PMC3975211_01
Skin examination of the 7-year-old female patient. a Old woman's face. b, c Loose skin at the forearm and neck. d Inelastic skin at the submandibular region after the face-lift. e Sagging of the skin at the groin.
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F1
Her face appeared like that of an elderly woman (fig. 1a). Loose and sagging skin folded over the neck, arm, and trunk, which gave her a prematurely senile appearance with her skin displaying obvious relaxation and elasticity (fig. 1b-e).
Skin examination of the patient's father. Inelastic skin at the abdomen.
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F2
Her father also had skin hanging in folds over his abdomen (fig. 2).
Histological image of the patient's skin. a Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the skin biopsy specimen shows a hyaline swelling of dermal collagen fibers and small perivascular lymphocytic infiltration.b Weigert elastic fiber staining shows the decrease of elastic fibers that were fragmented and arranged in disorder. c Weigert staining of the skin biopsy specimen from a healthy patient of the patient's age group shows normal elastic fibers.
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F3
Elastic fiber staining showed that the elastic fibers present were fragmented, arranged in disorder, and had a granular appearance (fig. 3a, b). By contrast, the collagen structure, content, and distribution were normal (fig. 3c).