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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Separation of Rat Epidermis and Dermis with Thermolysin to Detect Site-Specific Inflammatory mRNA and Protein
Published on: September 29, 2021
Mid-dermal elastolysis with inflammation
B A Brod1, M Rabkin, A R Rhodes
1Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pa.
Abstract:
A 71-year-old white woman had finely wrinkled, erythematous patches of skin that met the clinical and histologic criteria for mid-dermal elastolysis. In addition to the loss of mid-dermal elastin described in previous cases, histopathologic examination revealed a superficial and deep perivascular inflammatory infiltrate of lymphocytes and plasma cells and interstitial collections of multinucleated giant cells containing phagocytized elastin. These results support a previously postulated inflammatory pathogenesis for mid-dermal elastolysis.
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