Reply to “Transitory contractile dermatosis—A new entity?”

Abstract

To the Editor: I was very excited to read the letter by Rizvi and Helsing. However, I believe the kind of reaction that is reported is somewhat different than what we described as infantile transient smooth muscle contraction of the skin.1Torrelo A. Moreno S. Castro C. Garzon M.C. Perelló M.R. Huczak L. et al.Infantile transient smooth muscle contraction of the skin.J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013; 69: 498-500Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (5) Google Scholar First, our cases were all newborns and the reaction disappeared with age. The reaction in the patient described by Rizvi and Helsing appeared immediately after or even during vigorous rubbing or pinching, and the reaction disappeared immediately after stopping the maneuver. In contrast, in our cases, just a minor air blow or a very gentle touch elicited a slow rippling reaction that took 10 to 20 seconds to completely manifest and lasted more than 1 minute. Finally, infantile transient smooth muscle contraction of the skin appears mainly in lower limbs. I think that the reaction described by Rizvi has nothing to do with smooth muscle contraction of the skin. I tried myself to imitate the maneuver shown in the video and, to my surprise, obtained a similar reaction on my inner arm skin (Fig 1). I did not feel any smooth muscle contraction, such as goose bumps. I think we can attribute such rippling to decreased elastic fibers in the lax skin of the inner arm instead. Transitory contractile dermatosis—A new entity?Journal of the American Academy of DermatologyVol. 71Issue 1PreviewTo the Editor: We read with interest the letter by Torrelo et al1 describing rippling of the skin of the lower limbs in newborns. Full-Text PDF