Symposium-Nails Trachyonychia: A comprehensive review Part I Katherine A. Gordon, Janelle M. Vega, Antonella Tosti Department of Dermatology ABSTRACT and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami Miller Trachyonychia or rough nails, may present as an idiopathic disorder of the nails or it can School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA be associated with other dermatological conditions. The dystrophic nail findings seen in trachyonychia are characterized by brittle, thin nails, with excessive longitudinal ridging. Address for correspondence: The most common histopathologic features associated with trachyonychia are spongiosis Mrs. Katherine Gordon, and exocytosis of inflammatory cells into the nail epithelia; typical features of lichen planus Department of Dermatology or psoriasis can also be detected. Determining the cause of trachyonychia is challenging. and Cutaneous Surgery, Treatment is often unsatisfactory, although in general it should be aimed at the underlying University of Miami Miller cause, if found. In most cases, the nail abnormalities improve spontaneously. School of Medicine, 1600 N.W. 10th Avenue, RMSB, Room 2023-A, Key words: Trachyonychia, rough nails, twenty nail dystrophy Miami, Florida 33136, USA. E-mail: [email protected] INTRODUCTION and was termed twenty-nail dystrophy of childhood in 1977 by Hazelrigg, et al.[5,7] Trachyonychia is much Trachyonychia, derived from the Greek word trakos, more common in children, with an insidious onset and for rough, is a descriptive term referring to rough nail peak age of 3 to 12 years.[1,2] However, it can occur at changes.[1] We performed a thorough PubMed search any age.[6,8] Trachyonychia can be a manifestation of a for papers using MeSH terms “trachyonychia, rough pleomorphic group of disorders or can be idiopathic.[9] nails and twenty nail dystrophy”, and compiled this Table 1 provides a complete list of reported comprehensive review. associations. When associated with alopecia areata, it is more common in male than female patients.[10] The term “twenty nail dystrophy” (TND) is used to [2-4] describe trachyonychia involving all 20 nails. The Trachyonychia has been reported to be transmitted in nails show diffuse ridging with lack of luster, and in an autosomal dominant fashion in some families[11-13] [5,6] severe cases sandpaper-like surface. In some, the and there are reports of monozygotic twins affected nail plate abnormality may be less severe and one can by TND.[14,15] However, these likely represent an see numerous, small superficial pits, which impart association between trachyonychia and alopecia a shiny appearance to the surface of the nail (shiny areata, which may occur in twins and in several [2] trachyonychia). members of a family. Trachyonychia was first described by Alkiewicz in 1950 Idiopathic trachyonychia is likely to be much more common than it is traditionally reported in the literature, Access this article online as only a few isolated reports of idiopathic trachyonychia Quick Response Code: Website: have been documented.[2,16,17] Determining the cause www.ijdvl.com of trachyonychia when other clinical features are DOI: not present can be challenging. Treatment is often 10.4103/0378-6323.86470 unsatisfactory, although in general it should be aimed PMID: at the underlying cause, if found. In most cases, the nail ***** abnormalities improve spontaneously. How to cite this article: Gordon KA, Vega JM, Tosti A. Trachyonychia: A comprehensive review. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2011;77:640-5. Received: November, 2010. Accepted: February, 2011. Source of Support: Nil. Conflict of Interest: None declared. 640 Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprology | November-December 2011 | Vol 77 | Issue 6 Gordon et al. Trachyonychia: A comprehensive review Table 1: Reported associations with trachyonychia The following disorders have been cited in the literature to be associated with trachyonychia. Alopecia areata[10] Atopic dermatitis[31] Autoimmune hemolytic anemia[18] Bart syndrome[19] Congential cutaneous candidiasis[19] Dyskeratosis congenita (Zinsser-Engman-Cole syndrome)[19] Graft-versus host disease[20] Hereditary punctuate palmoplantar keratoderma (Brauer-Buschke- Fischer syndrome)[19] Hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (Clouston syndrome)[19] Ichthyosis vulgaris[21] [18] Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura Figure 1: Nail roughness due to excessive longitudinal ridging Immunoglobulin A deficiency[22] Incontinentia pigmenti[23] Koilonychia[24] that these cases most likely represent alopecia areata Lichen planus[25] of the nails. A list of diseases reported in association Nail-Patella syndrome[19] with trachyonychia can be seen in Table 1; we will Onychodysplasia of the index fingers[19] focus on reviewing a selected group of them. Pachyonychia congenita[19] [26] Pemphigus vulgaris Alopecia areata (AA) is the most common disease in [27] Primary biliary cirrhosis patients with trachyonychia, and affects 1-2% of the Psoriasis[28] population worldwide, with a typical onset during Sarcoidosis[29] childhood or adolescence. Trachyonychia has a Trauma[30] prevalence of 3.65% in this patient population. While Vitiligo[32] trachyonychia occurs more frequently in patients with severe alopecia, particularly alopecia universalis,[3] it CLINICAL FEATURES can also be associated with mild hair loss. Nail changes may precede or follow the onset of AA even by years; The dystrophic nail findings seen in trachyonychia most commonly nail changes and hair loss develop are characterized by brittle, thin nails, with excessive simultaneously. Nail biopsies usually demonstrate longitudinal ridging [Figure 1]. This gives the nail spongiotic changes; however, there are reports of plate a rough, opaque appearence. The cuticle is patients with clinical AA demonstrating the typical usually hyperkeratotic and ragged. Both the opacity features of lichen planus on nail biopsy.[10] and severity of the nail findings vary in different patients and even in different nails of the same patient. Trachyonychia is seen in 10% of patients affected by Depending on the severity, it is possibile to distinguish nail lichen planus (LP).[25] In these patients, nail LP two clinical varieties of trachyonychia: a severe type, is most often isolated. However, oral LP is the most characterized by opaque, sandpaper nails, and a mild common type of LP associated with nail LP.[33] It has type characterized by shiny nails with superficial been suggested that the form of LP presenting as ridging and diffuse pitting. Koilonychia can be seen in trachyonychia may be a separate entity as it tends to both types.[5] occur independent of the typical findings of nail LP such as thinning, splitting or nail atrophy. In fact, Trachyonychia may present as an idiopathic disorder pterygium formation and scarring is rare in patients of the nails with no other cutaneous or systemic with trachyonychia caused by LP, and in general it findings or it can be caused by a variety of other portends a benign course, sometimes with spontaneous disorders.[2,10,18-32] It has been reported in association resolution.[17] with several diseases such as vitiligo[32] and atopic [31] dermatitis, which are also seen in association with Patients with psoriasis and trachyonychia demonstrate [10] alopecia areata (AA). It is the opinion of the reviewer similar pathologic changes as in the skin, with Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprology | November-December 2011 | Vol 77 | Issue 6 641 Gordon et al. Trachyonychia: A comprehensive review acanthosis, focal parakeratosis, and the accumulation Another interesting feature is that commonly the of polymorphonuclear cells along the dorsal nail histopathologic changes in all causes of trachyonychia plate.[2] From a morphological point of view, patients seem to be more prominent in the proximal nail matrix who develop trachyonychia in the setting of psoriasis and the ventral proximal nail fold, corresponding have more thickening of the nail plate as opposed clinically to the changes seen in the dorsal nail plate. to the thinning seen in lichen planus. Similar to This suggests that the variations in the nail plate are the cutaneous lesions of psoriasis, the Koebner due to non-uniform levels of inflammatory activity phenomenon can worsen the disease. This has been within the nail matrix, seen clinically as sandpaper nails where the level of inflammatory activity is more seen in manual workers such as goldsmiths or jewelry constant, or as shiny trachyonychia where there are makers, where the digits that are used for daily work interspersed periods of normal nail matrix function.[2] are more affected than the others.[34] It is important to This hypothesis explains why trachyonychia does not note that the diseases chronically involving the nail cause permanent scarring, unlike other diseases of the folds can also lead to trachyonychia. nail matrix. DIAGNOSIS In conclusion, the risk/benefit ratio of performing a nail biopsy to identify the pathological cause of In normal nail anatomy and physiology, the nail matrix trachyonychia dictates that a nail matrix biopsy generates the nail plate, which lies under the proximal should not be a part of standard procedure. nail fold and over the matrix. Trachyonychia is a disease of the nail matrix, thus a pathological diagnosis DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS requires a nail matrix punch or a longitudinal nail biopsy (LNB). However, the pathological diagnosis of The most frequent differential diagnoses to consider trachyonychia is not really required