroderma, is characterized by firm plaques that can occur anywhere on the body. Reports of familial morphea are rare, and we report an unusual case of morphea affecting both a father and a son.

Localized scleroderma and systemic sclerosis: is there a connection?

Excess fibrosis of the skin is a clinical hallmark of both localized scleroderma and systemic sclerosis. Localized scleroderma is generally thought to be a skin-limited disease whereas systemic sclerosis can have a wide range of internal organ involvement. Recent data suggest that a subset of patients with juvenile localized scleroderma can go on to develop systemic involvement of their disease. This raises the question of what the connection is, if any, between localized scleroderma and systemic sclerosis.

Scleroderma in children and adolescents

The scleroderma disorders remain challenging conditions in pediatric rheumatology to understand pathologically and indeed for which to provide care. It is clear that much progress is being made in the clinical approach to understanding this group of group of disorders. It seems likely that the different lesions of LS may represent unique immunopathogenic mechanisms or perhaps reflect unique genetic or other characteristics of the patients themselves. To take advantage of the revolution in therapies now occurring in rheumatology it is critical that controlled clinical trials are developed with appropriate agreed upon outcome measures for both localized and systemic disease.