J Biol Regul Homeost Agents 2017 APR-JUN;31(2 Suppl. 2):57-77

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative, flagellate, microaerophilic bacterium identified for the first time about 30 years ago, as a pathogenic factor of gastritis and peptic ulcer. Soon after, it was linked to several gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal diseases (hematological, cardiovascular, neurological, pulmonary and ocular diseases, obesity, diabetes mellitus, growth retardation and extragastric MALT lymphoma). Association and possible cause-effect correlation with H. Read More

Turk J Med Sci 2017 Jun 12;47(3):832-840. Epub 2017 Jun 12.

Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey.

Background/aim: The distribution and the demographic, etiological, and clinical features of autoimmune bullous diseases (ABDs) vary according to geographic regions of the world. The limited number of reported studies in Turkey are mostly retrospective and generally include only pemphigus. The aim of our study was to evaluate the demographic data, clinical features, associated triggering factors, and comorbidities in patients newly diagnosed with ABDs. Read More

Am J Clin Dermatol 2017 May 22. Epub 2017 May 22.

Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Suite 1600, 676 N. St. Clair St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.

Background: Psoriasis, atopic dermatitis or eczema (AD-E), pemphigus, bullous pemphigoid (BP), and hidradenitis are chronic inflammatory skin disorders associated with systemic immune activation, considerable symptom burden, stigma, functional disturbances, and mental health symptoms. All of these might increase cardiovascular risk.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether these inflammatory skin diseases are associated with increased cardiovascular/cerebrovascular risk and/or disease. Read More

Int J Womens Dermatol 2016 Jun 23;2(2):53-55. Epub 2016 Apr 23.

Department of Dermatology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Prolactin is a hormone; in addition to it known roles, it has immunomodulatory effects on lymphocytes maturation and immunoglobulins production. Hyperprolactinemia has been demonstrated in various autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes mellitus, and Graves' disease. In view of the prolactin immunomodulatory roles, studying prolactin levels in pemphigus as an autoimmune blistering disease may introduce new ways of understanding disease etiology and developing treatment strategies. Read More

Neurodegener Dis 2017 4;17(4-5):166-170. Epub 2017 May 4.

Department of Neurology, Sijhih Cathay General Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC.

Background: We hypothesize that autoantibodies are induced after the blood-brain barrier is damaged by stroke and the risk of bullous pemphigoid (BP) is increased after stroke. We assess the risk of BP after first-ever stroke in a nationwide population-based cohort of first-ever stroke patients.

Methods: We extracted data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 and identified patients with first-ever stroke as well as control patients matched for age, gender, and year of enrollment. Read More

Lancet 2017 May 22;389(10083):2031-2040. Epub 2017 Mar 22.

Department of Dermatology, Rouen University Hospital and INSERM U1234, Centre de référence des maladies bulleuses autoimmunes, Normandie University, Rouen, France.

Background: High doses of corticosteroids are considered the standard treatment for pemphigus. Because long-term corticosteroid treatment can cause severe and even life-threatening side-effects in patients with this disease, we assessed whether first-line use of rituximab as adjuvant therapy could improve the proportion of patients achieving complete remission off-therapy, compared with corticosteroid treatment alone, while decreasing treatment side-effects of corticosteroids.

Methods: We did a prospective, multicentre, parallel-group, open-label, randomised trial in 25 dermatology hospital departments in France (Ritux 3). Read More

Br J Dermatol 2017 Jun 10;176(6):1486-1491. Epub 2017 Apr 10.

Department of Dermatology, Aarhus University Hospital, PP Oerumsgade 11, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.

Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a disease of the elderly and may be associated with neurological and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Mortality rates strongly exceed those of the background population.

Objectives: To investigate the frequency of comorbidities and their temporal relation to BP. Read More

Am J Clin Dermatol 2017 Apr;18(2):287-297

Departments of Dermatology, Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Suite 1600, 676 N. St. Clair St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.

Background: Little is known about the epidemiology of pediatric autoimmune blistering disorders (PAIBD).

Objective: We sought to determine the inpatient burden and comorbidities of PAIBD.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2002 to 2012, which contained a representative 20% sample of all US hospitalizations. Read More

FP Essent 2017 Feb;453:18-25

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine Dermatology Residency Program, 410 Market St. Suite 400 CB#7715, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions are among the most common noninfectious rashes of childhood. Cutaneous adverse drug reactions are classified as morbilliform, urticarial, bullous, pustular, or psoriasiform. Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common inflammatory cutaneous eruptions, and is characterized by pruritus and flexural distribution. Read More

Int Wound J 2017 Feb 17;14(1):288-292. Epub 2016 Oct 17.

Department of Dermatology and Immunodermatology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.

Haemodialysis is the most frequent form of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in patients with end-stage renal disorder (ESRD). Patients with ESRD frequently develop skin problems, mainly xerosis, pruritus and hyperpigmentation, as well as bullous diseases, mainly porphyria or pseudoporphyria and, in some cases, bullous pemphigoid (BP). BP is the most common autoimmune sub-epidermal blistering disease, and it predominantly affects elderly people. Read More

Dermatology 2016 28;232(2):249-53. Epub 2016 Jan 28.

Department of Dermatology, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Seville, Spain.

Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an acquired subepidermal autoimmune blistering disease in which there are humoral and cellular responses against the BP180 and BP230 antigens. Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitors enhance endogenous glucagon peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide secretion with food intake, which leads to insulin secretion, as well as to the reduction of glucagon secretion. Recently, several cases of DPP-4 inhibitor-associated BP have been reported. Read More

Infect Dis (Lond) 2016 26;48(3):171-6. Epub 2015 Oct 26.

c Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Molecular Microbiology , School of Medicine, University of Crete , Heraklion , Crete , Greece.

Background: Non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae can cause sporadic cases of gastroenteritis and extra-intestinal invasive infections, following exposure to contaminated seawater or freshwater or after consumption of raw seafood. Bacteremic infections with skin and soft tissue manifestations are uncommon and in most cases are associated with liver cirrhosis, haematologic malignancies, diabetes mellitus and other immunosuppressed conditions.

Methods: The medical literature was reviewed and we found 47 published cases of non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae bacteremic skin and soft tissue infections. Read More

Clin Ophthalmol 2015 28;9:1815-9. Epub 2015 Sep 28.

Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.

Objective: To assess the recurrent rate, mean survival time, and risk factors associated with recurrent painful bullous keratopathy (BK) after primary treatment with phototherapeutic keratectomy.

Methods: Medical records from 72 patients (72 eyes) who had phototherapeutic keratectomy for painful BK were evaluated. Data for sex, age, duration of BK, associated ocular and systemic diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, asthma, dyslipidemia, and rheumatoid arthritis), frequency and degree of pain (grade 1-3), visual acuity, corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, and laser setting were extracted and analyzed. Read More

Int J Dermatol 2016 Jan 14;55(1):30-5. Epub 2015 Aug 14.

Department of Dermatology, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Background: Cellulitis commonly involved lower limbs. This study was carried out to determine the demography, clinical characteristics, risk factors, microbiological aspects, and antibiotics usage in this group of patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Methods: A total of one hundred and twenty four patients with lower limb cellulitis treated in the Department of Dermatology, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, between January 2008 and May 2013 were included in this study. Read More

Int J Dermatol 2015 Nov 17;54(11):1246-9. Epub 2015 Mar 17.

Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Background: Bullous pemphigoid is an autoimmune subepidermal blistering skin and mucous membrane disease that usually occurs in elderly people. This study was done to determine clinical features, paraclinical findings, incidence of mucosal lesions, prognosis, course of the disease, and mortality rate of patients with bullous pemphigoid.

Method: Retrospective descriptive study that reviews the existing files of 122 patients with bullous pemphigoid referred to dermatology clinics of Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, Iran, from 1995 to 2010. Read More

J Proteomics 2015 Apr 14;120:126-41. Epub 2015 Mar 14.

Molecular Virology Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram 695014, Kerala, India. Electronic address:

Unlabelled: Global re-emergence of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has renewed the interest in its cellular pathogenesis. We subjected CHIKV-infected Human Embryo Kidney cells (HEK293), a widely used cell-based system for CHIKV infection studies, to a high throughput expression proteomics analysis by Liquid Chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 1047 differentially expressed proteins were identified in infected cells, consistently in three biological replicates. Read More

Int Immunopharmacol 2015 May 9;26(1):1-3. Epub 2015 Mar 9.

Center for Blistering Diseases, 697 Cambridge St, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address:

Pemphigoid gestationis (PG) is an autoimmune blistering disease associated with pregnancy. It is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against bullous pemphigoid antigens in the basement membrane zone. A 32 year old female developed PG in the first pregnancy and had a stillbirth. Read More

JAMA Dermatol 2015 May;151(5):539-43

Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

Importance: Anti-type VII collagen autoantibodies are often detectable in patients with bullous systemic lupus erythematosus (BSLE). However, the timing of their appearance preceding the onset of disease is unknown to date.

Observations: We report the case of a 50-year-old woman with a history of SLE who was seen with vesicles and bullae around her lips, trunk, axillae, arms, and thighs. Read More

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2015 Jun-Jul;33(6):428-9. Epub 2014 Dec 1.

Servicio de Medicina Interna, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, España. Electronic address:

Actas Dermosifiliogr 2014 Nov 5;105(9):860-5. Epub 2014 Jul 5.

Servicio de Dermatología. Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Córdoba, España.

Introduction: In the past 10 years, bullous pemphigoid has been associated with other comorbidities and neurologic and psychiatric conditions in particular. Case series, small case-control studies, and large population-based studies in different Asian populations, mainland Europe, and the United Kingdom have confirmed this association. However, no data are available for the Spanish population. Read More

Acta Derm Venereol 2015 Mar;95(3):307-11

Department of Dermato-Venereology S, Aarhus University Hospital, P.P. Ørumsgade 11, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a common blistering disease caused by antibodies directed against hemi-desmosomal proteins BPAG1 and BPAG2. The disease is characterised by intense pruritus and blistering of the skin. The systemic treatment with the highest level of evidence for BP is systemic glucocorticoids. Read More

Circulation 2014 Sep 26;130(10):837-44. Epub 2014 Jun 26.

From the Department of Primary Care and Public Health Sciences (A.D., M.C.G., J.C.), National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' National Health Service Foundation Trust (A.D., M.C.G.), and British Heart Foundation Centre (P.C.), King's College London, London, United Kingdom.

Background: This study sought to evaluate whether risks of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease are elevated across a range of organ-specific and multisystem chronic inflammatory disorders.

Methods And Results: A matched cohort study was implemented in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink including participants with severe psoriasis (5648), mild psoriasis (85 232), bullous skin diseases (4284), ulcerative colitis (12 203), Crohn's disease (7628), inflammatory arthritis (27 358), systemic autoimmune disorders (7472), and systemic vasculitis (6283) and in 373 851 matched controls. The main outcome measures were new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes mellitus, stroke, or coronary heart disease. Read More

J Am Acad Dermatol 2014 Oct 12;71(4):676-83. Epub 2014 Jun 12.

Department of Dermatology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address:

Background: The reported mortality rates and prognoses of bullous pemphigoid (BP) vary among different countries. However, the mortality rate of BP has not been investigated in Korea.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the mortality rate of Korean patients with BP in comparison to that of an age-matched general population in Korea, and to identify prognostic factors affecting overall survival. Read More

Fundam Clin Pharmacol 2015 Feb 9;29(1):112-4. Epub 2014 Jun 9.

Département de Pharmacologie, Faculté de Médecine, Centre Régional de PharmacoVigilance, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Université de Lille 2, 1, place de Verdun, 59037, Lille, France.

To report three cases of bullous pemphigoid in patients treated with vildagliptin. Case 1: An 86-year-old woman presented with bullous pemphigoid after 1 month of treatment with vildagliptin and metformin. After introduction of clobetasol, the symptoms resolved although vildagliptin was continued. Read More

J Dermatol Case Rep 2014 Mar 31;8(1):24-8. Epub 2014 Mar 31.

Western Michigan University School of Medicine, Dept. of Internal Medicine, 1000 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-1284, USA;

Background: Bullous pemphigoid is a cutaneous autoimmune blistering disorder. The etiology for what precipitates this disease is not entirely clear at this point, although it has been associated with certain medications.

Main Observation: We describe the case of a 70-year-old male with a past medical history of diabetes type 2 who developed a diffuse eruption of bullae with skin biopsy positive for bullous pemphigoid. Read More

An Bras Dermatol 2013 Jul-Aug;88(4):652-4

Pedro Ernesto University Hospital, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro(RJ), Brazil.

We present a case of bullosis diabeticorum. It is a rare disorder, probably underdiagnosed, associated with long-term diabetes mellitus. Its etiology remains unclear. Read More

An Bras Dermatol 2013 Jul-Aug;88(4):594-9

Presidente Prudente Regional Hospital, University of Oeste Paulista, Presidente Prudente(SP),Brazil.

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) or Duhring-Brocq disease is a chronic bullous disease characterized by intense itching and burning sensation in the erythematous papules and urticarial plaques, grouped vesicles with centrifuge growth, and tense blisters. There is an association with the genotypes HLA DR3, HLA DQw2, found in 80-90% of cases. It is an IgA-mediated cutaneous disease, with immunoglobulin A deposits appearing in a granular pattern at the top of the dermal papilla in the sublamina densa area of the basement membrane, which is present both in affected skin and healthy skin. Read More

Autoimmune Dis 2013 13;2013:834295. Epub 2013 Jun 13.

Autoimmune Bullous Diseases Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1199663911, Iran ; Department of Dermatology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1199663911, Iran.

Background. Autoimmune process and immunosuppressive therapy of pemphigus vulgaris would predispose the patients to infections. Aim. Read More

J Cell Mol Med 2013 Jul 15;17(7):817-22. Epub 2013 May 15.

Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.

During growth and development, the skin expands to cover the growing skeleton and soft tissues by constantly responding to the intrinsic forces of underlying skeletal growth as well as to the extrinsic mechanical forces from body movements and external supports. Mechanical forces can be perceived by two types of skin receptors: (1) cellular mechanoreceptors/mechanosensors, such as the cytoskeleton, cell adhesion molecules and mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels, and (2) sensory nerve fibres that produce the somatic sensation of mechanical force. Skin disorders in which there is an abnormality of collagen [e. Read More

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2014 May 18;28(5):558-64. Epub 2013 Mar 18.

Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Background: No prior study has investigated the possibility that scabies patients may be at an increased risk for developing pemphigoid.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of pemphigoid following scabies during a 3-year follow-up period using a Taiwanese population-based claims database and taking clinical and demographic characteristics into consideration.

Methods: This investigation consisted of a study group of 6793 subjects with a diagnosis of scabies and 33 965 randomly selected subjects used as a comparison group. Read More

Eur J Dermatol 2013 Jan-Feb;23(1):94-8

Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 North Nanjing Street, Shenyang 110001, China.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) has been reported to be associated with significant morbidities and a considerable mortality rate. We retrospectively studied 94 patients with BP in a Chinese tertiary medical center between 2005 and 2010 to evaluate the treatment of BP and prognostic factors for the mortality of BP. Cerebrovascular diseases (42. Read More

Wounds 2012 Dec;24(12):350-5

Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, Miami Shores, FL.

Bullosis diabeticorum (bullous disease of diabetes or diabetic bullae) is a noninflammatory, blistering disease occurring spontaneously in diabetic patients.The bullae are usually located on acral skin surfaces, particularly the feet. While this disease is unique to patients with diabetes, it may mimic other blistering disorders. Read More

Curr Diabetes Rev 2012 Jul;8(4):294-302

Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.

Diabetes mellitus is a major disease worldwide, and the prevalence of diabetes has risen significantly in the past several decades. Although one of the major complications of diabetic eyes is diabetic retinopathy (DR), corneal diseases can not only develop in diabetic patients but are also difficult to manage. Diabetic neurotrophic keratopathy is a component of diabetic polyneuropathy and is recognized to be the cause of the morbidity of the cornea in diabetic patients. Read More

J Clin Aesthet Dermatol 2012 Feb;5(2):63-4

The Ohio State University Medical Center, Division of Dermatology, Columbus, Ohio.

Patients with psychiatric disease may use the skin as a means of communication during times of increased emotional distress. Furthermore, a high incidence of skin disorders among patients with a primary psychiatric condition, including depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety, has been demonstrated, with neurotic excoriation being one of the most commonly diagnosed. Despite the strong association and incidence of psychogenic excoriation in patients with a primary psychiatric disorder, it is important for primary care physicians and dermatologists alike to realize that these patients may have true dermatological disease. Read More

Autoimmune Dis 2012 24;2012:189096. Epub 2012 Jan 24.

School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.

CD8+ T-cell deficiency is a feature of many chronic autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, dermatomyositis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, vitiligo, bullous pemphigoid, alopecia areata, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, type 1 diabetes mellitus, Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, and pernicious anaemia. It also occurs in healthy blood relatives of patients with autoimmune diseases, suggesting it is genetically determined. Here it is proposed that this CD8+ T-cell deficiency underlies the development of chronic autoimmune diseases by impairing CD8+ T-cell control of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, with the result that EBV-infected autoreactive B cells accumulate in the target organ where they produce pathogenic autoantibodies and provide costimulatory survival signals to autoreactive T cells which would otherwise die in the target organ by activation-induced apoptosis. Read More

Ann Dermatol Venereol 2011 Oct 25;138(10):673-6. Epub 2011 Jun 25.

Service de dermatologie, hôpital Fournier, CHU de Nancy, France.

Background: In 1964, based on eight cases, R. Sweet described a form of "acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis" that was quickly renamed Sweet's syndrome. Over time, other entities (pyoderma gangrenosum, erythema elevatum diutinum, etc. Read More

Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol 2011 Mar;29(1):66-72

Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a rare, subepidermal autoimmune blistering disease. Studies from different regions show discrepancies in clinical features and courses.

Objectives: To reveal clinical characteristics, investigations and clinical outcomes of Thai patients with BP and to evaluate the association of BP with malignancy, diabetes mellitus and neurologic diseases. Read More

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2012 Feb 6;26(2):249-53. Epub 2011 Apr 6.

Department of Skin & Venereal Diseases, University of Ioannina Medical School and University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.

Background: Preclinical data and reports of adverse skin reactions in patients treated with dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors (gliptins) have increased awareness towards skin-targeting side-effects of these anti-hyperglycaemic drugs. Bullous pemphigoid (BP), sometimes drug-induced, is the most commonly acquired autoimmune blistering dermatosis in western countries, typically a disease of the elderly people with significant morbidity and excess mortality.

Objective: To report the development of BP in five diabetics under gliptin (4 vildagliptin, 1 sitagliptin) plus metformin in fixed-dose drug combinations. Read More

Pediatr Dev Pathol 2011 Jul-Aug;14(4):273-9. Epub 2011 Feb 17.

School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

Delayed villous maturation (DVM) is a spectrum of placental disease characterized by decreased tertiary villus formation, reduced vasculosyncytial membrane formation, and, in its more severe forms, increased large bullous villi. In some series it has been associated with an increased risk of stillbirth in the late third trimester, but overall there are few data on its significance. The aim of this study was to assess perinatal factors associated with, and the clinical significance of, the finding of DVM on placental histology. Read More

Stroke 2011 Feb 16;42(2):319-23. Epub 2010 Dec 16.

School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.

Background And Purpose: Although previous research reveals that cardiovascular events and thromboembolic diseases are important causes of death in patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP), the risk of stroke after the diagnosis of BP relative to the general population remains unknown. Using a randomly selected nationwide population-based sample, this study investigates the risk of stroke in patients with BP compared with unaffected individuals of a similar age.

Methods: This study analyzes data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Read More

Crit Care Med 2010 Oct;38(10):1984-90

School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Objective: Vibrio vulnificus infection is uncommon but potentially life-threatening. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with V. vulnificus infections admitted to an intensive care unit. Read More

Ann Dermatol Venereol 2010 May 18;137(5):345-51. Epub 2010 Apr 18.

Service de dermatologie, CHU Henri-Mondor, 51, avenue du Maréchal-De-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94000 Créteil, France.

Background: Potent topical corticosteroids (TCS), such as clobetasol propionate are more efficacious than systemic corticosteroids in the treatment of bullous pemphigoid (BP) and in reducing the rate of systemic infectious complications. However, TCS can have cutaneous side effects, such as atrophy and purpura. The risk of cutaneous infections due to TCS in BP is known but has never been studied, despite prolonged use of high doses. Read More

Eur J Dermatol 2010 Jan-Feb;20(1):96-101. Epub 2009 Oct 2.

Ist Department of Dermatovenereology, Masaryk University, St. Anna Faculty Hospital, 656 91, Brno, Czech Republic.

To study associations of bullous pemphigoid (BP) with internal diseases, we conducted a retrospective case control study assessing the frequency of selected diseases - diabetes mellitus, neurological diseases, malignant tumors, benign prostate hyperplasia, hypertension and ischemic heart disease in patients with BP. 89 patients with BP, whose data were retrieved from the register of the Centre of bullous diseases from the period of 1991-2006, were matched with 89 controls of the same age and gender, recruited from patients treated for other skin diseases. The frequency of internal diseases at the time of the onset of BP was evaluated by unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age and gender and maximum likelihood test for contingency tables. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2009 Apr 11;137(4):534-41. Epub 2008 Aug 11.

Institute de Veille Sanitaire, France.

In April 2005, an outbreak of Chikungunya fever occurred on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. During winter 2005, six patients developed meningoencephalitis and acute hepatitis due to Chikungunya virus. Our objectives were to determine the incidence and mortality of atypical Chikungunya viral infections and to identify risk factors for severe disease. Read More

Klin Med (Mosk) 2007 ;85(8):67-70

Neuroendocrine tumor consisting of pancreatic alpha-cells -- glucagonoma -- is a very rare finding (one case per two million people a year). This functionally active, usually malignant tumor has typical clinical manifestations. Glucagonoma syndrome is a disease that has an original clinical picture that includes necrolytic migrating erythema with secondary bullous dermatitis, glucose tolerance disorder or diabetes mellitus, weight loss, anemia, hypoaminoacidemia, venous thrombosis, and alimentary and mental disturbances. Read More

J Dermatolog Treat 2006 ;17(6):370-6

Institute of Dermatological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

Background: Immunosuppressive drugs are used as steroid-sparing agents in the management of blistering autoimmune diseases. Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is a relatively new adjuvant drug that selectively inhibits T and B lymphocyte proliferation by suppressing de novo purine synthesis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of MPA in refractory blistering autoimmune diseases and the safety profile of a recent formulation, enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS), in comparison with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Read More

CMAJ 2006 Aug;175(3):244

Division of Dermatology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS.

Int J Dermatol 2006 Jul;45(7):851-3

Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon cutaneous disease of unknown etiology. In 50 percent of affected patients, PG is associated with systemic disease including inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, and hematologic malignancies.(1) Diagnosis of PG is based on clinical presentation, histopathology and on the exclusion of other diseases that can produce clinically similar lesions, e. Read More

Actas Dermosifiliogr 2006 Apr;97(3):186-8

Servicio de Dermatología, Complejo Hospitalario de Pontevedra, España.

We describe four patients with generalized bullous pemphigoid, who received treatment with oral prednisone and suffered serious corticosteroid-induced iatrogenesis. In all cases, we decided to quickly withdraw the systemic corticosteroid treatment and begin treatment with 0.05 % clobetasol propionate (20 g/day). Read More

Gen Dent 2004 Mar-Apr;52(2):162-4; quiz 165

Faculty of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Various differential diagnoses pertaining to angina bullosa haemorrhagica (ABH) have been reported in the dental literature; these differential diagnoses include mucous membrane pemphigoid, bullous pemphigoid, bullous lichen planus, epidermolysis bullosa, dermatitis herpetiformis, linear IgA disease, and oral amyloidosis. ABH is characterized by a solitary blood blister in the palate and may worsen progressively, leading to multiple lesions in other areas. The bullae usually rupture spontaneously and the sites heal uneventfully. Read More