A CASE OF ACTINIC GRANULOMA ASSOCIATED WITH PERIUMBILICAL PERFORATINGPSEUDOXANTHOMA ELASTICUM

We report an unusual case of actinic granuloma of the face and periumb ilical perforating pseudoxanthoma elasticum located superior to the um bilicus in a 57-year-old Korean woman. Histopathologically, these two dermatoses have a similar degeneration of elastic fibers, but they sho w different host reactions to the altered elastic fibers. In the actin ic granuloma, actinically damaged elastic fibers were followed by gran ulomatous infiltration on the sun-exposed area, while in the perforati ng pseudoxanthoma elasticum, the altered elastic fibers induced a fore ign body reaction, with subsequent transepidermal elimination. This is the first case report showing both actinic granuloma and periumbilica l perforating pseudoxanthoma elasticum in the same patient, which sugg ests that the basic mechanism eliciting these dermatoses is similar.