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Antibodies to desmoplakin in a patient with pemphigus foliaceous
1Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016, USA.
Background:
Antibodies to desmoplakins have been associated with paraneoplastic pemphigus. Here, we report a case of non-neoplastic pemphigus foliaceous with antibodies to desmoplakins.
Observation:
A 61-year-old woman with pemphigus foliaceous by clinical, histological and immunofluorescent criteria was found to have circulating antibodies to 250 and 215 kDa antigens identified as desmoplakin I and II by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. The patient had no evidence of cancer during a follow-up period of 3 years.
Conclusion:
Although antibodies to desmoplakin I and II have previously been associated with paraneoplastic pemphigus, their occasional finding in erythema multiforme and bullous pemphigoid indicates that they can also occur in non-neoplastic pemphigus.