ORAL WHITE SPONGE NEVUS - RESPONSE TO ANTIBIOTIC-THERAPY

White sponge naevus is a rare benign inherited disorder of the mucous membranes, principally the oral mucosa. Although the condition is pain less, patients are often symptomatic, complaining of an altered textur e of the mucosa or that the lesions are unaesthetic. No standard treat ment for the condition exists although numerous treatments have been t ried. We now report on six patients who were prescribed systemic antib iotic therapy; three were adult men aged 24 years, 32 years, and 52 ye ars, one an Ii-year-old woman, one a 6-year-old woman (daughter of the 32-year-old man) and an 18-month-old boy (son of the 24-year-old man) . Four responded as judged by clinical examination, although not the 6 -year-old female or the 18-month-old male; the discontinuation of ther apy then resulted in clinical recurrence in those who had responded, b ut long-term low dose treatment maintained the remission.