Degos syndrome

The Degos syndrome - A rare disorder that affects the linings of small and medium-sized arteries throughout the body, particularly in the skin, intestine, and nervous system, causing the vessels to become blocked. The cause is unknown.

The disease typically produces multiple small skin lesions that initially appear as red, raised spots and then form depressed, white scars. Lesions may then form in arteries supplying other parts of the body, such as the intestine and the nervous system.

This development may cause severe or even life-threatening problems, such as stroke from lesions that have formed in the brain and perforation of the intestine by lesions that penetrate through the intestine wall (see peritonitis).