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| Fig. 62.3 Postinflammatory hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation in a child with atopic dermatitis. (Courtesy of James E. Fitzpatrick, MD.) |
Postinflammatory hypopigmentation, another sequela of inflammatory skin disorders in dark skin, is thought to result from impaired transfer of melanosomes from melanocytes to keratinocytes. This occurs in many diseases, such as atopic dermatitis (see Fig. 62-3) and psoriasis. The increased mitotic rate of keratinocytes, and the decreased transit time of cells within the epidermis, does not allow sufficient pigment transfer. After the inflammatory process resolves, pigment typically normalizes over weeks to months.
Nordlund JJ, Abdel-Malek ZA: Mechanisms for postinflammatory hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation,
Prog Clin Biol Res 256:219–236, 1988.
