Pemphigus & Pemphigoid
Demographics and Autoantibody Profiles of Pemphigoid Patients with Underlying Neurologic Diseases
Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoantibody-mediated blistering disease that is often associated with neurologic disease. BP antibodies target two epidermal adhesion molecules, known as BP180 and BP230. Homologues to these proteins are found in the brain, and it is hypothesized that neurologic disease leads to the production of autoantibodies that can cross-react with their cutaneous forms. To better understand the link between BP and neurologic disease, we evaluated primary demographic features (age, sex, race, ethnicity, and elapsed time between onset of skin symptoms and BP diagnosis), severity of BP, and IgG and IgE autoantibody levels in BP control individuals and patients with BP with preceding Parkinson disease, dementia, and stroke.Eosinophils Mediate Tissue Injury in the Autoimmune Skin Disease Bullous Pemphigoid
Eosinophils are typically associated with unique inflammatory settings, including allergic inflammation and helminth infections. However, new information suggests that eosinophils contribute more broadly to inflammatory responses and participate in local immune regulation and the tissue remodeling/repair events linked with a variety of diseases. Eosinophilic infiltration has long been a histologic hallmark of bullous pemphigoid (BP), a subepidermal autoimmune blistering disease characterized by autoantibodies directed against basement membrane protein BP180.
