What is Pemphigus foliaceus?
Pemphigus foliaceus is a rare autoimmune disease that affects mucous membranes and skin. People with this disease have a skin that easily blisters, and often develop crunchy, scaly lesions on the skin of the head, face, chest and back. Anyone at any age can develop this disease, but most often develop in people who have more than 50 years old. Pemphigus foliaceus can be treated with drugs that suppress the immune system.
Normally, a healthy immune system is sensitized only to proteins of foreign origin, such as bacteria and viruses. Autoimmune disease develops when the immune system becomes reactive on the protein produced by the body. In the case of Pemphigus foliaceus, this protein desmoglein 1 , produced by cells in the upper skin layer called an epidermis. There are two other types of Pemphigus diseases in which the immune system sensitizes to other desmoglein proteins. Blisters on the chest and back. Blisters can spread to other parts of the body and develop when healingOn crunchy, scaly sores. People with this skin disease are usually in good condition, but they tend to have episodes of skin blisters that last for several months or years. There may be spontaneous remission of the disease, leading to healing of contemporary skin lesions without emerging new ones. However, even after remission, the disease may appear at any time.
This is an unpleasant disease, but it is not a serious or threatening life, because Desmoglein 1 is present only in certain cells of the epidermis. Therefore, only the upper layers of the skin are affected by this disease. Symptoms may be treated with drugs suppressing the immune system such as corticosteroids, but since long -term steroid use has negative side effects, such as increased risk of osteoporosis and cataract, corticosteroid treatment courses are generally short.
Other types of drugs in addition to corticosteroids can also be used to treat Pemphigus foliaceus. PRTo reduce the risk of infection, reduce skin inflammation and treatment of lesions to help and treat lesions to help and help lesions by treatment and treatment of lesions, local creams of antibiotics, antimalarial drugs and a drug called nicotinamide can be used. Some people with Pemphig benefit from UV protection at a high level, as the sun exposure can cause skin lesions.
Autoimmune skin disorders such as pemphigus often occur in conjunction with other types of autoimmune diseases. The disease is most likely to occur in Pemfigus Thymoma, Myasthenia Gravis and Lupus erythematosus. People with Pemphig are therefore often carefully monitored for signs of other newly emerging autoimmune diseases.