About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Morphea is a skin condition that causes reddish or purplish patches on your skin. Morphea is a localized form of scleroderma, a condition that can cause a wide variety of problems, from skin discoloration to difficulty with the normal function of joints and muscles and other connective tissues.
The condition typically appears on your abdomen, chest or back. Morphea tends to affect only the outermost layers of your skin. Sometimes, morphea can restrict movement in your joints.
Treatment depends on the severity of your condition. With morphea, you may naturally be concerned about your appearance. Your doctor may recommend medications and other treatments to help with your appearance and other symptoms of morphea.
- Falanga V, et al. Morphea. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2003. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2968193. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Localized scleroderma. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Maryland Heights, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00026-2--s0690&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00026-2--s0695&uniq=191199955&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&sid=973634049. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Scleroderma. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Scleroderma/default.asp. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Localized scleroderma. Scleroderma Foundation. http://www.scleroderma.org/pdf/Medical_Brochures/Localized.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Dovonex (prescribing information). Dublin, Ireland: Leo Laboratories; 2007. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2007/020611s007,020554s007,020273s009lbl.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Prednisone. Micromedex Healthcare Series. http://www.micromedex.com. Accessed March 26, 2010.
- Franks AG. Skin manifestations of internal disease. Medical Clinics of North America. 2009;93:1265.
- Plaquenil (prescribing information). Bridgewater, N.J.: Sanofi-Aventis; 2006. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2007/009768s041lbl.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Neoral (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2009. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/050715s028,050716s029lbl.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Methotrexate (prescribing information). Fort Lee, N.J.: Dava Pharmaceuticals; 2009. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/008085s063lbl.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Yancey KB, et al. Immunologically mediated skin diseases. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2868360. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA). Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Gibson LE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 30, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on