Dermatitis Herpetiformis and Celiac Disease
Association With Glomerulonephritis, Hypocomplementia, and Circulating Immune Complexes
- A. Vishnu Moorthy, MD;
- Stephen W. Zimmerman, MD;
- Peter E. Maxim, PhD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
DERMATITIS herpetiformis is a disease of unknown cause, which is characterized by recurrent bullous eruptions of the skin often associated with gluten-sensitive enteropathy (celiac disease). Cutaneous deposition of IgA, the presence of circulating immune complexes, and an increased incidence of histocompatibility antigen HLA-B8 as well as an association with immunologic disorders, eg, thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic liver disease, cutaneous vasculitis, Addison's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and ulcerative colitis, have led to the speculation of immunologic alterations in dermatitis herpetiformis.1 Glomerular deposition of immune complexes is a major pathogenic mechanism of mediation of injury in patients with glomerulonephritis.2
Materials and Methods Biopsy material was processed as previously described.3 Briefly, tissue for light microscopic examination was fixed in buffered 4% formaldehyde solution (10% formalin) embedded in paraffin sectioned at 2 μ, and stained with hematoxylin
Footnotes
-
Reprint requests to Nephrology Section, 211-Infirmary, University Hospitals, 1300 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 (Dr Moorthy).
