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Skin Manifestations of Internal Disease in Older Adults

  • Dermatology and Wound Care (M Reddy, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The skin is the largest and most visible organ in the body and can give diagnostic clues of systemic illness. These clues often become obscured through the normal aging process. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of the normal skin changes seen with aging and then discuss new findings with regards to cutaneous signs of systemic disease in the elderly. We performed a literature search on cutaneous manifestations of internal disease and limited our search to articles published within the last 5 years. We then narrowed down the articles on conditions that primarily affect the adults over the age of 65; conditions commonly seen in the elderly as well as new findings which we felt were of great significance. Ultimately, we hope to update the reader on new cutaneous diagnostic tools of internal disease.

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Brandon Markus declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Benjamin M. Perry declares that he has no conflict of interest.

William Lear declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Dermatology and Wound Care

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Markus, B., Perry, B.M. & Lear, W. Skin Manifestations of Internal Disease in Older Adults. Curr Geri Rep 4, 257–264 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-015-0135-8

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