Discoid lupus erythematosus at the site of healed herpes zoster: Wolf's isotopic response: Case report

Abstract

The term Wolf's isotopic response refers to the appearance of a new skin disease at the site of an already healed, unrelated disease. In most cases, the initial disease is herpes zoster. Different diseases may subsequently develop on the same site. The most common isotopic responses are granulomatous and lichenoid reactions, Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is the most common form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus. It is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that typically manifests as erythematous, indurated, scaly plaques that have the potential to cause permanent scarring and dyspigmentation. In May 2013, the patient presented papular and vesicular eruption that appeared at first on her right face, scalp skin and spreaded to the right arm. The patient was diagnosed as herpes zoster. After two months, she developed atrophic, scaly, erythematous papules and plaques confined to the same sites and referred to our outpatient clinic. Here we report this 62-year-old-female patient with DLE due to Wolf s isotopic response.