Prevalence and Phenotype of Concurrent Psoriasis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are related inflammatory immune-mediated diseases, with considerable overlap. However, it is as yet unclear whether co-occurrence of these diseases affects disease course and characteristics of the individual complaints. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of IBD and PsA in a psoriasis cohort and to examine whether patients with concurrent psoriasis and IBD carry a distinct phenotype.

[Periorbital swelling caused by carbasalate calcium].

A 61-year-old man presented with visual problems due to a marked two-sided periorbital swelling that had started three years earlier. There was no obvious underlying cause and he had persistent rhinoconjunctival symptoms. At the time the swelling started he was already suffering from xanthelasmata palpebrarum and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Enhanced diagnostic immunofluorescence using biopsies transported in saline.

Background: The demonstration of tissue-bound immunoreactants by direct immunofluorescence microscopy (DIF) is a valuable parameter in the diagnosis of various autoimmune and immunecomplex-mediated skin diseases. For preservation of tissue-bound immunoreactants, biopsies are usually fresh-frozen in liquid nitrogen or transported in Michel's fixative. But even optimally preserved tissue specimens are no guarantee for the correct diagnosis by DIF, especially when weak to moderate IgG fluorescence of the epidermal basement membrane zone is involved.

U-serrated immunodeposition pattern differentiates type VII collagen targeting bullous diseases from other subepidermal bullous autoimmune diseases.

Background: Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) can be differentiated from other subepidermal bullous diseases by sophisticated techniques such as immunoelectron microscopy, salt-split skin antigen mapping, fluorescence overlay antigen mapping, immunoblot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Objectives: To determine whether the diagnosis can also be made by routine direct immunofluorescence microscopy.

Methods: We studied frozen skin biopsies from 157 patients with various subepidermal immunobullous diseases.

Anti-epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita: differentiation by use of indirect immunofluorescence microscopy.

Binding of autoantibodies to laminin 5 and type VII collagen causes anti-epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, respectively. Differentiation between these two dermal-binding autoimmune bullous dermatoses is not yet possible by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. In this study we tested whether two recently described immunofluorescence techniques, "knockout" skin substrate and fluorescent overlay antigen mapping, can differentiate between anti-epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.