Background
Incontinentia pigmenti is an X-linked dominant neurocutaneous syndrome with cutaneous, neurologic, ophthalmologic, and dental manifestations. Garrod reported the first probable case of incontinentia pigmenti in 1906 and described it as a peculiar pigmentation of the skin in an infant. Subsequently, Bloch and Sulzberger further defined the condition in 1926 and 1928, respectively, as a clinical syndrome with a constellation of unique features that includes typical cutaneous manifestations. Note the images below:
A 7-month-old female infant with incontinentia pigmenti. Brownish pigmentation in a linear whorled or reticular pattern is present on the trunk.
A 1-year-old girl who first presented with incontinentia pigmenti when she was aged 7 months. Note that the pigmentation on the left thigh and leg is similar to that on the trunk.
A 6-year-old girl who first presented with incontinentia pigmenti when she was aged 7 months. Note that the brownish pigmentation on the trunk has largely disappeared, and a small area of pigmentation is left. Pathophysiology
Incontinentia pigmenti is an X-linked dominant genodermatosis characterized by abnormalities of the tissues and organs derived from the ectoderm and neuroectoderm and represents a type of ectodermal dysplasia. Involvement of the skin, hair, teeth, and nails is seen in conjunction with neurologic and ophthalmologic anomalies. In female incontinentia pigmenti patients, lyonization results in functional mosaicism of X-linked genes, which is manifested by the blaschkoid distribution of cutaneous lesions.[1] Cells expressing the mutated X chromosomes selectively eliminate around the time of birth; therefore, females with incontinentia pigmenti have an extremely skewed X-inactivation pattern. Normal X chromosomes are active in unaffected skin, and mutated X chromosomes are active in skin affected with incontinentia pigmenti.
Epidemiology
Frequency
United States
No incidence or prevalence data are available on incontinentia pigmenti in the US population.
International
Incontinentia pigmenti is an uncommon disease. Up until 1987, only 700 cases had been reported in the literature. The disease is probably underreported because many mild or uncomplicated cases are likely unrecognized.
Mortality/Morbidity
The prognosis depends on the presence and severity of associated extracutaneous manifestations. Morbidity and mortality primarily result from neurologic and ophthalmologic complications, including mental retardation, seizures, and vision loss.
Race
Incontinentia pigmenti has a worldwide distribution. Incontinentia pigmenti appears to be more common among white patients, but it has also been reported in blacks and Asians.
Sex
Incontinentia pigmenti is an X-linked dominant, male lethal syndrome. More than 95% of reported cases of incontinentia pigmenti occur in females. Incontinentia pigmenti may rarely occur in males with Klinefelter syndrome (XXY syndrome) or as a result of somatic mosaicism or hypomorphic (less deleterious) mutations in the NEMO gene.[2, 3]
Age
Characteristic skin lesions compatible with the early, vesicular and/or verrucous stages of incontinentia pigmenti are present at birth or develop in the first few weeks of life in approximately 90% of patients. The cutaneous manifestations of the hyperpigmented stage develop during infancy and persist during childhood. The hyperpigmented lesions usually fade during adolescence. The cutaneous manifestations of the atrophic/hypopigmented stage develop during adolescence and early adulthood and persist indefinitely. Hair, nail, and dental anomalies often first manifest during infancy and are permanent. Late-onset incontinentia pigmenti is occasionally reported in older infants. Neurologic and ophthalmologic sequelae often manifest during early infancy.
Maingay-de Groof F, Lequin MH, Roofthooft DW, et al. Extensive cerebral infarction in the newborn due to incontinentia pigmenti. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. Jul 2008;12(4):284-9. [Medline].
Kenwrick S, Woffendin H, Jakins T, et al. Survival of male patients with incontinentia pigmenti carrying a lethal mutation can be explained by somatic mosaicism or Klinefelter syndrome. Am J Hum Genet. Dec 2001;69(6):1210-7. [Medline]. [Full Text].
Mansour S, Woffendin H, Mitton S, et al. Incontinentia pigmenti in a surviving male is accompanied by hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and recurrent infection. Am J Med Genet. Mar 1 2001;99(2):172-7. [Medline].
Alikhan A, Lee AD, Swing D, Carroll C, Yosipovitch G. Vaccination as a probable cause of incontinentia pigmenti reactivation. Pediatr Dermatol. Jan 1 2010;27(1):62-4. [Medline].
van Leeuwen RL, Wintzen M, van Praag MC. Incontinentia pigmenti: an extensive second episode of a "first-stage" vesicobullous eruption. Pediatr Dermatol. Jan-Feb 2000;17(1):70. [Medline].
Darne S, Carmichael AJ. Isolated recurrence of vesicobullous incontinentia pigmenti in a schoolgirl. Br J Dermatol. Mar 2007;156(3):600-2. [Medline].
Bodak N, Hadj-Rabia S, Hamel-Teillac D, de Prost Y, Bodemer C. Late recurrence of inflammatory first-stage lesions in incontinentia pigmenti: an unusual phenomenon and a fascinating pathologic mechanism. Arch Dermatol. Feb 2003;139(2):201-4. [Medline].
Nicolaou N, Graham-Brown RA. Nail dystrophy, an unusual presentation of incontinentia pigmenti. Br J Dermatol. Dec 2003;149(6):1286-8. [Medline].
Abimelec P, Rybojad M, Cambiaghi S, et al. Late, painful, subungual hyperkeratosis in incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Dermatol. Dec 1995;12(4):340-2. [Medline].
Montes CM, Maize JC, Guerry-Force ML. Incontinentia pigmenti with painful subungual tumors: a two-generation study. J Am Acad Dermatol. Feb 2004;50(2 Suppl):S45-52. [Medline].
Simmons DA, Kegel MF, Scher RK, Hines YC. Subungual tumors in incontinentia pigmenti. Arch Dermatol. Dec 1986;122(12):1431-4. [Medline].
Macey-Dare LV, Goodman JR. Incontinentia pigmenti: seven cases with dental manifestations. Int J Paediatr Dent. Dec 1999;9(4):293-7. [Medline].
Minic S, Novotny GE, Trpinac D, Obradovic M. Clinical features of incontinentia pigmenti with emphasis on oral and dental abnormalities. Clin Oral Investig. Dec 2006;10(4):343-7. [Medline].
Minic S, Trpinac D, Gabriel H, Gencik M, Obradovic M. Dental and oral anomalies in incontinentia pigmenti: a systematic review. Clin Oral Investig. Mar 28 2012;[Medline].
Heathcote JG, Schoales BA, Willis NR. Incontinentia pigmenti (Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome): a case report and review of the ocular pathological features. Can J Ophthalmol. Jun 1991;26(4):229-37. [Medline].
Holmstrom G, Thoren K. Ocular manifestations of incontinentia pigmenti. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. Jun 2000;78(3):348-53. [Medline].
Selvadurai D, Salomao DR, Baratz KH. Corneal abnormalities in incontinentia pigmenti: histopathological and confocal correlations. Cornea. Aug 2008;27(7):833-6. [Medline].
Ferreira RC, Ferreira LC, Forstot L, King R. Corneal abnormalities associated with incontinentia pigmenti. Am J Ophthalmol. Apr 1997;123(4):549-51. [Medline].
Meuwissen ME, Mancini GM. Neurological findings in incontinentia pigmenti; a review. Eur J Med Genet. May 4 2012;[Medline].
Turkmen M, Eliacik K, Temocin K, Savk E, Tosun A, Dikicioglu E. A rare cause of neonatal seizure: incontinentia pigmenti. Turk J Pediatr. Jul-Sep 2007;49(3):327-30. [Medline].
Hubert JN, Callen JP. Incontinentia pigmenti presenting as seizures. Pediatr Dermatol. Nov-Dec 2002;19(6):550-2. [Medline].
Cartwright MS, White DL, Miller LM 3rd, Roach ES. Recurrent stroke in a child with incontinentia pigmenti. J Child Neurol. May 2009;24(5):603-5. [Medline].
Kaczala GW, Messer MA, Poskitt KJ, Prendiville JS, Gardiner J, Senger C. Therapy resistant neonatal seizures, linear vesicular rash, and unusually early neuroradiological changes: incontinentia pigmenti: a case report, literature review and insight into pathogenesis. Eur J Pediatr. Sep 2008;167(9):979-83. [Medline].
Hart AR, Edwards C, Mahajan J, Wood ML, Griffiths PD. Destructive encephalopathy in incontinentia pigmenti. Dev Med Child Neurol. Feb 2009;51(2):162-3. [Medline].
Wolf NI, Kramer N, Harting I, et al. Diffuse cortical necrosis in a neonate with incontinentia pigmenti and an encephalitis-like presentation. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. Jun-Jul 2005;26(6):1580-2. [Medline].
Aydingoz U, Midia M. Central nervous system involvement in incontinentia pigmenti: cranial MRI of two siblings. Neuroradiology. Jun 1998;40(6):364-6. [Medline].
Lou H, Zhang L, Xiao W, Zhang J, Zhang M. Nearly completely reversible brain abnormalities in a patient with incontinentia pigmenti. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. Mar 2008;29(3):431-3. [Medline].
Yoshikawa H, Uehara Y, Abe T, Oda Y. Disappearance of a white matter lesion in incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Neurol. Oct 2000;23(4):364-7. [Medline].
Jean-Baptiste S, O'Toole EA, Chen M, Guitart J, Paller A, Chan LS. Expression of eotaxin, an eosinophil-selective chemokine, parallels eosinophil accumulation in the vesiculobullous stage of incontinentia pigmenti. Clin Exp Immunol. Mar 2002;127(3):470-8. [Medline]. [Full Text].
Fusco F, Paciolla M, Napolitano F, Pescatore A, D'Addario I, Bal E, et al. Genomic architecture at the Incontinentia Pigmenti locus favours de novo pathological alleles through different mechanisms. Hum Mol Genet. Mar 15 2012;21(6):1260-71. [Medline].
Makris C, Godfrey VL, Krähn-Senftleben G, et al. Female mice heterozygous for IKK gamma/NEMO deficiencies develop a dermatopathy similar to the human X-linked disorder incontinentia pigmenti. Mol Cell. Jun 2000;5(6):969-79. [Medline].
Schmidt-Supprian M, Bloch W, Courtois G, et al. NEMO/IKK gamma-deficient mice model incontinentia pigmenti. Mol Cell. Jun 2000;5(6):981-92. [Medline].
Pascual-Castroviejo I, Roche MC, Martinez Fernandez V, et al. Incontinentia pigmenti: MR demonstration of brain changes. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. Sep 1994;15(8):1521-7. [Medline].
Lee AG, Goldberg MF, Gillard JH, Barker PB, Bryan RN. Intracranial assessment of incontinentia pigmenti using magnetic resonance imaging, angiography, and spectroscopic imaging. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. May 1995;149(5):573-80. [Medline].
Kasai T, Kato Z, Matsui E, et al. Cerebral infarction in incontinentia pigmenti: the first report of a case evaluated by single photon emission computed tomography. Acta Paediatr. Jun 1997;86(6):665-7. [Medline].
Chan YC, Happle R, Giam YC. Whorled scarring alopecia: a rare phenomenon in incontinentia pigmenti?. J Am Acad Dermatol. Nov 2003;49(5):929-31. [Medline].
Fraitag S, Rimella A, de Prost Y, Brousse N, Hadj-Rabia S, Bodemer C. Skin biopsy is helpful for the diagnosis of incontinentia pigmenti at late stage (IV): a series of 26 cutaneous biopsies. J Cutan Pathol. Sep 2009;36(9):966-71. [Medline].
Kaya TI, Tursen U, Ikizoglu G. Therapeutic use of topical corticosteroids in the vesiculobullous lesions of incontinentia pigmenti. Clin Exp Dermatol. Dec 2009;34(8):e611-3. [Medline].
Jessup CJ, Morgan SC, Cohen LM, Viders DE. Incontinentia pigmenti: treatment of IP with topical tacrolimus. J Drugs Dermatol. Oct 2009;8(10):944-6. [Medline].
Nguyen JK, Brady-Mccreery KM. Laser photocoagulation in preproliferative retinopathy of incontinentia pigmenti. J AAPOS. Aug 2001;5(4):258-9. [Medline].
Batioglu F, Ozmert E. Early indirect laser photocoagulation to induce regression of retinal vascular abnormalities in incontinentia pigmenti. Acta Ophthalmol. Mar 2010;88(2):267-8. [Medline].
Aradhya S, Courtois G, Rajkovic A, et al. Atypical forms of incontinentia pigmenti in male individuals result from mutations of a cytosine tract in exon 10 of NEMO (IKK-gamma). Am J Hum Genet. Mar 2001;68(3):765-71. [Medline]. [Full Text].
Aradhya S, Woffendin H, Jakins T, et al. A recurrent deletion in the ubiquitously expressed NEMO (IKK-gamma) gene accounts for the vast majority of incontinentia pigmenti mutations. Hum Mol Genet. Sep 15 2001;10(19):2171-9. [Medline].
Ardelean D, Pope E. Incontinentia pigmenti in boys: a series and review of the literature. Pediatr Dermatol. Nov-Dec 2006;23(6):523-7. [Medline].
Berlin AL, Paller AS, Chan LS. Incontinentia pigmenti: a review and update on the molecular basis of pathophysiology. J Am Acad Dermatol. Aug 2002;47(2):169-87; quiz 188-90. [Medline].
Bodak N, Hadj-Rabia S, Hamel-Teillac D, de Prost Y, Bodemer C. Late recurrence of inflammatory first-stage lesions in incontinentia pigmenti: an unusual phenomenon and a fascinating pathologic mechanism. Arch Dermatol. Feb 2003;139(2):201-4. [Medline].
Bryant SA, Rutledge SL. Abnormal white matter in a neurologically intact child with incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Neurol. Mar 2007;36(3):199-201. [Medline].
Darne S, Carmichael AJ. Isolated recurrence of vesicobullous incontinentia pigmenti in a schoolgirl. Br J Dermatol. Mar 2007;156(3):600-2. [Medline].
Francis JS, Sybert VP. Incontinentia pigmenti. Semin Cutan Med Surg. Mar 1997;16(1):54-60. [Medline].
Fusco F, Bardaro T, Fimiani G, et al. Molecular analysis of the genetic defect in a large cohort of IP patients and identification of novel NEMO mutations interfering with NF-kappaB activation. Hum Mol Genet. Aug 15 2004;13(16):1763-73. [Medline].
Fusco F, Fimiani G, Tadini G, Michele D, Ursini MV. Clinical diagnosis of incontinentia pigmenti in a cohort of male patients. J Am Acad Dermatol. Feb 2007;56(2):264-7. [Medline].
Goldberg MF. The blinding mechanisms of incontinentia pigmenti. Ophthalmic Genet. Jun 1994;15(2):69-76. [Medline].
Goldberg MF, Custis PH. Retinal and other manifestations of incontinentia pigmenti (Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome). Ophthalmology. Nov 1993;100(11):1645-54. [Medline].
Goldberg MF, Custis PH. Retinal and other manifestations of incontinentia pigmenti (Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome). Ophthalmology. Nov 1993;100(11):1645-54. [Medline].
Hadj-Rabia S, Froidevaux D, Bodak N, et al. Clinical study of 40 cases of incontinentia pigmenti. Arch Dermatol. Sep 2003;139(9):1163-70. [Medline].
Haller-Kikkatalo K, Peters M, Kisand K, Sõritsa A, Reimand T, Salumets A. Incontinentia pigmenti in a female conceived by in vitro fertilization. Am J Med Genet A. Dec 1 2008;146A(23):3092-4. [Medline].
Hennel SJ, Ekert PG, Volpe JJ, Inder TE. Insights into the pathogenesis of cerebral lesions in incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Neurol. Aug 2003;29(2):148-50. [Medline].
Jessup CJ, Morgan SC, Cohen LM, Viders DE. Incontinentia pigmenti: treatment of IP with topical tacrolimus. J Drugs Dermatol. Oct 2009;8(10):944-6. [Medline].
Mangano S, Barbagallo A. Incontinentia pigmenti: clinical and neuroradiologic features. Brain Dev. Sep-Oct 1993;15(5):362-6. [Medline].
Menni S, Piccinno R, Biolchini A, Plebani A. Immunologic investigations in eight patients with incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Dermatol. Dec 1990;7(4):275-7. [Medline].
Migeon BR, Axelman J, Jan de Beur S, Valle D, Mitchell GA, Rosenbaum KN. Selection against lethal alleles in females heterozygous for incontinentia pigmenti. Am J Hum Genet. Jan 1989;44(1):100-6. [Medline]. [Full Text].
Pacheco TR, Levy M, Collyer JC, et al. Incontinentia pigmenti in male patients. J Am Acad Dermatol. Aug 2006;55(2):251-5. [Medline].
Patrizi A, Neri I, Guareschi E, Cocchi G. Bullous recurrent eruption of incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Dermatol. Sep-Oct 2004;21(5):613-4. [Medline].
Pellegrino RJ, Shah AJ. Vascular occlusion associated with incontinentia pigmenti. Pediatr Neurol. Feb 1994;10(1):73-4. [Medline].
Pfau A, Landthaler M. Recurrent inflammation in incontinentia pigmenti of a seven-year-old child. Dermatology. 1995;191(2):161-3. [Medline].
Phan TA, Wargon O, Turner AM. Incontinentia pigmenti case series: clinical spectrum of incontinentia pigmenti in 53 female patients and their relatives. Clin Exp Dermatol. Sep 2005;30(5):474-80. [Medline].
Sebban H, Courtois G. NF-kappaB and inflammation in genetic disease. Biochem Pharmacol. Oct 30 2006;72(9):1153-60. [Medline].
Shah GK, Summers CG, Walsh AW, Neely KA. Optic nerve neovascularization in incontinentia pigmenti. Am J Ophthalmol. Sep 1997;124(3):410-2. [Medline].
Smahi A, Courtois G, Vabres P, et al. Genomic rearrangement in NEMO impairs NF-kappaB activation and is a cause of incontinentia pigmenti. The International Incontinentia Pigmenti (IP) Consortium. Nature. May 25 2000;405(6785):466-72. [Medline].
Tanboga I, Kargul B, Ergeneli S, Aydin MY, Atasu M. Clinical features of incontinentia pigmenti with emphasis on dermatoglyphic findings. J Clin Pediatr Dent. Winter 2001;25(2):161-5. [Medline].
van Leeuwen RL, Wintzen M, van Praag MC. Incontinentia pigmenti: an extensive second episode of a "first-stage" vesicobullous eruption. Pediatr Dermatol. Jan-Feb 2000;17(1):70. [Medline].
Vicente-Villa A, Lamas JV, Pascual AM, Cuesta DL, Marfa MP, Gonzalez-Ensenat MA. Incontinentia pigmenti: a report of ten cases. Eur J Pediatr. Jan 2001;160(1):64-5. [Medline].
Young A, Manolson P, Cohen B, Klapper M, Barrett T. Painful subungal dyskeratotic tumors in incontinentia pigmenti. J Am Acad Dermatol. Apr 2005;52(4):726-9. [Medline].
Zonana J, Elder ME, Schneider LC, et al. A novel X-linked disorder of immune deficiency and hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is allelic to incontinentia pigmenti and due to mutations in IKK-gamma (NEMO). Am J Hum Genet. Dec 2000;67(6):1555-62. [Medline]. [Full Text].

