Rituximab - Progress but Still Not a Final Resolution for Pemphigus Patients: Clinical Report From a Single Center Study.

Pemphigus is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by the production of pathogenic autoantibodies against desmosomal adhesion proteins, desmoglein 1 and 3. The pathophysiological process leads to the development of blisters and erosions on mucosal and/or skin surfaces as the main clinical manifestation of the disease. Rituximab emerged as the first-line therapeutic option for pemphigus due to its ability to induce remission by depleting peripheral B lymphocytes. Our aim was to assess the efficacy of rituximab in the treatment of patients in Croatia. A single-center, retrospective study was conducted on 19 patients treated with rituximab following a rheumatoid arthritis dosing protocol between October 2015 and March 2021, with a mean follow-up of 24.1 months. After the first rituximab cycle, two patients achieved complete remission off therapy (10.5%), and six patients achieved complete remission on minimal therapy (31.6%). Partial remission was observed among ten patients (52.6%). Eight patients (44.4%) relapsed after the first rituximab cycle. The mean relapse time was 21 months. Seven patients received two rituximab cycles, and three patients received three cycles. Overall, 13 out of 19 patients experienced complete remission at some point during the study, while there were no non-responders after the rituximab treatment. No statistically significant associations were observed between age, sex, type of disease involvement and clinical remission, either on or off therapy. A steady decrease in anti-desmoglein 1 and anti-desmoglein 3 levels was measured among all patients following rituximab treatment. One patient experienced a treatment-related adverse event of infectious etiology (cellulitis). One patient died following the first rituximab cycle, with the cause of death likely not to be associated with the treatment. Rituximab is an effective disease-modifying agent in the treatment of pemphigus with the main benefit of reducing corticosteroid exposure and steroid-related side effects among pemphigus patients. However, a feature of rituximab therapy is high relapse rates and the need for repeated treatment cycles to achieve complete remission. Developing an optimal protocol for rituximab treatment and finding suitable markers for predicting relapse will improve the management of pemphigus patients.

Pemphigus-The Crux of Clinics, Research, and Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Pemphigus is a rare autoimmune disease characterised by the production of pathogenic autoantibodies in response to different desmosome proteins. The pathophysiological process leads to the development of blisters and erosions on mucosal and/or skin surfaces. The classical clinical variants of pemphigus are pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus. A diagnostic delay is very common in pemphigus, especially among patients with mucosal involvement. However, in recent years we have witnessed considerably fewer patients with extensive mucocutaneous manifestations, since patients with oral lesions are referred to dermatologists to start the treatment much sooner than they had been previously. Among non-classical variants of pemphigus, unusual cases with discrepancies between autoantibody profiles and clinics challenge the "desmoglein compensation theory". The identification of several other autoantigens that perform a role in the pathogenesis of different variants of pemphigus will progress immunodermatology towards an approach that will determine personalized pemphigus subtypes for each patient. Comorbidities among patients are primarily associated with the prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive agents. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic raised concerns regarding the immunosuppressive effects of treatment and the risk of a more complicated COVID-19 infection, as well as on the ability to develop an adequate vaccine response.

Clinical and Immunological Study of 30 Cases With Both IgG and IgA Anti-Keratinocyte Cell Surface Autoantibodies Toward the Definition of Intercellular IgG/IgA Dermatosis.

Several sporadic cases, in which direct and indirect immunofluorescence studies simultaneously detected IgG and IgA autoantibodies to keratinocyte cell surfaces, have been reported mainly under the name of IgG/IgA pemphigus. However, there have been no systematic studies for this condition. In this study, we collected 30 cases of this condition from our cohort of more than 5,000 autoimmune bullous disease cases, which were consulted for our diagnostic methods from other institutes, and summarized their clinical and immunological findings. Clinically, there was no male-female prevalence, mean age of disease onset was 55.6 years, and mean duration before this condition was suspected was 18 months. The patients showed clinically bullous and pustular skin lesions preferentially on the trunk and extremities, and histopathologically intraepidermal pustules and blisters with infiltration of neutrophils and eosinophils. Immunologically, ELISAs frequently detected IgG and IgA autoantibodies to both desmogleins and desmocollins. From the characteristic clinical, histopathological, and immunological features, which are considerably different from those in classical IgG types of pemphigus, we propose this disease as a new disease entity with preferential name of intercellular IgG/IgA dermatosis (IGAD). This was the largest study of IGAD to date.

Inflammatory epidermolysis bullosa acquisita in a 4-year-old girl.

This study presents a case of linear immunoglobulin A dermatosis-like epidermolysis bullosa acquisita in a 4-year-old girl showing rapid, widespread and inflammatory skin lesions. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology, direct and indirect immunofluorescence, various immunoblotting analyses and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Despite the severe clinical manifestations, the disease was successfully controlled by combination therapy of oral prednisolone and dapsone.

[Wounds in autoimmune bullous dermatoses and systemic connective tissue diseases]. / Rane kod autoimunih buloznih dermatoza i sistemskih bolesti vezivnog tkiva.

Autoimmune bullous dermatoses are a group of skin and/or mucous membrane diseases characterized by blisters and erosions, which are the results of autoantibodies directed to structural components of desmosomes and structural proteins of the basement membrane zone. In this group of diseases, the diagnosis is based on history, clinical presentation, histopathologic findings, findings of direct and indirect immunofluorescence, and specific evidence of circulating antibodies by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Connective tissue diseases are a heterogeneous group of diseases with some common pathogenetic mechanisms and frequent involvement of the skin. This group of diseases commonly includes lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis/polymyositis, localized and systemic scleroderma. As most of the diseases in this group have positive one of the antinuclear antibodies, in clinical practice these diseases are often called autoimmune connective tissue diseases. In the group of autoimmune bullous dermatoses, wounds occur as the result of breaking of blisters, and consequently affect the epidermis alone or epidermis and upper dermis, while in the group of systemic diseases of connective tissue, wounds occur in advanced stages of disease as a result of vascular tissue damage, causing necrosis of tissue and wounds. When wounds in these diseases last for a longer period (longer than 3 months), they are considered as chronic wounds and in these cases it is necessary to determine the reason for slow healing. In patients with wounds as a symptom of disease, besides systemic therapy, special attention should be paid to local therapy in order to prevent superinfection and accelerate epithelialization and wound healing.

Autoimmune blistering diseases: incidence and treatment in Croatia.

Dermatovenereology in Croatia has a long tradition, with the first Department of Dermatovenereology having opened in Zagreb in 1894. The diagnosis of autoimmune bullous disease is based on clinical, histopathologic, and immunopathologic findings. Future goals are to participate in multicenter studies because this is the only possibility for further investigation for these rare diseases.

Significance of immunofluorescence in the diagnosis of autoimmune bullous dermatoses.

Direct immunofluorescence study remains the diagnostic gold standard in the assessment of patients with bullous disorders, despite novel immunoserologic tests such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting. This contribution provides an update of the classification of autoimmune bullous diseases and diagnostic procedures, with an emphasis on immunofluorescence findings.

Atypical clinical appearance of pemphigus vulgaris on the face: case report.

Pemphigus vulgaris is an organ-specific autoimmune mucocutaneous disorder. In the majority of cases, the disease manifests initially with oral lesions, and may be limited to a single site for months before spreading. A 78-year-old woman with yellowish crusted areas on her left preauricular region and close to the medial angle of her right eye is presented. Although she described an episode of erosions on her lower lip, the involvement of mucosal surfaces was not noticed on examination. Before she presented to our Department, she was misdiagnosed as an actinic cheilitis and malignant skin tumor. Histopathologic examination and direct immunofluorescence confirmed the diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris. Immunoblotting of epidermal extracts detected IgG antibodies against desmoglein 3 but not desmoglein 1, which was also confirmed by ELISA test. The patient responded favorably to systemic corticosteroid therapy combined with adjuvant immunosuppressive therapy, with complete clearance of the lesions.

Autoimmune blistering skin diseases in childhood.

Autoimmune blistering skin disease in childhood are a heterogeneous group of diseases, which vary in presentation, clinical course, pathohistology, immunopathology and treatment. Although these diseases are rare, it is very important to make an accurate diagnosis based on a combination of clinical signs and laboratory findings. A short review is given of the most common childhood autoimmune bullous diseases according to the clinical, pathohistologic and immunopathologic picture and as well as treatment recommendations.