Rituximab (Mabthera) for treatment of rare autoimmune bullous skin disorders

• Published in: הרפואה Vol. 151; no. 10; p. 562
• Main Authors: Lozinski, Alina, Baum, Sharon, Sagi, Lior, Volkov, Alex, Trau, Henri, Barzilai, Aviv
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Hebrew
• Published: Israel 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Adult; Anemia, Hemolytic - chemically induced; Anti-Infective Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Infective Agents - adverse effects; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived - administration & dosage; Biopsy; Dapsone - administration & dosage; Dapsone - adverse effects; Drug Resistance; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct - methods; Glucocorticoids - administration & dosage; Humans; Immunologic Factors - administration & dosage; Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis - drug therapy; Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis - immunology; Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis - pathology; Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis - physiopathology; Pemphigoid Gestationis - drug therapy; Pemphigoid Gestationis - immunology; Pemphigoid Gestationis - pathology; Pemphigoid Gestationis - physiopathology; Prednisone - administration & dosage; Pregnancy; Pruritus - etiology; Rare Diseases - drug therapy; Rare Diseases - immunology; Rare Diseases - pathology; Rare Diseases - physiopathology; Rituximab; Severity of Illness Index; Skin - drug effects; Skin - pathology; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0017-7768

Autoimmune bullous skin disorders are characterized by a severe and potentially lethal course and may require aggressive long-term treatment with systemic corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs, which can lead to serious adverse events. Recently, anti-CD20 antibody, Rituximab, was reported to be beneficial as an adjuvant therapy in these diseases. Herein, we present 2 case reports of patients suffering from resistant rare diseases from the aforementioned spectrum: linear IgA dermatosis and Pemphigoid gestationis. The patients were successfully treated with Rituximab (Mabthera). This is one of the first reports of this kind of treatment for these rare life-threatening diseases. These case reports emphasize the role of Rituximab as a crisis therapy in autoimmune blistering diseases.