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Contains articles dealing with traditional or complementary medicine issues, treatments, studies and surveys and more. All articles in this section have been written by medical or research professionals.
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Association between desmoglein 3 haplotypes and PV |
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Background Pemphigus vulgaris (PV, OMIM 169610) is a severe blistering disorder of the skin and mucous membranes, caused by the production of autoantibodies directed against the epithelial adhesive protein desmoglein 3. Although an association between PV and HLA class II alleles has been established, the genetic factors predisposing to the disease remain poorly understood, the rarity of PV hampering the recruitment of substantial patient cohorts.
Objectives To investigate DSG3 as a candidate PV susceptibility gene.
Methods We examined five DSG3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs8085532, rs3911655, rs3848485, rs3794925 and rs1466379) in two case–control datasets respectively originating from the U.K. (62 PV patients, 154 controls) and northern India (28 patients, 98 controls). Results In the U.K. sample, we observed a significant association between PV and the DSG3*TCCTC haplotype (Fisher’s exact test P ¼ 0Æ002). A related haplotype (DSG3*TCCCC) was associated with PV in the Indian dataset (P ¼ 0Æ002). We also found that all British and Indian patients bearing DSG3 risk haplotypes carried at least one copy of a PV-associated HLA allele.
Conclusions These results suggest that genetic variation of DSG3 may be an additive risk factor predisposing to PV and warrant further investigations of this gene.
| Published in the British Journal of Dermatology 2006  Click here to download the complete report |
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Regulatory T Cells Are Severely Reduced in PV |
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This new study, published in the journal "Dermatology", shows that a severe reduction of T (Treg) cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of pemphigus vulgaris (PV), an autoimmune blistering disease. |
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Anti-TNF Therapy for Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid |
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Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid, also known as Cicatricial Pemphigoid, is a serious autoimmune blistering disorder that can result in blindness and other complications as the result of scarring of the mucous membranes. To our knowledge, there have been 2 reported uses of Etanercept for MMP in the literature. |
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Rituximab: A New Treatment for Recalcitrant PV? |
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Rituximab (RTX) is anti-CD20 chimeric antibody that selectively targets B cells. CD20 is a molecule that functions as an antigen for it. CD20 is expressed on mature antibody producing B cells, but not on plasma cells.(1) The FDA has approved the use of Rituximab for the treatment of B cell lymphomas.(2) Since the pathogenic and clinical manifestations of PV appear to be antibody related, it could be hypothesized that eliminating the pathogenic antibody and the cells that produce it, might be more effective than general nonspecific immune suppression. This is the rationale for using Rituximab in treating pemphigus vulgaris. Indeed, success with the Rituximab has been observed in many autoimmune diseases which are mediated by antibodies such as systemic lupus erythematosus and immune thrombocytopenic purpura.(3) |
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Herbal Medication can have adverse side effects |
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Herbal supplements are used widely, and some of these supplements may stimulate the immune system in ways that could be harmful for people who have or are prone to autoimmune diseases.
There are a number of herbal medications that have been studied and have immunostimulatory effects. Among these are Echinacea, the algae Spirulina platensis and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae. We recently reported three patients with autoimmune disease, two of whom had pemphigus vulgaris, whose disease exacerbated shortly after beginning one of these herbal medications (Lee and Werth, Arch Dermatol 140:723, 2004). In one case of dermatomyositis, the patient re-flared several months later after rechallenging herself with the same herbal product. These herbs seem to affect the immune system by increasing pro-inflammatory proteins produced by inflammatory cells, and their effects have been studied in a number of experimental models. Studying the potential mechanisms and effects of these herbs in humans has been done in only a few studies, and much more work will be needed in order to document their potential toxicity in patients with autoimmune diseases. Until these studies are performed, it would be prudent for patients with pemphigus vulgaris to avoid potentially immunostimulatory herbal medications. |
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Medical Articles