A case of erythrodermia from exacerbated psoriasis vulgaris due to treatment of acute hepatitis C.

Background: Skin side effects during interferon-alpha and ribavirin treatment are common, but autoimmune dermatosis triggered by interferon-alpha is rare. We describe a case of erythrodermia from exacerbated psoriasis during the treatment of acute hepatitis C with pegylated-interferon-alpha and ribavirin. The incidence of psoriasis in this circumstance is unknown and only 36 cases are described in the literature, of which only one describes an erythrodermic psoriasis flare.

Frequency, function and CLA expression of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells in bullous pemphigoid.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering skin disease associated with autoantibodies to collagen XVII and tissue-separation along the dermo-epidermal junction. We addressed the question whether the loss of tolerance in BP patients is associated with a reduction and/or functional impairment of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells, which are essential for the active maintenance of self tolerance. The relative and absolute frequency of CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD25(high) regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood of newly diagnosed, untreated patients was similar to that of healthy controls.