Development Of Morphea Research Articles

Morphea caused by COVID-19 infection, first polish case report

Morphea, a localized scleroderma variant, is a rare dermatological condition characterized by fibrosis and thickening of the skin. While its etiology remains unclear, there have been reports of its association with viral infections, including COVID-19. We present a case of morphea in a 26-year-old female patient with a history of two episodes of COVID-19. The patient exhibited cutaneous lesions on her left forearm, bilateral axillae, and groin, accompanied by abdominal wall induration Laboratory investigations revealed no significant abnormalities, except for positive antinuclear antibodies (ANA) with various patterns. This case highlights the potential association between COVID-19 infection and the development of morphea, underscoring the importance of considering this relationship in patients presenting with dermatological manifestations following COVID-19. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and optimize treatment strategies for such cases. Key words: COVID-19, Morphea, Post-COVID-19 Morphea, Skin diseases

Development of morphea in patients receiving biologic therapies: A systematic review

To the Editor: An infrequently reported cutaneous complication of biologic treatment is the onset of localized scleroderma or morphea. Given the increasing use of biologic therapy worldwide, it is essential for health care providers to anticipate and manage potential adverse effects. This review aims to summarize reports of morphea development in patients receiving biologic therapies targeting inflammatory pathways implicated in psoriasis.

The Development of Morphea Following a Motor Vehicle Collision

The Development of Morphea Following a Motor Vehicle Collision

Concomitant development of morphea and lipoatrophy after local corticosteroid injection

Concomitant development of morphea and lipoatrophy after local corticosteroid injection

Generalized Morphea following Radiotherapy for an Intracranial Tumor.

Morphea is a localized scleroderma variety which can be circumscribed or generalized and is characterized by sclerotic plaques developing on trunk and limbs. Surgery and radiation have been implicated as etiological factors for the development of morphea. Majority of the radiation-induced morphea cases have occurred in patients with breast cancer. The affected areas have been generally restricted to the area of radiation and nearby surrounding area in most of the reported cases. We hereby report a case of a 27-year-old male who developed radiation-induced progressive generalized morphea after getting radiotherapy for an intracranial tumor. His condition improved after dexamethasone-cyclophosphamide pulse therapy. With increased incidence of cancer worldwide and radiotherapy as a modality of treatment, it is imperative to follow the patient and look for the development of morphea which itself is a debilitating disease.

Slim belt induced morphea-Price paid for a slimmer look

Morphea, also known as localized scleroderma, encompasses a group of distinct conditions characterized by sclerosis of the skin and the underlying tissues. Many triggering factors have been implicated in the development of morphea like trauma, immobilization, bacille Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccination, injections of vitamin K, mechanical compression from clothing, etc. but slim belt as a cause of morphea has not been previously reported to the best of our knowledge. We report a 28 year old married obese woman who developed a shiny brownish indurated plaque over the abdomen after three months of use of a slim belt for her obesity. Skin biopsy was consistent with the diagnosis of morphea. She was prescribed topical tacrolimus 0.1% ointment and improved with course of time.The present case illustrates the first description of morphea as a result of use of slim belt which has not been previously reported in the literature.

Late onset ‘en coup de sabre’ following trauma: Rare presentation of a rare disease

En coup de sabre (linear scleroderma of face) is a rare type of morphea (localized scleroderma) involving frontoparietal area of the forehead and scalp. Many triggering factors have been implicated in the development of morphea like trauma, immobilization, bacille Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccination, injections of vitamin K, mechanical compression from clothing, etc. Linear scleroderma primarily affects the pediatric population, with 67% of patients diagnosed before 18 years of age. In this article, we describe a case of 26 year old female who presented with a three months history of brownish indurated plaque of skin on the frontal and forehead regions of the head. The patient gave a history of trauma at the same site six years back. The diagnosis of morphea was made clinically supported by histopathological features of the skin biopsy. Her neurological examination was normal. ANA was negative. Brain MRI didn’t reveal any abnormality. She was treated with topical tacrolimus 0.1% ointment. The late onset en coup de sabre is a rare presentation and hence reported.

Updates on Morphea: Role of Vascular Injury and Advances in Treatment

Morphea and systemic sclerosis are fibrosing disorders of the skin that share common inflammatory and immunologic pathways that are responsible for the vascular changes, increased collagen production, and extracellular matrix proliferation seen in both conditions. Recent advances in molecular biology techniques have furthered our knowledge of the potential underlying pathogenic mechanisms and offer new and provocative areas of research for novel diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. This review focuses on the role of vascular injury in the development of morphea, the use of ultrasonography as a diagnostic modality, and well-established and newly proposed treatments.

Morphea associated with the use of adalimumab: a case report and review of the literature

Therapy with TNF blockers may induce cutaneous adverse events, but the development of morphea, a localized scleroderma lesion, is extremely infrequent. We describe a 37-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis treated with adalimumab who developed morphea lesions in the lower limbs after 12months of treatment. Adalimumab was discontinued, which resulted in progressive improvement in the skin lesions, with only mild hyperpigmentation remaining. We also review reports of morphea and other adverse cutaneous events related to anti-TNF treatment.

Evidence for Borrelia burgdorferi in morphea and lichen sclerosus.

Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection has been implicated in the development of morphea and lichen sclerosus; however, conflicting results have been reported with different investigational methods from different regions. We looked for evidence of Bb in patients with morphea and lichen sclerosus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of of skin biopsy samples. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin biopsy samples from 10 patients with morphea and 12 patients with lichen sclerosus were investigated by PCR analysis for the presence of Bb. The presence of Bb DNA was demonstrated in three of 10 patients with morphea and six of 12 patients with lichen sclerosus by nested PCR. The data obtained in this study suggest that Bb may play a role in the etiopathogenesis of both morphea and lichen sclerosus at least in the western parts of Turkey.

Borrelia burgdorferi DNA is undetectable by polymerase chain reaction in skin lesions of morphea, scleroderma, or lichen sclerosus et atrophicus of patients from North America

Background: , Borrelia burgdorferi has been linked to the pathogenesis of morphea and lichen sclerosus et atrophicus (LSA). However, considerable controversy still exists as to the actual role, if any, that this spirochete plays in the development of these diseases. Antibody titer determinations have been inconclusive and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies have yielded conflicting results. Objective: We sought to show whether PCR analysis detected B. burgdorferi in archival tissue specimens from the involved skin of 20 North American patients with morphea, 10 patients with LSA, and four patients with scleroderma. Methods: We used two different sets of PCR primers for the B. burgdoferi flagellin gene, one specific for European strains of B. burgdorferi, and another common to both European and American strains. A subset of these samples were further amplified with nested PCR primers. Results: None of the samples showed PCR products with either primer sets, whereas purified B. burgdorferi DNA and lesional erythema chronicum migrans tissues, which were used as positive controls, yielded easily detectable products with all primer sets. Conclusion: These data suggest that B. burgdorferi infection plays no role in the development of morphea, LSA, or scleroderma in North American patients; these findings further support the recent observations that B. burgdorferi strain variability is associated with differential spectra of disease in North America compared with that found in various parts of Europe.

Coexistence of morphea and systemic sclerosis.

While the association of morphea and systemic sclerosis (SSc) is considered to be a rare condition, we observed well-demarcated sclerotic skin changes indistinguishable from morphea in 9 of 135 SSc patients who visited our clinic during the last decade. We consider this rate of incidence (6.7%) to be high enough to consider morphea to be one of the skin involvements of SSc. There was a significantly (p < 0.01) higher incidence of morphea in males (3 of 5) than in females (6 of 130). Only 3 of 111 SSc patients positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA) also showed morphea, whereas 6 of 9 patients negative for ANA showed morphea (p < 0.01). Although the mechanism underlying the development of morphea in SSc patients remains unknown, our observations suggest a heterogeneous pathogenesis related to SSc gender and ANA type.