Rare clinical form in two patients affected by a new variant of endemic pemphigus in northern Colombia.
BACKGROUND
Recently, the authors described a new variant of endemic pemphigus foliaceus in rural areas surrounding El Bagre, Colombia, but without association with malignant tumors.


METHODS
The authors' 10-year fieldwork provided the opportunity to observe various manifestations of El Bagre endemic pemphigus foliaceus, including the presence of bilateral plaques in pretibial areas.


RESULTS
Based on personal experience and literature reviews, the authors have correlated the auto-antibody profile with the appearance of pretibial plaques.


CONCLUSIONS
Since pretibial plaques occur in patients with both fogo selvagem and El Bagre variants of endemic pemphigus foliaceus, as well as in other forms of pemphigoid, these diseases must be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with clinical, immunologic, and/or epidemiologic risk factors.
Abrèu Velez
Ana María
AM
Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. aavelez@mail.mcg.edu.
Avila
Isabel Cristina
IC
Segovia
Jaime
J
Yepes
Maria Mercedes
MM
Bollag
Wendy B
WB
D000328:Adult; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index