Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2022 May-Jun;67(3):290-292.
doi: 10.4103/ijd.IJD_778_20.

Erasmus Syndrome: A Rare Occupational Disease

Vildan Manav  1 , Elif B Avcı  1 , Ozan Erdem  1 , Asude K Polat  1 , Cem Leblebici  1 , Ayşe E K Aksu  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Erasmus Syndrome: A Rare Occupational Disease

Vildan Manav et al. Indian J Dermatol. 2022 May-Jun.

Abstract

Erasmus syndrome is a rare syndrome accompanied by interstitial lung disease and scleroderma caused by silica exposure. There are a limited number of case reports in the literature. Awareness of this rare syndrome is important and occupational exposure should be questioned in patients presenting with scleroderma in our country, silica exposure is quite frequent and it should be kept in mind. Here, we report a case of a 41-year-old male patient presenting with interstitial lung disease, scleroderma, and serpiginous supravenous hypermelanosis caused by silica exposure who worked in the denim grinding for a short period of three months.

Keywords: Erasmus syndrome; scleroderma; serpiginous supravenous hypermelanosis; silicosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Salt-and-pepper appearance (b and c) Flexural surface of the right and left forearm: serpentine supravenous hyperpigmentation
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Telangiectasia on face (b) Sclerodactyly on left hand
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a and b) Thickening of interlobuler septa compatible with interstitial involvement. Common calcified lymph nodes, more intensely in the hiler area (HRCT)
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Loss in the hair follicle structures and sweat glands fat pads, the appearance of sweat gland, structures pushed up the dermis due to prominent sclerotic collagen production in the deep dermis (HE × 20)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Erasmus L. Scleroderma in gold-miners on the witwatersrand with particular reference to pulmonary manifestations. S Afr J Lab Clin Med. 1957;3:209–31. - PubMed
    1. Stern EP, Denton CP. The pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2015;41:367–82. - PubMed
    1. Leung CC, Yu IT, Chen W. Silicosis. Lancet (London, England) 2012;379:2008–18. - PubMed
    1. Hoy RF, Chambers DC. Silica-related diseases in the modern world. Allergy. 2020;75:2805–17. - PubMed
    1. Rustin MH, Bull HA, Ziegler V, Mehlhorn J, Haustein UF, Maddison PJ, et al. Silica-associated systemic sclerosis is clinically, serologically and immunologically indistinguishable from idiopathic systemic sclerosis. Br J Dermatol. 1990;123:725–34. - PubMed

Publication types