Acanthosis Nigricans is a skin condition which is often characterized by dark patches on body areas. This condition is witnessed majorly in the body folds like back of neck, underarms, and thigh areas as dark, thick and velvety discoloration. But it can also occur on areas like face, back of hands and feet as well. This is because of perspiration or friction which may also play a contributory role, as suggested by the predilection of acanthosis nigricans for body folds. Acanthosis Nigricans is not a major skin disease but it is an external manifestation to various internal problems.
What causes Acanthosis Nigricans?
There can be multiple causes that are most likely to contribute to this condition. Some of them are:
1. Obesity and Hormonal Imbalance
Increase in weight is one reason that leads to formation of skin folds and resulting in increased chances of development of this condition. Obesity can be due to various internal manifestations like thyroid problem or hormonal imbalance related to PCOD. Even lifestyle has its contribution to add on to weight. Poor diet and sedentary lifestyle can be a reason for this problem. Increase in weight in turn can lead to several other causes of Acanthosis Nigricans.
2. Prediabetes or IR
This is a condition that can develop due to obesity in which body is unable to metabolise glucose. Due to this, glucose starts accumulating in body leading to diabetes as well. Moreover blood surgar control hormone which remains unutilised can lead to increase in IGF which is a major reason for cell proliferation. This is also one of the reasons for velvety texture of skin.
3. Friction and Sweating
Besides internal manifestations, friction and sweating are the reasons that have been associated with Acanthosis in recent studies. It has been stated that skin folds develop dark velvety patches due to excess of friction and sweating in those closed folds.
4. Medicines
There are certain medications that have been indirectly responsible for Acanthosis Nigricans such as oral contraceptives and high dosages of niacinamide. These medications are responsible for increase in body weight at times which in turn can cause Acanthosis Nigricans.
5. Malignancy
Certain tumours or cancers like colon cancer, liver cancer and stomach cancer have been witnessed to be associated with this condition.
Management and Treatment of Acanthosis Nigricans
The goal of management or treatment is to correct the underlying disease in order to improve the condition. The condition can be improved and managed by various preventive measures like:
1. Healthy Lifestyle
Opting for proper diet and lifestyle modification like proper diet, exercise and weight management can help them improve the condition and prevent further problems.
2. Consult a dermatologist
It is really necessary to meet a dermatologist and get the expert advice as one may need proper investigation through blood tests to find out internal issues like blood sugar level, thyroid level or cholesterol level and PCOD in case of females to treat the problem accordingly.
3. Stop medications and their overdose
If patient is taking any medication due to which Acanthosis has developed then stopping the medication will help in improving the condition.
Except these management tips there are certain treatment modalities which will help treat the conditions. This includes:
1. Topical creams
A dermatologist can analyse the condition and accordingly suggest retinoids or salicylic acid based creams which can show good improvements. These creams help exfoliate the dead skin cells on the affected area and hence, will improve the pigmentation of these skin folds. But these may cause irritation, redness and burning sensation in the skin folds.
2. Chemical Peels
Chemical peels like glycolic acid peel and TCA peels will help in deeper exfoliation of dead skin cells and help improve the condition.
3. Laser Treatments
Combination treatments like microdermabrassion and Q-switched lasers help reduce the pigmentation and reduce the bulk of the lesion, with occasional long-term remissions.
Acnathosis Nigricans is not a major skin issue but one can ask their skin doctor for the best option and treatment plan to correct the underlying internal manifestation and improve the appearance of patches.
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