title: Could Jessner's lymphocytic infiltrate of the skin be a dermal variant of lupus erythematosus? An analysis of 210 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between Jessner's lymphocytic infiltration of the skin (JLI) and lupus erythematosus (LE), which has been the subject of debate since its initial description in 1953.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective study including all patients with a histopathologically ascertained diagnosis of JLI performed at the Laboratoire d'Histopathologie Cutanée of the Strasbourg University Hospital between 1993 and 2003. Information about patient characteristics and follow-up data were retrieved between 2004 and 2005. Special attention was paid to features indicative of LE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  210 consecutive patients (102 women and 108 men) with a mean age 42 years were diagnosed with JLI in the reference period. 175 patients (83%) had multiple lesions and 32 patients (15%) had only a single lesion at the time of diagnosis (data not available in 3 patients). The head, neck and upper part of the thorax were involved in 171 patients (81%). An annular or arciform configuration and/or arrangement were present in 111 patients (53%). Lesions consisted of red (100%) papules or plaques (98%). Mean follow-up was 4 years. Sixteen patients (7.6%) had proven LE. Only 2 patients (1%) developed >4 ACR criteria of systemic LE. Furthermore, 1 patient had antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and 2 patients had rheumatoid arthritis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This high frequency of patients with typical features of LE strongly argues that JLI could be a dermal variant of LE and not an autonomous entity. It might be the cutaneous marker of a subset of LE patients with excellent prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Clinique Dermatologique et Faculté de Médecine, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France. dlipsker@noos.fr
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lipsker
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mitschler
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grosshans
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cribier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008178:Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*