The Pathogenesis, Assessment and Management of Pruritus in Autoimmune Bullous Diseases

Abstract

Autoimmune bullous diseases are a group of skin diseases that have a variety of immunological and pathological manifestations. Pruritus is a common, although not universal, symptom of the diseases. The variants of autoimmune bullous skin diseases that are most associated with severe pruritus are pemphigoid gestationis and dermatitis herpetiformis, although all but pemphigus vulgaris may manifest with pruritus. This chapter reviews the literature on the pathogenesis, assessment and treatment of pruritus in these conditions. The results of an original study on assessment are included.