Incidence of bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris

doi:10.1136/bmj.a209

Published 9 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a209
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a209

Editorials

Incidence of bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris

Is increasing in elderly people in the UK

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In the linked study, Langan and colleagues determine the incidenceof and mortality from bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgarisin the United Kingdom.¹ Autoimmune bullous diseases of the skinare potentially life threatening disorders. Autoantibodies aredirected against adhesion proteins of the keratinocyte membrane(pemphigus) or proteins of the dermal epidermal junction (bullouspemphigoid). Binding of these antibodies to their target antigensdisrupts intraepidermal or dermal epidermal junctions—thisoften results in the formation of cutaneous or mucosal blisters,which evolve into erosions. Extensive erosion can lead to failureof the skin’s main functions, particularly defence againstinfection. Treatments aim to block production of pathogenicantibodies by plasma cells using corticosteroids, immunosuppressants,and, more recently, biological agents such as anti-CD20 or intravenousimmunoglobulins.²

Bullous pemphigoid is the most common autoimmune bullous skindisease. The incidence has previously been reported as 7-30cases per million people each year.³ By using the health . . . [Full text of this article]

Pascal Joly, professor

¹ Department of Dermatology, National Reference Centre for Autoimmune Bullous Dermatoses, Rouen University Hospital, 76031 Rouen, France

Pascal-Joly@chu-rouen.fr

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Relevant Article

Bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris—incidence and mortality in the UK: population based cohort study: S M Langan, L Smeeth, R Hubbard, K M Fleming, C J P Smith, and J West
BMJ 2008 337: a180. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]