Hidden coeliac disease in patients suffering from oral lichen planus

Oral Lichen Planus Associated With Lichen Planus Pigmentosus and Lichen Sclerosus in Monozygotic Twins

ABSTRACT

Lichen planus (LP) is a mucocutaneous immune-mediated disease of unknown etiology. It is more prevalent in women and usually occurs between the third and sixth decades of life. Oral lesions may or may not be associated with skin and genital lesions. Although the role of genetic factors is still undetermined, reports of LP in more than one family member are not uncommon. However, the occurrence of LP in monozygotic twins is rare. We report a rare case of 42-year-old female monozygotic twins presenting oral LP. This report is even rarer because one of the patients had cutaneous lesions of an unusual variant of LP (LP pigmentosus) and the other had an uncommon association with lichen sclerosus. The etiology and pathogenesis of LP are still uncertain. However, despite being rare, its occurrence in family members and monozygotic twins suggests that genetic factors are involved in its development.

Another Chicken and Egg Story: Systematic Review on Lichen Planus as a Precursor for Celiac Disease in Adult Population

Celiac disease is receiving much attention due to the gluten-free diet trend. Many health-conscious individuals practice a gluten-free diet, even if they do not have celiac disease. As it is an autoimmune disorder, it is associated with many other autoimmune diseases. We were interested in one skin condition, another autoimmune disorder lichen planus as a correlative factor for celiac disease. The following systematic review may give some clues. We searched online resources including PubMed, PubMed Central, Cochrane library, and Google scholar for systematic reviews, traditional reviews, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analysis on celiac disease and lichen planus. We included human studies published in peer-reviewed journals in the English language. After reviewing 2389 initial results of our search, we excluded 1250 duplicates, 1108 abstracts, 42 irrelevant articles. We assessed the remaining 26 articles for their quality using various quality assessment tools. After the quality assessment, we included nine final articles in our systematic review. Out of these nine studies, there were four systematic reviews, one traditional review, two case reports, and two observational studies. Only two articles had exclusively studied the specific association between celiac and lichen planus. The remaining studies included data that gave an overall association between other skin manifestations of celiac disease. From our study, we could not establish the relationship between celiac disease and lichen planus. We need more case-control studies and clinical trials with a larger population to get conclusive data. From current data, we can conclude that both immunological processes correlate but there is no causation. There is also a need for clinical trials to explore the exacerbation of lichen planus due to celiac disease.

The Skin in Celiac Disease Patients: The Other Side of the Coin

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy that primarily affects the small intestine and is characterized by atrophy of intestinal villi. The manifestations of the disease improve following a gluten-free diet (GFD). CD is associated with various extra-intestinal diseases. Several skin manifestations are described in CD patients. The present paper reviews all CD-associated skin diseases reported in the literature and tries to analyze the pathogenic mechanisms possibly involved in these associations. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the possible mechanisms involved in every association between CD and cutaneous manifestations. An abnormal small intestinal permeability seems to be implicated in various dermatological manifestations. However, most of the associations between CD and cutaneous diseases is based on case reports and case series and a few controlled studies. To better assess the real involvement of the cutaneous district in CD patients, large multicentric controlled clinical trials are required.

Cutaneous and Mucosal Manifestations Associated with Celiac Disease

Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated, gluten-induced enteropathy that affects predisposed individuals of all ages. Many patients with CD do not report gastrointestinal symptoms making it difficult to reach an early diagnosis. On the other hand, CD is related to a wide spectrum of extra-intestinal manifestations, with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) being the best characterized. These associated conditions may be the clue to reaching the diagnosis of CD. Over the last few years, there have been multiple reports of the association between CD and several cutaneous manifestations that may improve with a gluten-free diet (GFD). The presence of some of these skin diseases, even in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, should give rise to an appropriate screening method for CD. The aim of this paper is to describe the different cutaneous manifestations that have been associated with CD and the possible mechanisms involved.

Association of autoimmune diseases with oral lichen planus: a cross-sectional, clinical study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between autoimmune disease and oral lichen planus (OLP), comparing OLP patients with a control population.

METHODS

This cross-sectional clinical study evaluated the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in male and female patients with OLP. The variables analysed were age, sex, tobacco and alcohol consumption, the clinical form of OLP, time of evolution and the presence of autoimmune diseases.

RESULTS

Autoimmune diseases were present in 7% of OLP patients (10/130) and 4% of the control group (6/130) without statistically significant difference (P = 0.67). The estimated odds ratios (with 95% confidence intervals) of the presence of autoimmune disease in OLP sufferers was 1.033 (0.97-1.10). A logistic regression model for presence/absence of the risk autoimmune disease found statistically significant differences in relation to age.

CONCLUSIONS

At present, there is no definitive hypothesis that explains the coexistence of OLP and autoimmune disease; further research is required into the mechanisms whereby this coexistence occurs.

Transient liver hypoxia after liver hilus dearterialization

Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that most often affects middle-aged adults. LP can involve the skin or mucous membranes including the oral, vulvovaginal, esophageal, laryngeal, and conjunctival mucosa. It has different variants based on the morphology of the lesions and the site of involvement. The literature suggests that certain presentations of the disease such as esophageal or ophthalmological involvement are underdiagnosed. The burden of the disease is higher in some variants including hypertrophic LP and erosive oral LP, which may have a more chronic pattern. LP can significantly affect the quality of life of patients as well. Drugs or contact allergens can cause lichenoid reactions as the main differential diagnosis of LP. LP is a T-cell mediated immunologic disease but the responsible antigen remains unidentified. In this paper, we review the history, epidemiology, and clinical subtypes of LP. We also review the histopathologic aspects of the disease, differential diagnoses, immunopathogenesis, and the clinical and genetic correlations.