Poikiloderma vasculare atrophicans | |
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Other names | Parapsoriasis variegata[1] or Parapsoriasis lichenoides[2] |
Typical skin changes and discoloration described as poikiloderma vasculare atrophicans | |
Specialty | Dermatology |
Poikiloderma vasculare atrophicans (PVA), is a cutaneous condition (skin disease) characterized by hypo- or hyperpigmentation (diminished or heightened skin pigmentation, respectively), telangiectasia and skin atrophy.[3][4][5] Other names for the condition include prereticulotic poikiloderma and atrophic parapsoriasis.[6] The condition was first described by pioneer American pediatrician Abraham Jacobi in 1906.[7] PVA causes areas of affected skin to appear speckled red and inflamed, yellowish and/or brown, gray or grayish-black, with scaling and a thinness that may be described as "cigarette paper".[3] On the surface of the skin, these areas may range in size from small patches, to plaques (larger, raised areas), to neoplasms (spreading, tumor-like growths on the skin).[3][6]
Mycosis fungoides, a type of skin lymphoma, may be a cause of PVA. The condition may also be caused by, associated with or accompany any of the following conditions or disorders: other skin lymphomas, dermatomyositis, lupus erythematosus, Rothmund–Thomson syndrome, Kindler syndrome, dyskeratosis congenita, and chronic radiodermatitis.[4] Rare causes include arsenic ingestion, and the condition can also be idiopathic.[1][3][5]
PVA may be considered a rare variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a non-Hodgkin's form of lymphoma affecting the skin.[7] It may also be included among a number of similar conditions that are considered as precursors to mycosis fungoides. PVA is believed to be a syndrome closely associated with large-plaque parapsoriasis and its cohort retiform parapsoriasis; including PVA, all three conditions fit within an updated view of the once ambiguous classification scheme known as parapsoriasis.[5]