Lichen planus

Lichen planus
Other namesLP
Lichen planus affecting the shins
Pronunciation
SpecialtyDermatology

Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disease that affects the skin, nails, hair, and mucous membranes.[1][2] It is not an actual lichen, but is named for its appearance.[3] It is characterized by polygonal, flat-topped, violaceous papules and plaques with overlying, reticulated, fine white scale (Wickham's striae), commonly affecting dorsal hands, flexural wrists and forearms, trunk, anterior lower legs and oral mucosa.[4] The hue may be gray-brown in people with darker skin.[5] Although there is a broad clinical range of LP manifestations, the skin and oral cavity remain as the major sites of involvement.[6] The cause is unknown, but it is thought to be the result of an autoimmune process with an unknown initial trigger. There is no cure, but many different medications and procedures have been used in efforts to control the symptoms.

The term lichenoid reaction (lichenoid eruption or lichenoid lesion) refers to a lesion of similar or identical histopathologic and clinical appearance to lichen planus (i.e., an area which resembles lichen planus, both to the naked eye and under a microscope).[7][8] Sometimes dental materials or certain medications can cause lichenoid reactions.[7] They can also occur in association with graft versus host disease.[7][9]: 258 

  1. ^ Wang EH, Monga I, Sallee BN, Chen JC, Abdelaziz AR, Perez-Lorenzo R, Bordone LA, Christiano AM (Jul 2022). "Primary cicatricial alopecias are characterized by dysregulation of shared gene expression pathways". PNAS Nexus. 1 (3): pgac111. doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac111. PMC 9308563. PMID 35899069.
  2. ^ Gorouhi F, Davari P, Fazel N (2014-01-30). "Cutaneous and mucosal lichen planus: a comprehensive review of clinical subtypes, risk factors, diagnosis, and prognosis". The Scientific World Journal. 2014: 742826. doi:10.1155/2014/742826. PMC 3929580. PMID 24672362.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TG2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Inverse lichen planus: An unusual morphologic variant of a classic papulosquamous dermatosis". Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 52 (3): P64. 2005-03-01. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2004.10.268. ISSN 1097-6787.
  5. ^ Onalaja, Amanda A.; Taylor, Susan C. (2021). "1. Defining skin color". In Li, Becky S.; Maibach, Howard I. (eds.). Ethnic Skin and Hair and Other Cultural Considerations. Switzerland: Springer. p. 10. ISBN 978-3-030-64829-9.
  6. ^ Meredith A. Olson; Roy S. Rogers III; Alison J. Bruce (2016). "Oral lichen planus". Clinics in Dermatology.
  7. ^ a b c Greenberg MS, Glick M, Ship JA (2008). Burket's oral medicine (11th ed.). Hamilton, Ont.: BC Decker. pp. 89–97. ISBN 9781550093452.
  8. ^ Lewis MA, Jordan RC (2012). Oral medicine (2nd ed.). London: Manson Publishing. pp. 66–72. ISBN 9781840761818.
  9. ^ Barnes L, ed. (2009). Surgical pathology of the head and neck (3rd ed.). New York: Informa healthcare. ISBN 9781420091632.