Lipoid proteinosis in two siblings: a report from south India

Abstract

A 6-year-old girl and her 9-year-old brother, born of nonconsanguineous parents, had hoarseness and multiple, asymptomatic, raised skin lesions present since childhood. On examination, both siblings had hoarseness and numerous skin-colored, waxy papules distributed over the forehead, face, neck, axilla, groin, and extremities. Acneiform (pocklike) scars were present on the face, trunk, and extremities. Eyelid beading (moniliform blepharosis) was present over bilateral upper and lower eyelids. The tongue, lips, and frenulum were thickened and infiltrated, and the patients were unable to protrude the tongue out of the mouth. The scalp had patchy alopecia. Histological examination of representative skin specimens (from both siblings) showed deposition of pink, amorphous material in the papillary dermis, around blood vessels, and around appendages. These deposits stained positive with Periodic Acid-Schiff stain, were diastase resistant, and were negative for Congo red, confirming our clinical diagnosis of lipoid proteinosis. Over 250 cases of this rare disorder have been described in the literature, but occurrence of lipoid proteinosis in siblings is rare.