Human skin is normally free of spots and pigmentation. However, most people can find some spots or other.
Such areas of pigmentation may indicate a violation in the functioning of any systems or be congenital in nature, which indicates a violation of embryogenesis.
Dermatological science has described many blemishes and areas of hyperpigmentation.
So, there are so-called coffee stains, the name of which comes from the color of pigmentation areas.
Read more on estet-portal.com causes and treatment of coffee spots on the skin.
- Coffee stains: what do they indicate and what is the frequency of pigmentation
- What diseases can coffee stains be a manifestation of
- Coffee stains and the diagnostic process
- Which treatments will help get rid of coffee stainsen
Coffee stains: what do they indicate and what is the frequency of pigmentation
Coffee spots are hyperpigmented areas on the skin that have smooth or uneven edges.
Before puberty, a child may develop these areas of pigmentation with a 27% chance in black people and a 13% chance in fair-skinned people.
The presence of coffee stains is usually indicative of neurofibromatosis type 1.
Neurofibromatosis - is a multisystem disease that is accompanied by the formation of spots on different parts of the body (armpits, neck, back), tumors of various types from the nerve sheaths, as well as dysplasia in the skeletal system .
Neurofibromatosis occurs at a rate of 1:3000.
Also, coffee spots on the skin can be the result of RAS mutations. These are enzymes that take part in the transmission of signals outside the cell and regulate cell mitosiski.
In half of the patients, the mutations in the genes that lead to the formation of coffee spots happen spontaneously. Thus, the hereditary mechanism for the formation of coffee stains is of indirect importance.
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What diseases can be manifested by coffee stains
The main cause of this pathology is a deletion or mutation of the NF1 gene, which is responsible for the secretion of neurofibromin 1, which is able to block the development of tumors of the nervous system.
Coffee stains can also form with other pathological processes, such as:
- Fanconi Anemia – accompanied by disturbances in the composition and function of the blood;
- Albright-McCune-Sternberg Syndrome – hyperpigmentation of skin areas, early puberty, multiple fibrous dysplasia;
- Coffin-Siris syndrome - characterized by aplasia of the nail or distal phalanx on 5 toes, coarse facial features, developmental delay and mental retardation;
- Bourneville-Pringle Disease – genetic rare disease with the formation of multiple benign tumors in the organs;
- Gorlin-Goltz Syndrome – basal cell carcinoma of the skin with skeletal abnormalities;
- Silver-Russell syndrome - triangular face, syndactyly, psychomotor retardation, shortened fingers and brown spots on the skin;
- Bloom Syndrome – high photosensitivity of the skin, dwarfism, coffee stains and reduced immunity;
- Maffuci Syndrome – benign proliferation of cartilage with bone deformity and vascular neoplasms on dark skin.
These are just some of the conditions and symptoms that can cause coffee stains.
But they are united by the relative rarity and severity of the disease, that is, the presence of other signs, in addition to coffee stains, have a more significant effect on the body.
:
large non-multiple light brown spots, as a rule, exist on their own and are not associated with other diseases and pathologies;- The presence of a large number of small coffee spots usually indicates the presence of one of the above pathologies (more often it is neurofibromatosis type 1).
- For how the diagnosis is made and whether coffee stains can disappear, read further in
Neuronfibromatosis can be diagnosed if the patient has at least 2 of the 7 below:
Two or more neurofibromas or plexiform neurofibroma;
- 6 or more macules or coffee spots, up to 5 mm in diameter in children, larger in adolescents and adults;
- Presence of more than two spots in the armpit or groin;
- Presence of optic nerve glioma;
- Improper development of the bones of the skull or long bones of the skeleton;
- 2 or more iris hamartomas that are detected by a slit lamp by an ophthalmologist;
- Neofibromatosis cases in a relative
- s. In children, the diagnosis of neurofibromatosis is more difficult, since many symptoms do not appear until puberty. But, if the child is already 10 years old, and there is not a single sign, then the probability of a diagnosis is reduced to zero.
What treatments will help get rid of coffee stains
The treatment of coffee stains involves identifying the cause of the stain through a thorough history taking.
If coffee stains are symptoms of another disease, it is necessary to treat it, and after
remove pigmentation on the skin. To do this, use hardware techniques. For this purpose, IPL-therapy and Q-switched alexandrite laser are used.
Laser treatment of coffee stains does not exclude their reappearance. In half of the cases, pigmentation may return.
Intense pulsed light selectively destroys melanin pigment in areas of its accumulation, after which the skin becomes lighter.
If the coffee stain is completely removed, then the likelihood of its recurrence is minimal.
If the stain is not completely gone, then it can return in half the time.