Lichen ruber planus

Lichen ruber pla­nus is an inflamm­a­to­ry con­di­ti­on of the skin and mucous mem­bra­nes in which cha­rac­te­ristic pur­ple, shi­ny papu­les deve­lop. It most­ly affects adults bet­ween thir­ty and six­ty. The con­di­ti­on is not contagious.

Cau­ses

It is an auto­im­mu­ne-media­ted reac­tion in which immu­ne cells attack the lowest lay­er of the epi­der­mis. Infec­tions, par­ti­cu­lar­ly hepa­ti­tis C, as well as cer­tain medi­ca­ti­ons and den­tal mate­ri­als may act as trig­gers. Mecha­ni­cal irri­ta­ti­on can also pro­vo­ke new lesi­ons at the affec­ted site.

Sym­ptoms

Typi­cal are flat, poly­go­nal, livid red papu­les with a fine white net­work pat­tern, fre­quent­ly on the wrists, fore­arms and ankles, accom­pa­nied by inten­se itching. On the oral muco­sa the­re are whitish, net-like streaks that may burn. Nails and scalp are less often involved.

Tre­at­ment

Many skin lesi­ons resol­ve spon­ta­neous­ly within one to two years, but often lea­ve dark marks. Tre­at­ment con­sists of anti-inflamm­a­to­ry topi­cal pre­pa­ra­ti­ons and, in exten­si­ve dise­a­se, pho­to­the­ra­py or sys­te­mic medi­ca­ti­on. Muco­sal forms should be che­cked regu­lar­ly, as long-stan­ding lesi­ons can in rare cases under­go mali­gnant change.