Elastic tissue abnormalities resembling pseudoxanthoma elasticum in beta thalassemia and the sickling syndromes

The development of clinical and histopathologic manifestations of a diffuse elastic tissue defect, resembling inherited pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), has been encountered with a notable frequency in patients with beta thalassemia, sickle cell disease, and sickle thalassemia. The PXE-like clinical syndrome, consisting of skin, ocular, and vascular manifestations, has a variable severity in these hemoglobinopathies and it is age-dependent, with a generally late onset, after the second decade of life. The defect is believed to be acquired rather than inherited and related to the consequences of the primary disease. The high prevalence of the findings implicates the elastic tissue injury as one of the main comorbid abnormalities encountered in beta thalassemia and the sickling syndromes. In these patients a number of complications, sometimes serious, has been recognized to be related to ocular and vascular elastic tissue defects. Because several organ systems are involved, each medical specialty should be aware of the phenomenon. This coexistence, on the other hand, introduces a novel pathogenetic aspect of PXE and an important research challenge.