Dowling-Degos disease:current research progress

Introduction Dowling-Degos disease (DDD) was first described as a benign form of acanthosis nigricans by Dowling and Freudenthal in 1938, then referred to as'dermatose reticulée des plis'by Degos and Ossipowski in 1954, and was first named DDD by Wilson-Jones and Grice in 1978(1)The disease has been reported worldwide and affects both genders equally. As an autosomal dominant pigment disorder, it usually occurs in post-pubertal individuals, and is seldom seen in children(2)However, a Chinese newborn with DDD was reported in 2008(3)In this review, we summarize features of DDD, emphasizing advances in genetics research and looking to the future for further understanding of its etiology and the development of therapeutic methods.