Epidermolysis Bullosa: Experience from the Western Province of Saudi Arabia

Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare inherited bullous disease with unknown prevalence in most parts of the world. In Saudi Arabia the reported studies regarding epidermolysis bullosa are very limited. This paper presents the first study of epidermolysis bullosa cases from the Western province of Saudi Arabia. We studied 15 cases of inherited epidermolysis bullosa and classified the cases based on electron microscopic studies into the three basic types of epidermolysis bullosa. These results demonstrated that the most common type of epidermolysis bullosa in the cases studied is junctional epidermolysis bullosa, in contrast to previous reports where epidermolysis bullosa simplex and dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa are more common than junctional epidermolysis bullosa. These results reveal the need for a larger epidermolysis bullosa study in this part of the world.