Hairy cutaneous malformations of palms and soles. A hereditary condition

Hairy cutaneous malformations of the palms and soles were observed in four generations of a French-Canadian family. The lesions were asymptomatic, bilaterally symmetrical, and involved small areas of skin of the central proximal part of the palms near the wrist and the medial aspect of the longitudinal arch of the foot. The appearance suggested a difference in quality of the skin rather than simply the presence of hair follicles. Examination of a biopsy specimen showed skin containing hair follicles. The pattern of inheritance was autosomal dominant with definate male-to-male transmission. Genetic linkage studies were generally noninformative, but evidence was obtained against close chromosomal linkage of this trait to the histocompatibility antigen (HL-A) or Rh blood group locus. The only other known case of a familiar condition was reported by Schnitzler in 1973.