A correlation between the titre of circulating IgG autoantibodies and disease activity has been difficult to demonstrate in bullous pemphigoid. We postulate that isotype switching from "inflammatory" IgG1 to "blocking" IgG4 subclass antibodies might contribute to disease remission. We studied 16 patients with bullous pemphigoid, 3 patients with cicatricial pemphigoid and 2 patients with epiderm...

A modified version of Wies's operation for the correction of cicatricial entropion is described, the most important modification being a different plane for the incision through the eyelid. The possible complications and their prevention are discussed.

There are numerous dermatoses which may cause cicatricial alopecia when localized on the scalp, such as chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), lichen planus, graft-versus-host disease, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, cicatricial pemphigoid, porphyria cutanea tarda, follicular mucinosis, perifolliculitis capitis abscedens, lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, necrobiosis lipoidica, sarcoidosis, etc...

BACKGROUND Blister formation and tissue damage in bullous pemphigoid have been attributed to the release of eosinophil granule proteins--namely, to eosinophil derived cationic protein (ECP) and major basic protein (MBP). In the present investigation these eosinophil granule proteins were studied in the conjunctiva of patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP). METHODS Conjunctival biop...

A 57-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of blisters and erosions on her oral mucosa with bilateral conjunctivitis and symblephara formation. A diagnosis of cicatricial pemphigoid was made based on the clinical features and immunohistological findings. A multidisciplinary team managed her with different topical and systemic immunosuppressive agents but she finally succumbed due to mu...

PURPOSE Recent advances aimed at preventing and treating complications after keratoprosthesis surgery have improved prognosis, but it has been suspected that various preoperative diagnoses may carry substantially different postoperative outcomes. This article attempts to clarify the ranking of prognostic categories for patients undergoing keratoprosthesis surgery. METHODS A retrospective revi...