Dosage and indication “creep” with the new biologics to treat inflammatory diseases have payers enforcing strict utilization policies. Physicians counter that payers can’t dictate treatment. With even more biologics on the horizon, and drug spend spiralling upward, both sides need…

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a prototypical organ-specific autoimmune disease. Autoantibodies unfold their blister-inducing potential by triggering an Fcγ-dependent inflammatory reaction. The study by Iwata et al. in this issue provides the first direct evidence that IgG autoantibodies from BP patients…

MedWire News: Having a neurological or psychiatric disorder, being bedridden, or being a chronic user of various drugs significantly increases the risk for bullous pemphigoid (BP) in elderly individuals, say researchers. “A rise in the incidence of BP was documented…

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is the most severe autoimmune blistering disorder of the skin that is mediated by circulating autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3). It has been reported that in Jews the associated haplotype in PV is human leukocyte antigen (HLA)…