MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Bullous Pemphigoid
What is bullous pemphigoid?
Bullous pemphigoid is a disease characterized by tense blistering eruptions of the skin. The condition is caused by antibodies and inflammation abnormally accumulating in a certain layer of the skin called the "basement membrane." A majority of cases occur in persons 80 years of age or older.
How is it diagnosed?
Bullous pemphigoid is diagnosed based on the results of a skin biopsy, which can detect the abnormal antibodies deposited in the basement membrane layer of skin.
Bullous pemphigoid-like condition can sometimes be associated with other illnesses, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) and cancer.
How is bullous pemphigoid treated?
Bullous pemphigoid can be chronic and mild without affecting the general health of affected individuals. Treatment of bullous pemphigoid can resolve with topical cortisone creams, but sometimes requires high doses of cortisone ("steroids") taken internally. Severe bullous pemphigoid can also require immune suppression drugs, such as azathoprine (Imuran). Other treatments that have been used for severe disease include intravenous immunoglobulin infusions, typically given monthly.
Recent research has indicated that large quantities of high-potency topical corticosteroids applied to the entire body surface were safer and more effective in controlling extensive bullous pemphigoid than oral corticosteroids. It was felt by the researchers that topical corticosteroids should now be the treatment of choice for bullous pemphigoid, particularly when the disease is not extensive.
For further information, please read the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus , and prednisone articles.
For further information on the internet about bullous pemphigoid, please visit the following site:
Bullous Pemphigoid
(http://tray.dermatology.uiowa.edu/BP001D.htm)
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