Xanthomas Around Follicles

To the Editor.—  In the Archives (104:431-433, 1971) Drs. D. J. Pirozzi and P. R. Gross refer to the perifollicular disposition of xanthomas in a patient affected with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia as an entity not previously reported.In our department we have observed three patients with similar lesions and the same metabolic disorder of lipids and carbohydrates. When we saw our first patient (Figure) we reviewed the literature and found an excellent clinical description from Bodin,¹ in which he refers to xanthomas in diabetics: They are frequently found in intimate relation to the follicular orifice, so that, at the beginning, they are somewhat similar to small perifollicular miliary pustules (my translation).Later, Polano et al² has also remarked about the frequently perifollicular disposition of xanthomas in type IV hyperlipoproteinemia.Xanthomas surrounding the hairs.