A Clinical Observation of Scleredema Adultorum and Its Relationship to Diabetes

Abstract

Scleredema may occur secondarily to diabetes or independently. The course of scleredema is not known in either type. Twenty-one scleredema patients were included in this study (13 females, 8 males). The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of diabetes. In the group (11 patients) of scleredema which was secondary to diabetes, lesions were partially improved in 5 patients who had controlled diabetes, although it was difficult to control diabetes with insulin or oral hypoglycemics in such patients. Scleredema appeared insidiously in nine of these eleven patients. The posterior neck was involved, but the face was not. In patients without diabetes, the scleredema lesions began acutely in eight of ten of them. The course of the disease was usually stationary rather than showing acute improvement. Facial involvement was found in half of all the patients. In conclusion, scleredema patients with diabetes may improve if their diabetes is controlled, and facial involvement may be related to scleredema without diabetes.

Radiotherapy of Benign Diseases—Scleredema Adultorum Buschke

“…It is not associated with any preceding illness and follows a chronic, slowly progressive course. Type III is associated with diabetes mellitus [6,8,10,27].…”

Scleroderma-like Fibrosing Disorders

“…Patients with type 2 disease tend to have a very insidious onset with gradual progression of symptoms over many years. Also in diabetes-associated scleredema the onset is typically slow, but some improvement may occur as control of diabetes is established (96).…”

A Patient with a Severe Scleroedema diabeticorum, Partially Responding to Low-Dose Methotrexate

“…Scleroedema diabeticorum is preceded by long-existing, poorly regulated insulin-dependent DM and is often limited to the upper back, neck and shoulders [3, 4, 5]. In this case report, we describe a patient with an unusual widespread and disabling form of scleroedema diabeticorum, partially responding to treatment with low-dose methotrexate (MTX).…”