Lipodystrophia centrifugalis abdominalis infantilis-- immunohistochemical demonstration of an apoptotic process in the degenerating fatty tissue.

We report a case of lipodystrophia centrifugalis abdominalis infantilis (LCAI) showing apoptosis during the lipoatrophic process by immunohistochemical staining. A 3-year-old boy was seen with a 3-month history of a centrifugally spreading depressed eruption without pain and pruritus on his abdomen. He had fever, diarrhea and vomiting for a week at the beginning of his eruption. Physical examination revealed a palm-sized well-demarcated atrophic plaque on his lower abdomen and left inguinal fold. His plaque showed fine erythema peripherally. A skin biopsy specimen showed remarkably decreased subcutaneous fatty tissue. Inflammatory cell infiltration including lymphocytes and histiocytes was noted in the degenerating fatty tissue. In the degenerating subcutaneous fatty tissue, positive staining for HLA-DR, Fas, bcl-2, p53 and transferase-mediated uridine nick end labeling in mononuclear cells were observed. He was diagnosed as having LCAI. The present case showed the possible involvement of apoptosis in the fatty tissue degeneration in LCAI.