Treatment of scleromyxoedema

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled ”Treatment of scleromyxoedema with hydroxychloroquine” (J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2003 Jan;1(1):30-5 ). Authors are Terheyden P, Becker JC, Lurz C et al. from Department of Dermatology, University of Wurzburg, Germany. Scleromyxoedema is a rare disease of unknown aetiology that is characterized by deposition of mucin and sclerotic induration of the skin; it is associated with paraproteinaemia. Treatment of scleromyxoedema is a therapeutic challenge. The antimalarial hydroxychloroquine has a rapid and reliable effect in reticular erythematous mucinosis. Four consecutive patients (two women, two men; median age: 50 years) with scleromyxoedema were treated with hydroxychloroquine. Hydroxychloroquine is an effective form of therapy for scleromyxoedema, leading to rapid and prolonged alleviation of symptoms. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.