IgA class reticulin antibodies in dermatitis herpetiformis: a good indicator of jejunal damage.
Fifty patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) were examined. Reticulin antibodies (RA) were found in 34 (68%) patients; 25 (73%) of them had IgA class RA, seven (21%) had IgA and IgG class RA, and two (6%) had IgG class RA. A good correlation was found between the occurrence of RA and the presence of jejunal villous atrophy. Twenty-four (96%) of the patients with subtotal villous atrophy and nine (82%) with partial villous atrophy had RA as compared to only one (7%) of the 14 patients with normal jejunal mucosa. Gluten-free diet treatment caused disappearance of RA in every patient, suggesting that RA measurements can also be used in DH for monitoring adherence to the diet treatment.
Hällström
O
O
Reunala
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003874:Dermatitis Herpetiformis / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005983:Glutens / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000276:immunology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D007583:Jejunum / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012155:Reticulin / Q000276:immunology*
D004044:Dietary Proteins; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D012155:Reticulin; D005983:Glutens