Diagnosis and clinical features of pemphigus vulgaris

Abstract

Autoimmune bullous diseases are associated with autoimmunity against structural components that maintain cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion in the skin and mucous membranes. They include those where the skin blisters at the basement membrane zone and those where the skin blisters within the epidermis (pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus, and other subtypes of pemphigus). The variants of pemphigus are determined according to the level of intraepidermal split formation. There are 5 main variants of pemphigus: pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus, pemphigus erythematosus, drug-induced pemphigus, and paraneoplastic pemphigus. This review focuses only on pemphigus vulgaris.