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Medical Author:

Nili N. Alai, MD, FAAD

Nili N. Alai, MD, FAAD

Dr. Alai is an actively practicing medical and surgical dermatologist in south Orange County, California. She has been a professor of dermatology and family medicine at the University of California, Irvine since 2000. She is U.S. board-certified in dermatology, a 10-year-certified fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, and Fellow of the American Society of Mohs Surgery.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• What is Weber-Christian disease? What are the risk factors for this disease?
• What is panniculitis?
• What are other symptoms of Weber-Christian disease?
• What causes Weber-Christian disease?
• How is Weber-Christian disease diagnosed?
• What is the prognosis of Weber-Christian disease?
• What is the treatment for Weber-Christian disease?
• Weber-Christian Disease At A Glance
• Find a local Dermatologist in your town
• Weber-Christian Disease Index

The prognosis or long-term outlook is very different for each patient with Weber-Christian disease and depends on the severity of organ involvement. Some patients have mild, intermittent, annoying symptoms, while in others Weber-Christian disease can be fatal. After several years of symptoms, Weber-Christian disease may go away permanently (remission).

There is no cure or uniformly effective treatment that works for everyone with Weber-Christian disease. Possible treatments include oral medications that alter the immune-system reaction and decrease overall inflammation. Some patients have had improvement with medications including chloroquine, thalidomide, cyclophosphamide, tetracycline, cyclosporine, azathioprine, prednisone, and a host of nonsteroidal medications like ibuprofen and indomethacin.

Accompanying treatments for the symptoms may include additional oral pain medications as well as topical salves to treat and prevent local skin infections.

Overall, when internal organs are inflamed, medicines directed toward the underlying inflammation are considered. In summary, treatment for Weber-Christian disease is nonspecific, and antiinflammatory therapy may not be fully effective for everyone with the disease.

• Weber-Christian disease is an uncommon inflammatory condition of the fat.
• It's a disease of unknown cause.
• It most commonly affects the thighs and legs of women.
• It's difficult to treat and may heal with permanent scars.