What is vulvar lichen?

For women, gynecological diseases are the most common diseases. Because more and more women do not pay attention to their own health and hygiene, the chance of contracting gynecological diseases is getting higher and higher. Women's physiological structure is very special, but not everyone will get gynecological diseases. Vulvar lichen is a type of gynecological disease in women. It is very important for women to understand gynecological diseases. So what kind of disease is vulvar lichen? The following will answer for you.

The full name of vulvar lichen sclerosus is vulvar lichen sclerosus, which is also known as "lichen sclerosus atrophicus". It is a skin disease characterized by atrophy and thinning of the vulva and perianal skin. The most common vulvar white lesions mainly invade the clitoris and its foreskin, labia minora, posterior labia joint and perianal area.

The cause of vulvar lichen sclerosus is epidermal atrophy and excessive keratinization of the surface layer. Follicular keratin plugs can often be seen, the spinous layer becomes thinner, the basal layer cells liquefy and undergo vacuolar degeneration, and the epithelial feet become blunt or disappear. There is early edema in the superficial dermis, and in the late stage, the collagen fibers become hyaline, forming a homogenized band, under which there is infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells.

The cause of vulvar lichen sclerosus is unclear. There are several viewpoints: ①Genetic disease.

There are reports of mothers and daughters, and sisters falling ill at the same time in a family, but no specific gene has been found yet.

②Autoimmune diseases. It has been reported that about 21% of patients have concurrent autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, vitiligo, pernicious anemia, alopecia areata, etc., and there is lymphocyte infiltration in the epidermis, indicating an immune response in the local tissue. It is speculated that this disease may be related to subepithelial damage caused by autologous anti-collagen fiber antibodies.

③Lack of sex hormones. Because the lesions of prepubertal patients can be relieved after menarche, it is believed that it may be related to estrogen deficiency, but clinical estrogen treatment is ineffective; some scholars have reported that the dihydrotestosterone and androstenedione in the patient's serum decreased, while the free testosterone increased, and local testosterone treatment was effective. After treatment, the total testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the blood increased. The authors speculated that it may be related to the decrease in 5α-reductase activity, which led to the obstruction of the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. However, in patients with 5α-reductase deficiency, the risk of lichen sclerosus is not increased.