Ann Dermatol.  2011 May;23(2):242-245. 10.5021/ad.2011.23.2.242.

Morphea Developing at the Site of Healed Herpes Zoster

• Noh TW
• Park SH
• Kang YS
• Lee UH
• Park HS
• Jang SJ

• KMID: 2156674
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5021/ad.2011.23.2.242

Abstract

Wolf's isotopic response describes the occurrence of a new, unrelated disease that appears at the same location as a previously healed skin disease, and the most common primary skin disease of this phenomenon is herpes zoster. Several cutaneous lesions have been described to occur at the site of healed herpes zoster, and granulomatous dermatitis and granuloma annulare have been reported to be the most common second diseases. The pathogenesis of the isotopic response is still unclear. Morphea can develop at the site of regressed herpes zoster and a few such cases have been reported. We present here an additional case of morphea that developed at the site of previously healed herpes zoster, and we review the relevant literature.

Keyword

Herpes zoster; Morphea; Scleroderma; Wolf's isotopic response

MeSH Terms

Dermatitis
Granuloma Annulare
Herpes Zoster
Scleroderma, Localized
Skin Diseases

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Atrophic, hypopigmented, indurated plaques in the T2-4 dermatomes on the right side, corresponding to the site of the previous herpes zoster (black arrow head: biopsy site).

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  Fig. 2 Thick bundles of dermal collagen oriented parallel to the skin surface and diminished, atrophic appendages (H&E stain, ×40).

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