[Dermatologic manifestations of lupus]

Abstract

Cutaneous manifestations of lupus include lupus lesions, vascular lesions and non-lupus and non-vascular lesions. Differences in clinical appearance, pathological findings and duration of clinical activity lead to subdivide lupus lesions into three major subsets: acute, subacute and chronic. All may be observed in systemic lupus erythematosus with a highly variable frequency depending upon the subset. Cutaneous lesions are initially treated with antimalarials. Vascular lesions may be produced by an inflammatory process with vasculitis, or by a thrombotic process often associated with antiphospholipid antibodies. Except for alopecia, the non-lupus and non-vascular lesions are rarely observed.