Herpes gestationis with transient bullous lesions in the newborn

A case of severe bullous dermatosis in the newborn son of a mother with herpes gestationis is reported. Bullous lesions appeared in the child about 2 hours after delivery and regressed completely without specific treatment by the end of the first month, leaving numerous epidermal cysts. The immunologic phenomena were both qualitatively and quantitatively comparable to those obtained in the mother, i.e., deposition of complement (C3) and smaller amounts of IgG at the dermo-epidermal junction of the affected skin. A transient increase of the total serum IgE was demonstrated in the mother, while the serum IgE level in the newborn was less than 5 U/ml. The pathogenetic role of IgG autoantibodies in herpes gestationis and, more generally, in autoimmune diseases is discussed.