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Treatment of severe pemphigus foliaceus with rituximab
Author(s) -
Fernando Suran L,
O’Connor Kate S
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb02030.x
Subject(s) - medicine , clinical immunology , family medicine , dermatology , immunology , allergy
The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025729X 1 September 2008 189 5 289-290 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2008 www.mja.com.au Lessons from Practice nation of prednisone and azathioprine is often used therapy, but other immunosuppressive agents, as wel ous immunoglobulins and plasmapheresis, have also control disease activity. However, these therapies do remission in all cases nd they can be associated wit adverse events. Rituximab is a chimeric (human/murine) monoclo directed against CD20, a cell surface molecule specif uto thr su A immune blistering diseases are rare but potentially lifeeatening. Pemphigus foliaceus is characterised by perficial erosion of the skin without mucosal involvement. The disease is mediated by autoantibodies directed against desmoglein-3, a structural protein involved in epidermal cell adhesion. The levels of these pathogenic autoantibodies can be measured by indirect immunofluorescence and, as illustrated in our patient, are useful for monitoring disease activity. The combias first-line l as intravenbeen used to not induce h significant