Acquired cutis laxa associated with chronic urticaria.

A 31-year-old man had cutis laxa after an urticarial eruption. He had no systemic manifestations. In urticarial lesions, elastolysis occurred only within the inflammatory infiltrate of neutrophils around the vessels and between the collagen bundles. In lax skin, elastolysis occurred throughout the entire dermis. Electron microscopic study showed a markedly decreased number of elastic fibers, with elastolysis most predominant near the inflammatory cells. These findings suggest that the neutrophil plays a significant role in the destruction of elastic fibers and subsequent development of cutis laxa.