Benign mucous membrane pemphigoid in a wife and husband

Benign mucous membrane pemphigoid, in the form of desquamative gingivitis, occurred in a 57-year-old woman. The disease then developed in her 59-year-old husband 16 months later. The clinical manifestations were mild and similar in both cases. Direct immunofluorescence microscopy tests were consistent with the diagnosis. Sequential occurrence of this disease in spouses suggests the possibility that it is transmissible.