Scleroatrophic lichen: current view and hypotheses

Abstract

Scleroatrophic lichen (SL) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease of unknown etiology characterized by scar formation. The most frequent localization of SL is the anogenital area. In females, the most common anogenital symptoms are pain, itching, dysuria and dyspareunia. Male patients often present with complaints of a white rash on the penile skin, itching, painful erections and urination, and bleeding or ulceration during intercourse. Although clinical descriptions of SL date back to the mid-20th century, the pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear to this day. The main hypotheses of the pathophysiology of SL are infectious, autoimmune, and chronic irritation theories (occlusive exposure to various irritants, such as urine, leads to chronic skin injury that causes the disease). It is assumed that SL quite often goes undiagnosed for a long time. However, sometimes dermatoses such as eczema in the anogenital area are misdiagnosed by specialists as SL. In this article, the authors discuss in detail the existing hypotheses of SL development, its clinical manifestations, and current methods of diagnostics and therapy.