Statins and erupting skin lesions

This paper was published in the Annales de Dermatologie et de Venereologie 2003 Feb;130(2 Pt 1):187-90

Study title and authors:
Simvastatin-induced lichen planus pemphigoides

Stoebner PE, Michot C, Ligeron C, Durand L, Meynadier J, Meunier L.
Service de Dermatologie-Allergologie-Photobiologie, Hôpital Saint-Eloi, 80, avenue Augustin Fliche, 34295 Montpellier Cedex 5. p-stoebner@chu-montpellier.fr

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12671581

Lichen planus pemphigoides is a rare autoimmune blistering disease that is characterized by the development of erupting fluid from skin lesions.

Stoebner describes the case of a 63-year-old man who developed lichen planus pemphigoides lesions after two months treatment with simvastatin. All the lesions progressively disappeared after simvastatin treatment was discontinued.

With the increasing use of statins Stoebbner concludes: "An association between simvastatin and lichen planus pemphigoides should be kept in mind".