Kencka D, Blaszczyk M, Jabłońska S
Department of Dermatology, Warsaw School of Medicine, Poland.
Dermatology. 1995;190(3):203-6. doi: 10.1159/000246685.
There are divergent opinions whether atrophoderma Pasini-Pierini (APP) is a nosologic entity or a primary atrophic morphea.
Since usually single cases are reported without a long-term follow-up the present study was performed in order to elucidate the natural history of the disorder.
We followed a large series of 139 patients, 91 adults and 48 children, for 4-30 years (mean over 10 years).
APP was found to be 6 times more frequent in females and not uncommon in children (10% of our series of localized scleroderma). At some time during the follow-up period, indurations appeared in the central parts of the lesions in 17% of the patients, and in 22% they coexisted with morphea plaques outside the atrophies. The histological pattern was similar to morphea at the stage of atrophy. No case developed full-blown morphea.
APP appears to be an abortive morphea, in which the indurations failed to develop. The differentiation from morphea is of practical importance because of different management and prognosis.
