title: Chronic actinic dermatitis with vitiligo-like depigmentation.
abstract: This report describes two patients suffering from severe chronic actinic dermatitis. Unusual widespread vitiligo-like depigmentation occurred during the course of the disease. The progression of these lesions was triggered by the chronic actinic dermatitis. Loss of pigment and complete absence of tyrosinase positive melanocytes were found in depigmented skin of both cases. Immunohistological investigation of the inflammatory infiltrate in case 2 revealed a predominance of CD-8 positive cytotoxic/-suppressor lymphocytes. Analysing the adjacent pigmented epidermis of progressive depigmenting lesions a dense exocytosis of CD-8 T-cells was notable. This distribution suggests cytotoxic destruction of melanocytes as the cause for the vitiligo-like depigmentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: von den Driesch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fartasch
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Hornstein
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010787:Photosensitivity Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology