Lichen sclerosus associated with lichen striatus.

Abstract

Lichen sclerosus is a disorder with probable autoimmune pathogenesis, clinically characterized by papules with sharp borders, reminiscent of lichen ruber planus and, when merging, of scleroderma. It is histologically characterized by homogenization of the superficial dermis. Lichen striatus is a linear dermatosis with probable virus etiology, arising on a clinically silent nevus. The latter consists of a clone of mutated cells arisen during the fetal life due to a post-zygotic mutation, that makes them particularly prone to a virus. There are not in the literature reports about lichen sclerosus associated with lichen striatus in the same patient. Given the different etiology and the lack of contemporaneity of the two disorders, their coexistence in the same patient is likely a casual coincidence.