CADASIL: The dermatologic diagnosis of a neurologic disease

Cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leuk oencephalopathy (CADASIL) is an increasingly recognized neurologic disease characterized by pathognomonic changes to the small vessels, particularly i n the brain and skin. Although much has recently been written about this di sease in the neuropathology literature, to our knowledge nothing has appear ed in the dermatology literature. We wish to call attention to the unique r ole dermatologists and dermatopathologists can play in the diagnosis of thi s disease. We review the condition's clinical, histologic, and ultrastructu ral features.