University of Birmingham Fractal analysis of mucosal microvascular patterns in oral lichen planus

Objectives. The objective of this study was to assess local vascular architecture in atrophic-erosive oral lichen planus (OLP). Materials and Methods. We investigated the capillary structure of the oral mucosa in 31 OLP patients and 32 healthy controls. Capillaries images were captured in vivo through a capillaroscope. We applied fractal analysis to quantify the microvasculature morphometric changes in the oral mucosa of atrophic-erosive OLP patients in terms of their fractal dimension (D). Results. The oral vascular networks of atrophic-erosive OLP lesions had a significantly higher D, both in buccal mucosae (D=1.167, p=0.019) and in tongue (D=1.196, p=0.038), when compared to the control population (1.123 for both locations, respectively). Conclusion. The present study confirms previous literature data on a close relationship between abnormal vascular architecture and atrophic-erosive OLP. Fractal analysis provided a quantitative descriptor of the complexity of the vascular patterns, which increases in the OLP samples. These data may provide new information on the OLP pathogenesis, as well as serve as morphological quantifiers in the monitoring treatment strategies.