$Unique_ID{BRK00407}
$Pretitle{Ill Defined Symptoms and Rare Diseases, Skin and Subcutaneous
Tissue}
$Title{What Causes Morphea and Will it Turn to Cancer?}
$Subject{scleroderma morphea}
$Volume{N-20, L-20}
$Log{}

Copyright (c) 1991   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


What Causes Morphea and Will it Turn to Cancer?


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUESTION:  My son was recently diagnosed as having a rare skin disease called
Morphea.  He has three lumps on his back now.  Can you tell me what causes
them, and whether this will ever turn to cancer?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANSWER:  Morphea, known also as circumscribed scleroderma, was first described
by Dr. C.H. Fagge, in the Guy's Hospital Report, in 1868.  It is not a
disease one sees everyday, and is usually observed more frequently in women
than men.  With an onset between the ages of 20 to 40, it may be accompanied
by headaches and arthritic type pain.  Actually it is a disease that attacks
the collagen elements of the dermis layer of the skin.  The area becomes
filled with fluid (edematous) and swells, causing the lumps you have observed.
It then proceeds to form scar like tissue, making the skin feel hard.  There
are five different varieties that are recognized, each a bit different in the
way it looks, and the areas of the body it affects.  No clear cause has been
discovered, although its beginnings may be associated with trauma to the skin,
pregnancy or menopause.  Usually no treatment is indicated, but in serious
cases, the affected areas may be injected with corticosteroids, cortisone like
medication.  If the scars interfere with necessary functions, surgery may be
performed to remove them.  I found no mention of this condition becoming
cancerous in the material I read, but am please to report that several types
of morphea may improve spontaneously after a three to five year period.
ÿ
----------------

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace 
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your 
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical 
problem.
