White Sponge Nevus:clinical response to topical treatment
White Sponge Nevus(WSN) is a rare,benign,predominantly inherited disorder of the mucous membranes with high penetrance,affecting mainly the oral mucosa.Cases with no genetic background have also been reported.The condition is painless,nevertheless patients are often symptomatic,complaining of a disturbed texture of the mucosa or that lesions are anaesthetic.No standard treatment has been established although several therapeutic methods have been attempted.This study reports treatment in 5 cases of WSN,3 in women(aged 23,27 and 46 years) and 2 in men(aged 11 and 24 years).Two of these patients were siblings and the other three had no relatives affected by WSN.Diagnosis was confirmed by histologic examination in all cases.Patients were treated with 0,25% aqueous tetracycline mouth rinse used daily for 12 weeks and tested for Candida;if positive,they were given anti-fungal agents concomitantly to the tetracycline regime.Patients were followed up for 6 months after treatment.Results showed that 3 patients with no other familiar member affected became completely free of lesions,and only minor recurrences were seen during the follow-up period.The siblings were partially benefited,with improvement on the size,thickness and roughness of the lesions.In conclusion,topical tetracycline seems to be very effective for WSN cases with no genetic background,while the inherited types have some benefits,with partial resolution of the lesions.