LICHENOID SKIN-LESIONS AS A SIGN OF BETA-2-MICROGLOBULIN-INDUCED AMYLOIDOSIS IN A LONG-TERM HEMODIALYSIS PATIENT

We report a case of beta2-microglobulin-induced amyloidosis. The patie nt was a 40-year-old man suffering from non-amyloid nephropathy, who h ad been treated by haemodialysis for 20 years. Lichenoid skin lesions, consisting of groups of pin-head-sized shiny papules, were present on the arms and trunk. On histological examination, amyloid deposits wer e present, principally in the dermal papillae, but also around the swe at ducts and hair follicles. The amyloid displayed potassium-permangan ate-resistant Congo red affinity, and green birefringence under polari zed light. Immunohistochemically, beta2-microglobulin was demonstrated in the lesions, confirming that they were a manifestation of beta2-mi croglobulin-associated amyloidosis. Skin lesions of this type have not been reported previously in beta2-microglobulin-associated amyloidosi s.