Antibody titer and clinical course of pemphigus.

The relationship between the titer of pemphigus antibody and the clinical course of the disease was investigated in 15 patients with various types of pemphigus. Although antibody titers generally ran parallel to fluctuations of the clinical course, the elevation of antibody titer appeared to follow the re-appearance or exacerbation of the lesions on 10 occasions in 6 patients, while it appeared to precede the latter only on 2 occasions in 2 patients. In addition, the disappearance of the antibody was considerably delayed after disappearance of skin lesions in 2 cases. These findings suggest that the pemphigus antibody is the result of skin damage, rather than the cause of pemphigus itself.