Lichen sclerosus in children and adolescents

Abstract

Lichen sclerosus is an uncommon, poorly recognized disease in girls and adolescents and is likely to have a chronic course requiring long-term follow-up and treatment. There needs to be increased awareness among providers of this disease as a cause of vulvar itching. Because of the lack of knowledge of the natural course and treatment outcomes, prospective, multicenter studies are needed.

Lichen sclerosis: clinicopathological study of 60 cases from Lebanon

“…In our retrospective study, there was female predominance (female/male ratio of 2.33 : 1). Some studies have reported a higher ratio ranging from 6 : 1 up to 10 : 1 . Among our 60 patients, the female predominance was noted more in the extragenital cases (82.1%) than in the genital ones (55.6%).…”

“…The female/male ratio is 10 : 1 for genital LS and 1 : 1 for extragenital LS . Although it can occur at any age, a bimodal peak is usually described during early childhood and after menopause . The pathogenesis is not fully elucidated.…”

Pediatric Lichen Sclerosus: A Review of the Epidemiology and Treatment Options

“…The etiology of LS is complex and probably multifactorial. Because of its association with other autoimmune diseases, such as alopecia areata and thyroid disease, and a family history of autoimmune conditions, it is thought that the pathogenesis of LS is possibly autoimmune with underlying genetic predisposition, which recent studies have supported . Thyroid disease has been shown to have a prevalence in LS patients 5 to 30 times greater than in the general population.…”

Appearances in clinical dermatology

“…Mild erythema along with skin atrophy is also present giving a "cigarette paper"-like wrinkled appearance. [14,15] Cigarette paper appearance can also be seen in lichen sclerosus, [16] striae distensae and poikiloderma atrophicans vasculare.…”