Elastin gene expression in blepharochalasis

Blepharochalasis is a rare condition characterized by recurrent episodes of eyelid edema lead to an atrophic eyelid skin with fine wrinkles and peculiar bronze discoloration. A 32-year-old female presented with loose and redundant skin of the bilateral eyelids. We diagnosed her disease as blepharochalasis by clinical features and by disappearance of elastic fibers from the dermis in the biopsied specimen. Because elastic fibers diminish in the late phase of blepharochalasis, we performed RT-PCR to analyze the mRNA expression of elastin, a major component of elastic fiber. Elastin mRNA expression in the patient's cultured fibroblasts had not decreased compared with that in the control fibroblasts. This result suggests that environmental factors or other matrix components of elastic fibers may be involved in the loss of elastic fiber.