BACKGROUND Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is a genetic blistering disorder caused by mutations in the type VII collagen gene, COL7A1. In revertant mosaicism, germline mutations are corrected by somatic events resulting in a mosaic disease distribution. This "natural gene therapy" phenomenon long has been recognized in other forms of epidermolysis bullosa but only recently in dystrophic epider...

Epidermolysis bullosa refers to a group of genodermatoses that affects the integrity of epithelial layers, phenotypically resulting in severe skin blistering. Dowling-Meara, the major subtype of epidermolysis bullosa simplex, is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner and can be caused by mutations in either the keratin-5 (K5) or the keratin-14 (K14) gene. Currently, no therapeutic approach i...

OBJECTIVE To determine the cause-specific risks of death in children with epidermolysis bullosa (EB). STUDY DESIGN Data were collected throughout the continental United States between 1986 and 2002 by the National EB Registry. The study design is cross-sectional (n = 3280), containing within it a nested randomly sampled longitudinal subcohort (n = 450). RESULTS The risk of death during infa...

Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare, inherited group of disorders characterized by blistering of the skin following friction or mechanical trauma. The aim of this study was to assess the family burden of epidermolysis bullosa in children aged 0-7 years. A postal survey was conducted. The perceived severity of the disease was evaluated by the caregivers, using the Patient Global Assessment 5-point s...

Using a sensitive, specific immunoprecipitation method, the biosynthesis of human skin collagenase was studied in fibroblast cultures from patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of solubilized immunoprecipitates showed two 3H-labeled procollagenase species that comigrated with those harvested from control cultures. Rec...

Acquired melanocytic lesions resembling malignant melanoma have been described in all major categories of Epidermolysis bullosa and referred to as "Epidermolysis bullosa nevi''. They easily induce to diagnostic error, although no malignant transformation has been reported. We report the development of a large acquired melanocytic nevus at a site of recurrent blisters in a 5-year-old child with ...

Epidermolysis bullosa, a group of heritable blistering disorders, shows extensive phenotypic variability due to mutations in as many as 20 distinct genes. There is no cure for this devastating group of disorders; however, a number of preclinical developments show promise, and some approaches have already reached the stage of early clinical trials. Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Assoc...

Autoantibodies in the skin and sera of patients with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita bind to a large matrix molecule within the lamina densa region of skin basement membrane. At the site of these immune complexes, the epidermis separates from the dermis, which creates a subepidermal blister just below the lamina densa. The target molecule for the autoantibodies is in close apposition to fibrone...

objective(s): epidermolysis bullosa is one of the most important series of mechano-bullous heritable skin disorders which is categorized into four major types according to the layer that bullae forms within basement membrane zone. in dystrophic form of the disease, blisters are made in the sublamina densa zone, at the level of type vii collagen protein which produce anchoring fibrils. type vii ...