Selective degeneration of sudomotor fibers in Ross syndrome and successful treatment of compensatory hyperhidrosis with botulinum toxin

Abstract

We report a 5-year follow-up of a patient with Ross syndrome. A biopsy of the anhidrotic skin immunostained with protein gene product 9.5 visualized by confocal microscopy revealed selective loss of sudomotor fibers, whereas epidermal innervation remained intact, providing the first morphologic evidence of selective loss of sudomotor fibers in this syndrome. Among the different treatment strategies employed for the patient's disabling segmental hyperhidrosis, intracutaneous injection of botulinum toxin A was the most helpful.