DERMATOGLYPHICS IN DARIERS-DISEASE

Background. Darier's disease is an acantholytic dyskeratotic genoderma tosis with autosomal dominant inheritance. A predictive diagnostic mar ker for this disorder would be beneficial because of the relatively la te onset and the large number of sporadic cases of the disease. The de rmatoglyphic features of patients with Darier's disease were examined to determine whether they have a common pattern. Methods. Ink prints o f fingers and palms obtained from 11 patients of both sexes with spora dic and familial Darier's disease were analyzed and compared with thos e of normal subjects. Results. No significant quantitative or qualitat ive differences were found between the dermatoglyphic features of our patients and those of a healthy population, except for punctate interr uptions of the skin ridges that indicate pitting, a well-known manifes tation of Darier's disease. Conclusions. These results refute the conc lusions of a previous publication claiming that there is a common char acteristic dermatoglyphic feature in patients with this dermatosis.