tetracycline and Panniculitis--Nodular-Nonsuppurative

Lupus erythematosus panniculitis is a rare clinical variant of lupus erythematosus. In this report we described a 38 year-old female patient who had suffered from chronic discoid lupus erythematosus for several years before developing widespread inflammatory, sclerotic and ulcerative lesions, which were first diagnosed as Weber-Christian panniculitis. It was only when the patient developed other signs and symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus that the subcutaneous lesions were recognized as lupus panniculitis. A combined regimen of tetracyclines and chloroquine resulted in a remission, both with regard to regression of the lesions and suppression of the serological parameters of disease activity. The findings in this particular patient and similar reports in the literature form the basis for a discussion of the entity of lupus panniculitis.

Topics: Chloroquine; Complement C3; Cyclophosphamide; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin M; Lupus Erythematosus, Discoid; Methylprednisolone; Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative; Skin; Tetracycline

A case of idiopathic cirucumscribed panniculitis of the legs, with features consistent with that of the Rothmann-Makai syndrome, is reported. The response to a 10-week course of oral tetracycline therapy was impressive. It is suggested that the anti-lipase activity of tetracycline could account for this response.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Adult; Biopsy; Female; Humans; Lipase; Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative; Tetracycline