From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cherry angiomas (also known as "Campbell De
Morgan spots," and "Senile angiomas",[1]
are cherry red[2] papules on
the skin containing an abnormal proliferation of blood vessels.
They are the most common kind of angioma. They are also called senile
angiomas or Campbell de Morgan spots,
after the nineteenth-century British surgeon Campbell De Morgan who first noted
and described them.
The frequency of cherry angiomas increases with age.
Characteristics
Cherry angiomas are made up of clusters of tiny capillaries at the surface
of the skin, forming a small round
dome ("papule"), which may be
flat topped. They range in colour from bright red to purple.
When they first develop, they may be only a tenth of a millimeter
in diameter and almost flat, appearing as small red dots. However,
they then usually grow to about one or two millimeters across, and
sometimes to a centimeter or more in diameter. As they grow larger,
they tend to expand in thickness, and may take on the raised and
rounded shape of a dome. Multiple
adjoining angiomas are said to form a polypoid angioma.
Because the blood
vessels comprising an angioma are so close to the skin's
surface, cherry angiomas may bleed profusely if they are injured.
Cause
Cherry angiomas appear spontaneously in many people in middle
age but can also, although less common, occur in young people. They
can also occur in an aggressive eruptive manner in any age. The
underlying cause for the development of cherry angiomas is far from
understood, much because of a lack of interest in the subject. This
is probably due to the fact that they very rarely are caused by an
internal malignancy.
Chemicals and compounds that have been seen to cause cherry
angiomas are mustard gas,[3][4][5][6] 2-butoxyethanol,[7] bromides[8] and cyclosporine.[9] A
correlation has been seen between cherry hemangiomas and activity
of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase[10] as
well as a significant increase in the density of mast
cells in cherry hemangiomas compared with normal skin.[11]
Treatment
On the rare occasions that they require removal, traditionally
cryosurgery or electrosurgery
have been used.[12] More
recently pulsed dye laser or Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment has
also been used.[13][14]
Prognosis
In most patients, the number and size of cherry angiomas
increases with advancing age. They are harmless, except in very
rare cases that involve a sudden appearance of many angiomas, which
can be a sign of a developing internal malignancy.
Epidemiology
Cherry angiomas occur in all races, ethnic backgrounds, and
sexes.
References
- ^ James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk
(2006). Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical
Dermatology (10th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders. p. 595.
ISBN
978-0-7216-2921-6. OCLC 62736861.
- ^
cherry angioma at Dorland's
Medical Dictionary
- ^
Firooz A, Komeili A, Dowlati Y
(April 1999). "Eruptive melanocytic nevi
and cherry angiomas secondary to exposure to sulfur mustard
gas". Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
40 (4): 646–7. PMID 10188695. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0190-9622(99)70460-3.
- ^
Hefazi M, Maleki M, Mahmoudi M,
Tabatabaee A, Balali-Mood M (September 2006). "Delayed
complications of sulfur mustard poisoning in the skin and the
immune system of Iranian veterans 16-20 years after exposure".
International Journal of Dermatology 45
(9): 1025–31. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2006.03020.x. PMID 16961503.
- ^
Ma HJ, Zhao G, Shi F, Wang YX
(December 2006). "Eruptive cherry angiomas associated with
vitiligo: provoked by topical nitrogen mustard?". The Journal
of Dermatology 33 (12): 877–9. doi:10.1111/j.1346-8138.2006.00200.x. PMID 17169094.
- ^
Emadi SN, Hosseini-Khalili A,
Soroush MR, Davoodi SM, Aghamiri SS (March 2008). "Mustard gas
scarring with specific pigmentary, trophic and vascular
charactristics (case report, 16-year post-exposure)".
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 69
(3): 574–6. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2007.01.003. PMID 17382390.
- ^
Raymond LW, Williford LS, Burke WA
(December 1998). "Eruptive cherry angiomas and irritant symptoms
after one acute exposure to the glycol ether solvent
2-butoxyethanol". Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine 40 (12): 1059–64. doi:10.1097/00043764-199812000-00005. PMID 9871882.
- ^
Cohen AD, Cagnano E, Vardy DA
(2001). "Cherry angiomas associated with exposure to bromides".
Dermatology 202 (1): 52–3. doi:10.1159/000051587.
PMID 11244231.
- ^
Eruptive Angiomas After Treatment With Cyclosporine in a Patient
With Psoriasis http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/134/11/1487
- ^
Eichhorn M, Jungkunz W, Wörl J,
Marsch WC (January 1994). "Carbonic anhydrase is abundant in
fenestrated capillaries of cherry hemangioma". Acta
Dermato-venereologica 74 (1): 51–3. PMID 7908484.
- ^
Hagiwara K, Khaskhely NM, Uezato H,
Nonaka S (September 1999). "Mast cell "densities" in vascular
proliferations: a preliminary study of pyogenic granuloma, portwine
stain, cavernous hemangioma, cherry angioma, Kaposi's sarcoma, and
malignant hemangioendothelioma". The Journal of
Dermatology 26 (9): 577–86. PMID 10535252.
- ^
Aversa AJ, Miller OF (1983).
"Cryo-curettage of cherry angiomas". The Journal of
dermatologic surgery and oncology 9 (11):
930–1. PMID 6630708.
- ^
Dawn G, Gupta G (2003). "Comparison
of potassium titanyl phosphate vascular laser and hyfrecator in the
treatment of vascular spiders and cherry angiomas". Clin. Exp.
Dermatol. 28 (6): 581–3. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2230.2003.01352.x. PMID 14616818.
- ^
Fodor L, Ramon Y, Fodor A, Carmi N,
Peled IJ, Ullmann Y (2006). "A side-by-side prospective study of
intense pulsed light and Nd:YAG laser treatment for vascular
lesions". Annals of plastic surgery 56
(2): 164–70. doi:10.1097/01.sap.0000196579.14954.d6. PMID 16432325.
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