Is cutis laxa curable?
A team of specialists — including cardiologists, pulmonologists, dermatologists, and surgeons — may treat the condition. Cosmetic surgery can tighten skin that is loosened due to cutis laxa. These results may last temporarily, as the skin can often loosen again.
What does cutis laxa look like?
The term “cutis laxa” is Latin for loose or lax skin, and this condition is characterized by skin that is sagging and not stretchy (inelastic). The skin often hangs in loose folds, causing the face and other parts of the body to have a droopy or wrinkled appearance.
Is cutis laxa inherited?
PYCR1-related cutis laxa is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder. RIN2-related cutis laxa is caused by mutations in the RIN2 gene, which is located on the short arm of chromosome 20 (20p11.
How is cutis laxa acquired?
Two copies of the defective gene must be inherited for the disease to be present. A child must inherit a defective gene from both parents. The risk of transmitting an autosomal recessive disease is 25% for each pregnancy. Acquired cutis laxa may develop at any age, but often begins in adulthood.
How is cutis laxa treated?
Specific therapies for individuals with cutis laxa can include surgery to repair hernias, skeletal malformations or intestinal diverticula. Some individuals elect for plastic (cosmetic) surgery to improve skin symptoms. Results are typically good, but loose, lax skin often recurs.
What are the symptoms of cutis laxa?
A hallmark of cutis laxa disorders is sagging, wrinkly skin that isn’t elastic. If you stretch the skin, it moves abnormally slowly back into place. There is also excess droopy skin. What Are the Types of Cutis Laxa?
Is Zara Hartshorn’s cutis laxa surgery fading away?
But four years on Zara, who was initially diagnosed with lipodystrophy only to learn she has the even more complicated Cutis Laxa, says the effects of her surgery are already fading. Scroll down for video Zara Hartshorn, 20, was born with the same rare condition as her mother, which gives their face a prematurely aged appearance
What are the treatment options for cutis laxa?
Management of individuals with cutis laxa includes treatment of symptoms, such as surgical repair of hernias, medications such as beta-blockers may be considered to prevent growth of aortic aneurysms, and pulmonary emphysema is treated symptomatically.
What are the body systems involved in cutis laxa (CL)?
Since cutis laxa is caused by a defect or deficiency of the connective tissue, the skin symptoms are often also observed in conjunction with problems involving the respiratory, skeletal, intestinal, and cardiovascular systems. The involvement of which, if any, additional body systems depends on the type of CL and/or the genetic cause.