Incontinentia Pigmenti

[biggestmexi]

Incontinentia pigmenti

I bit rare and the reason we are happy to have a son.

But im wondering if there is anyway to counter the affect done to nails.

The gf's nails are pretty bad now and peeling.

[Dr Steve]

Incontinentia pigmenti

I bit rare and the reason we are happy to have a son.

But im wondering if there is anyway to counter the affect done to nails.

The gf's nails are pretty bad now and peeling.

wow, that's a rare one I haven't heard about since medical school.

Incontinentia pigmenti is an X-linked dominant (that basically means it mainly affects women) condition that affects how cells handle melanin (dark skin pigment).

http://www.thachers.org/images/Incontinentia_pigmenti.JPG

It can be either very mild, or very serious...I don't have enough information to tell you much about your gf's case, obviously. I'm assuming she has a great set of consultants and dermatologists.

Regarding the nails, I'm not aware of anything that will actually make them better. Artificial nails are the way to go if they bother her.

Let me know if there's anything more I can answer about this condition; your son, by the way, is likely completely free of the genetic change...

hope this helps!


your friend,



steve

[Tall_James]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, how come Vitiligo only affects certain areas of the body on some people? And are they anywhere close to a cure?

[Dr Steve]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, how come Vitiligo only affects certain areas of the body on some people? And are they anywhere close to a cure?

You're exactly right...Vitiligo is the inverse of incontinentia pigmenti; it's the loss of melanin from certain parts of the skin.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ywR-FG6vfmI/SdIJvDLFJ_I/AAAAAAAABzs/rQjpTum6Mus/s320/Vitiligo.jpg

There are indeed treatments for Vitiligo, including steroid injections, photochemotherapy (psoralens plus ultraviolet light), and even skin grafting. One way to make it less noticeable is to remove the pigment from the rest of your skin so that it all matches. It turns out it's easier to remove the pigment from the visible skin than it is to re-add pigment to the patches.