Mees' lines explained
Mees' lines |
Field: | dermatology |
Mees' lines or Aldrich–Mees lines, also called leukonychia striata, are white lines of discoloration across the nails of the fingers and toes (leukonychia).[1]
Presentation
They are typically white bands traversing the width of the nail. As the nail grows they move towards the end, and finally disappear when trimmed.
Causes
Mees' lines can look similar to injury to the nail, which should not be confused with true Mees' lines.
Mees' lines appear after an episode of poisoning with arsenic,[2] thallium or other heavy metals or selenium,[3] opioid MT-45, and can also appear if the subject is suffering from kidney failure.[4] They have been observed in chemotherapy patients.[5]
Eponym and history
Although the phenomenon is named after Dutch physician R. A. Mees, who described the abnormality in 1919,[6] earlier descriptions of the same abnormality were made by Englishman E. S. Reynolds in 1901[7] and by American C. J. Aldrich in 1904.[8]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Mees’ Lines: What It Is, Causes & Treatment . 2024-05-22 . Cleveland Clinic . en.
- Hall AH . Chronic arsenic poisoning . Toxicol. Lett. . 128 . 1–3 . 69–72 . 2002 . 11869818 . 10.1016/S0378-4274(01)00534-3.
- Web site: Selenium: A Trace Element with Real Potential . 31 January 2020.
- Udayakumar P, Balasubramanian S, Ramalingam KS, Lakshmi C, Srinivas CR, Mathew AC . Cutaneous manifestations in patients with chronic renal failure on hemodialysis . Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology . 72 . 2 . 119–25 . 2006 . 16707817 . 10.4103/0378-6323.25636. free .
- Huang. T.-C.. Chao, T.-Y.. Mees lines and Beau lines after chemotherapy. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 14 December 2009. 182. 3. E149. 10.1503/cmaj.090501. 20008502. 2826482.
- Mees RA . Een verschijnsel bij polyneuritis arsenicosa . nl . Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd . 1919 . 1 . 391–396.
- Reynolds ES . An Account of the Epidemic Outbreak of Arsenical Poisoning occurring in Beer Drinkers in the North of England and the Midland Counties in 1900 . Lancet . 1901 . 1 . 4038 . 166–70 . 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)81229-0 . 33969204 . Reprinted in 2036791 . 20896969 . 84 . An Account of the Epidemic Outbreak of Arsenical Poisoning occurring in Beer Drinkers in the North of England and the Midland Counties in 1900 . 1901 . Reynolds ES . Med Chir Trans . 409–52.
- Aldrich CJ . Leuconychia striata arsenicalis transversus, with report of three cases . Am J Med Sci . 1904 . 127 . 702–709 . 10.1097/00000441-190412740-00014 . 4.