Actinic granulomas and relapsing polychondritis.

A patient developed concomitantly chondritis of the two auricles, diffuse cutaneous vasculitis and actinic granulomas. Alterations in skin and cartilage were prominent in the elastic tissue. Anticollagen type II antibodies were absent from the serum and there was no deposit of immunoreactants in cartilages. In this form of relapsing polychondritis, the pathomechanism resembles that of diffuse actinic arteritis as proposed by O'Brien. It is concluded that relapsing polychondritis may represent a heterogeneous syndrome with regard to its pathogenesis.