Case ReportsApoeccrine sweat duct obstruction as a cause for Fox-Fordyce disease☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Case report
A 24-year-old otherwise healthy woman presented with light-brown papules involving both axillae (Fig 1), mammary areolae, and pubes, which invoked intense itching. She had experienced this disorder for several years. Previous therapies, including very strong-class corticosteroid ointment and oral antihistaminics, were not effective. The axillae, mammary areolae, and pubic area revealed slightly brownish, solid papules ranging from 2 to 4 mm in
Discussion
Fox-Fordyce disease shows pruritic or tingling skin-colored papules on the axilla, areola of the nipple, and periumbilic area.2 Shelley and Levy4 reported that obstruction of the apocrine sweat duct induces destruction of the duct and the secretory portion of apocrine sweat gland. Hyperkeratosis of the duct causes the obstruction of the apocrine duct that opens to hair follicles. Therefore, it had been thought Fox-Fordyce disease was essentially apocrine miliaria.4 This thesis was supported by
References (8)
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Biology of sweat glands and their disorders: I, normal sweat gland function
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1989) The Fox-Fordyce syndrome
Acta Derm Venereol
(1926)- et al.
Fox-Fordyce disease: a histopathologic and histochemical investigation
Arch Dermatol
(1956) - et al.
Fox-Fordyce disease
Br J Dermatol
(1971)
Cited by (35)
Fox-Fordyce disease treated with fractional CO2 laser: A case report
2023, JAAD Case ReportsSkin diseases of the breast and nipple: Inflammatory and infectious diseases
2019, Journal of the American Academy of DermatologyCitation Excerpt :Fox-Fordyce disease (FFD) is a rare disease characterized by the development of intensely pruritic papules on apocrine sweat gland–bearing skin caused by the obstruction of apocrine sweat glands (Fig 8).87-89 The pathogenesis of FFD is multifactorial, although it is thought to have a hormonal component because it primarily occurs in postpubertal females and usually resolves during pregnancy and after menopause.89 The condition flares during periods of increased apocrine sweating (eg, stress).
Common spongiotic dermatoses
2017, Seminars in Diagnostic PathologyCitation Excerpt :Histologically it manifests with spongiosis of the hair follicle infundibulum, adjacent to the point of entry of the apocrine duct. Few neutrophils can sometimes be present.37–39 Occasionally, periductal xanthomatized cells are seen (Fig. 4).
Diagnostic Pathology: Nonneoplastic Dermatopathology
2016, Diagnostic Pathology: Nonneoplastic DermatopathologyDiseases of cutaneous appendages
2009, Weedon's Skin Pathology: Third EditionPerifollicular xanthomatosis as a key histological finding in Fox-Fordyce disease
2008, Actas Dermo-Sifiliograficas
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Funding sources: None.
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Conflict of interest: None identified.
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Reprint requests: Kenji Saga, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Minami 1 Nishi 16, Chyuo-ku, 060-8543, Sapporo, Japan. E-mail: [email protected].
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