Striae distensae: physiopathology

Introduction: Cutaneous atrophic striae or striae distensae (SD) is a very common disease. Although SD is considered an aesthetic complaint, it can have important psychosocial consequences. Moreover, its occurrence may reflect changes in tissue, and express local and systemic pathological conditions. Considering the multiplicity of factors involved, the literature is divergent and inconclusive. Objective: To investigate striae physiopathological aspects, which have been studied, through systematic review of the literature. Method: We conducted searches using three databases: MEDLINE (1966- 2009), Cochrane Library and LILACS, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, besides: search for keywords in PubMed, review of bibliographic references of the articles found, and manual search of the main Dermatology journals. Results: We identified 113 articles, 101 in MEDLINE, 12 in Cochrane Library and none in LILACS, for striae distensae. Of these, 25 publications were considered for descriptive purposes, were analyzed 10 studies that were individually controlled (compared with samples of healthy skin) or comparative (recent and old striae). Conclusions: There are few researches of good quality on the physiopathology of cutaneous striae. The priority of most studies is on therapy, with little interest in Understanding the physiopathology. The knowledge of SD physiopathology is not only important for the development of preventive methods and more effective treatment, but also for better understanding of local and systemic changes related To the connective tissue.

Keywords: ESTHETICS, PHYSIOPATHOLOGY, ELASTIC TISSUE, COLLAGEN