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Arch Dermatol. 2000;136:253-254.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

THE ARTICLE by Schmidt et al¹ in this issue of the ARCHIVES is interesting and may have relevance to our clinical practice in the future. In order to make valuable the interpretation of their data and to understand the biological significance of their findings, it is important to highlight the milestones in the research on bullous pemphigoid (BP) during the last 15 years. Unlike patients with pemphigus in whom there is a direct correlation between disease activity and pemphigus antibody titers as detected by standard indirect immunofluorescence, studies have shown no correlation between disease activity and level of anti–basement membrane antibodies in BP.^2-3 This finding is intriguing in a putatively autoimmune bullous disorder. Another interesting finding is the absence of detectable antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence in approximately 30% of patients with BP. Since all patients with BP had anti–basement membrane antibodies in their skin (as detected by direct immunofluorescence), the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

Serum Levels of Autoantibodies to BP180 Correlate With Disease Activity in Patients With Bullous Pemphigoid
Enno Schmidt, Karin Obe, Eva-Bettina Bröcker, and Detlef Zillikens
Arch Dermatol. 2000;136(2):174-178.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT