Acanthosis nigricans and the metabolic syndrome

Acanthosis nigricans (AN) describes clinically a darkly pigmented thickening skin, which produces epidermal and dermal hyperplasia with orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis and papillomatosis of the stratum spinosum with basal layer hyperpigmentation, in the absence of actual acanthosis and melanocytosis on histologic examination. It is a reactive cutaneous change closely associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperinsulinemia; endocrinopathy; or malignancy, in particular gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma.
Source: Clinics in Dermatology - Category: Dermatology Authors: Source Type: research