Livedo racemosa generalisata and stroke.

ABSTRACT

PIP: This paper presents 3 cases of generalized livedo racemosa and cerebral infarction in female patients ages 27, 39, and 42 years. Livedo racemosa is characterized by a broken, irregular pattern on the skin. It is probably caused by patchy impairment of cutaneous arteriolar circulation, resulting in reflectory venous dilation and stasis of blood. Livedo may accompany diseases such as atherosclerosis, diseases with intravascular occlusion, and collagen disorders, indicating a need for a careful search for an underlying condition. These 3 patients demonstrated several risk factors for atherosclerosis: hypertension (1 patient), oral contraceptive use (2 patients), and smoking (2 patients). The clinical findings in these 3 cases provide support to the theory that a chronic endarteritis obliterans of the small and medium-sized arteries is the underlying cause for the skin and neurologic manifestations in livedo racemosa associated with stroke.