title: Case for diagnosis: vesicular pemphigoid?
abstract: A 47-year-old man was diagnosed as having dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) in 1957. His failure to respond to therapy and the advent of immunofluorescent techniques led to a subsequent tentative diagnosis of vesicular pemphigoid (VP). High-titered, antibasal zone antibodies were present. However, unlike previously reported cases, direct immunofluorescence microscopy initially showed a DH-like and, later, an atypical granular band instead of a tubular (linear) band but with bullous pemphigoid (BP)-like immunoglobulin composition. No IgA was present. The patient's serum antibasal zone antibodies reacted with his perilesional skin despite granular deposits present at the same site, suggesting concomitant BP- and DH-like immunologic phenomena. The non-IgA-containing atypical granular band might be an immunologic marker for a subset of VP or another distinct disease entity demonstrating an immunologic overlap between BP and DH.
mesh_terms: D003874:Dermatitis Herpetiformis / Q000276:immunology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010391:Pemphigoid, Bullous / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012872:Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A