Comparative morphological characteristics of the skin condition in patients with climacteric keratoderma

Background. Modern data on structural transformations of the epidermis and dermis indicate significant changes in the composition of the skin in patients with climacteric keratoderma, however, problematic issues of pathomorphogenesis of damage to the epithelial, microvascular and connective tissue components of the skin remain unsolved and require a substantiated solution. The aim of this study was to determine the morphological changes of the epithelial, connective tissue and microcirculatory components of the skin in patients with climacteric keratoderma. Methods. Using light-optical and transmission electron microscopy, a study of the skin condition of the foot and gluteal region in women of three groups was conducted. The first group (control) consisted of women aged 21 to 40 years without manifestations of menopause, keratoderma and other dermatological diseases. The second group (comparison group) included patients aged 50 to 65 years in the climacteric period without clinical signs of keratoderma. The third clinical group consisted of patients aged 50 to 68 years, who were diagnosed climacteric keratoderma with a disease duration of 4 to 21 years. Results and conclusion. The morphological analysis performed using modern research methods allowed us to identify a number of systemic and local structural changes in the skin, which characterize the restructuring of epithelial and extraepithelial cells of the epidermis, as well as microvascular and connective tissue components of the dermis in patients with climacteric keratoderma. It has been proven that under conditions of estrogen deficiency, the hyperkeratosis process in patients of this group is not associated with the proliferative activity of keratinocytes, but depends on local changes in the morpho-functional state of epidermal cells of monocytic origin (Langerhans cells), fibroblasts of the papillary layer of the dermis and their reaction to microcirculation damage.