A case of unilateral generalized morphea

Abstract

A 29-year-old woman presented with a four-month history of multiple purple-red plaques on her right side of the body. The diagnosis of unilateral generalized morphea (GM) was established on the basis of the clinical and histological findings. To clarify the clinical patterns of GM, we retrospectively reviewed 45 patients with morphea in our department from January 1989 to October 2000, analyzing the correlation between the numbers of morphea lesion and the serologic abnormalities of antinuclear antibody (ANA) and rheumatoid factor (RF). Patients with over 4 morphea lesions (n=18) had more frequent positive reactions for ANA or RF than those with less than 3 morphea lesions (n=12, 33.3% vs 0%, P<0.05). Although our results may support that GM is a distinct subtype of morphea, further studies are warranted to define the clinical definition of GM.