1. A rare form of Hansen's disease presenting as filiform verrucous papules on the feet
- Author
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Scott Jackson, Barbara M. Stryjewska, Elizabeth A. Williamson, and Emily B. Richard
- Subjects
Pathology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,mycobacteria ,verrucous ,Case Report ,Dermatology ,Disease ,030207 dermatology & venereal diseases ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Chronic granulomatous disease ,medicine ,lepromatous ,Mycobacterium leprae ,Lepromatous leprosy ,acral ,biology ,business.industry ,Verrucous Lesion ,medicine.disease ,biology.organism_classification ,Hansen's disease ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Peripheral nervous system ,Leprosy ,business ,leprosy - Abstract
Hansen's disease is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast bacillus that lives in the cytoplasm of macrophages and Schwann cells. Commonly affected areas include the peripheral nervous system, skin, upper respiratory tract, eyes, and testes. Patients may show no signs of the disease for up to 20 years after infection. The disease may present along a spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from lepromatous leprosy to tuberculoid leprosy.1 The peripheral nervous system is often affected first, as patients present with numbness and paresthesia but no visible lesions. Cutaneous lesions are variable in presentation, depending on which pole of disease the patient has, but may include papules, nodules, and plaques. Lesions are typically hypopigmented, erythematous, or copper colored, and they may be associated with reduction or complete loss of sensation and anhidrosis.2 Hansen's disease rarely presents with verrucous lesions. This case report presents an unusual filiform verrucous presentation of Hansen's disease on the plantar aspect of the feet in a patient with lepromatous leprosy.
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