Erythromycin therapy in bullous pemphigoid: possible anti-inflammatory effects.
Two patients with bullous pemphigoid treated with erythromycin demonstrated improvement. This response suggests that erythromycin may be a fairly safe supplemental drug which may allow a lower dose of systemic steroid, or may be of benefit when used alone or in combination with topical steroids in treating patients who are not ideal candidates for a systemic steroid. Erythromycin appears to have a significant anti-inflammatory effect, and possible mechanisms for this effect are proposed. One of the patients was a 4 1/2-year-old girl whose disease manifested several unusual features, making diagnosis difficult. A brief summary of differential immunofluorescent findings in childhood bullous diseases is also presented.
D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D010391:Pemphigoid, Bullous / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D012872:Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D004917:Erythromycin