A Case of Partial Lipodystrophy

Mok, Hae Soo; Kwon, Kyung Sool; Chung, Tae Ahn

Abstract

Partial lipodystrophy is an uncommon disorder primarily affecting women, with onset usually in childhood, characterized by slowly progressive, symrnetrical loss of aubcutaneous fat from the upper half of the body. We present a case of partial lipodystrophy in a 43-year-old woman with multiple depressed lesion on the face and reticulated atrophic lesions on the upper trunk and u]pper extremities. Typically, her face was the first part of the body so affected, giving it a characteristic cadeverous appearance, and gradu ally spreaded to the upper half of t2e body. Sirnultaneously, there was an accumulation of fat over the lower part of the body. She was generally otherwise well, although there had been an association with hyperpigmentation, hirsutism, arthralgia, thyroid disoraer, and low serum CR(45mg/dl), Riopsy specimens of iace and back showed lack of subcutaneous fat, but in the other section of the face showed hydropic degeneration of basal cells and inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis.