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Epidemiologic observations on the natural course of pemphigus vulgaris
1Department of Dermatology, The West Attica General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Background:
During the last 20 years, few prospective studies on the natural course of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) have been performed.
Methods:
Various correlations of disease duration, clinical activity fluctuations, serology, and coexistence with other disease states were analyzed with regard to their impact upon the natural history of pemphigus. Thirty-seven consecutive PV patients were involved in this 1-year retrospective follow-up study.
Results:
The disease activity decreases with time, but when exacerbated it is of unpredictable intensity; skin involvement is equally distributed between the sexes; relapses occur mostly during the first 2 years after disease onset, and can be marginally predicted by autoantibody titers.
Conclusions:
Notice should be taken of the relative frequencies of PV associated with neoplasia, ionizing radiation, and familial occurrence.