A Case of Familial Lichen Amyloidosis

Familial lichen amyloidosis which is also referred to familial primary cutaneous amyloidosis is a rare clinical variant of cutaneous amyloidosis. Lichen amyloidosis is characterized by persistent, pruritic, small brown papules often located on anterior surfaces of legs which show tendency to form plaques. Amyloid deposits would be identified in papillary dermis in histopathological examination. in our clinic, a 42 year old woman with a widespread involvement describing that similar skin findings were present in her both daughters, elder brother and her nephew was evaluated with suspicion of lichen amyloidosis. In histopathological examination of the involved skin, because of determining amyloid deposits in papillary dermis the case was cited as lichen amyloidosis. Our case was searched for the accompanying diseases such as atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, lichen planus, multiple endocrine neoplasia and Kimura disease. The family history of our patient was consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance. Familial lichen amyloidosis has been reported as cases with autosomal dominant inheritance from Russia, Germany, United Kingdom and South America. The genetic researches over familial lichen amylodiosis are limited to the cases with multiple endocrine neoplasia. In this rarely reported cases, further genetical researches are necessary in order to determine the responsible gen locus. (Turkderm 2008; 42: 137-9)