IDIOPATHIC ATROPHY OF THE NAILS - CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL-STUDY OF 2 CASES

Background: Whether idiopathic atrophy of the nails (IAN) should be co nsidered a separate entity or a clinical Variant of nail lichen planus is still controversial. Objective: We report here the pathological st udy of 2 patients with IAN. Methods: Our patients had similar clinical features consisting of severe nail atrophy with and without pterygium . Results: The nail matrix architecture was markedly deformed with com plete disappearance of the keratogenous zone that was replaced by a 3- to 10-cell-thick granular layer Conclusion: The hypothesis that IAN i s an acute and self-limited variety of lichen planus is still the most presumable. Even though this hypothesis can not be definitely proven, it is nevertheless not excluded by the clinical and pathological find ings of our cases.