Refractory bullous pemphigoid leaving numerous milia during recovery

Blisters and Milia around the Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter: A Case of Localized Bullous Pemphigoid

We report on the appearance of multiple tense blisters surrounding the exit site of a Tenckhoff catheter in a 79-year-old woman with end-stage renal disease in peritoneal dialysis. The differential diagnoses included a contact allergic or irritative dermatitis to peritoneal dialysis catheter material and antiseptic agents, bacterial infection, and herpes virus infection, but milia were a clue for a subepidermal blistering disease and lead to appropriate investigations. The laboratory findings, the histopathological examination and the direct immunofluorescence assay confirmed the diagnosis of localized bullous pemphigoid. The disorder typically occurs in elderly people and may be related to drugs, hematological malignancies or neurological conditions but it can also be a complication of hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.

Bullous pemphigoid and milia: prevalence and clinical laboratory findings in a Brazilian sample

Background

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) associated with milia lesions has been increasingly reported, but its prevalence has not been reported in a Brazilian BP population yet.

Objectives

To describe the occurrence and clinical-laboratorial findings of BP-milia association in a southeastern Brazilian sample.

Methods

A descriptive study based on the medical charts of 102 BP patients was accomplished. Clinical and laboratory data of BP-milia patients were compiled. Total serum IgE measurements, immunoblot assays based on basement membrane zone antigens, and HLA-DQ alleles typing were performed.

Results

Milia was evident in 8 (7.8%) BP patients, five males, aged between 46 and 88 years. Increased total IgE levels were determined in 7 (87.5%) of the eight patients. In five of eight patients, immunoblotting showed IgG reactivity against the BP180-NC16a domain but not against collagen VII or laminin-332; it also revealed reactivity against the BP180 C-terminal domain or LAD-1, or both in four of them. The HLA-DQB1*03:01 and HLA-DQA1*05:05 alleles were identified in three of five BP-milia patients. Moreover, three of five cases presented the HLA-DQB1*06 allelic group.

Study limitations

HLA determination was performed in five patients.

Conclusions

Milia formation in BP patients seems to be less uncommon than previously admitted. Laboratory data revealed increased IgE; autoantibodies against the BP180 C-terminal domain or LAD-1, or both; and the HLA-DQB1*06 allelic group, described for the BP-milia association. Careful determination of antibodies against basement membrane zone molecules and HLA characterization in different populations may provide further insights into this association.

Multiple milia formation in blistering diseases

BACKGROUND

Milia are superficial keratinous cysts seen as pearly white, dome-shaped lesions 1-2 mm in diameter. Milia are associated with diseases that cause subepidermal blistering, such as hereditary forms of epidermolysis bullosa, epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, bullous pemphigoid, bullous lichen planus, and porphyria cutanea tarda. Multiple eruptive milia are rare and more extensive in number than primary milia.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to search the literature for cases of blistering diseases with multiple milia formation, especially in areas of the skin where there was no evidence of blistering or trauma, and review the interpretations of their pathogenesis.

METHODS

We performed a literature search with the terms multiple milia and bullous diseases, pemphigoid, and pemphigus.

RESULTS

Very few studies have investigated the origin of milia. Primary milia are thought to originate from the sebaceous collar of vellus hairs, and secondary milia are believed to derive from eccrine ducts more commonly than from overlying epidermis, hair follicles, or sebaceous ducts. Milia secondary to blisters or trauma are speculated to be produced through the regeneration process of disrupted sweat glands or hair follicles. Immunological predisposition, aberrant interaction between the hemidesmosomes, and the extracellular matrix components beneath the hemidesmosomes have been described with regard to the formation of numerous milia during recovery. Multiple milia could be a primary manifestation of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa in skin areas without evidence of blistering.

CONCLUSION

The exact etiology of multiple milia remains unknown. Immunological predisposition and improper interaction between hemidesmosomes and extracellular matrix components are speculated to play a role in the formation of milia during recovery of bullous lesions in blistering diseases. Still, further studies on the triggering mechanisms of keratinocyte dysfunction in cases of multiple milia formation without evidence of prior blistering are needed.

Milia within resolving bullous pemphigoid lesions

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a blistering dermatosis characterized by an autoimmune response to two hemidesmosomal proteins, BP180 and BP230. We describe a case of an 80-year-old man diagnosed with BP by clinical features, histopathology, and immunosorbent assay who developed milia within resolving BP lesions. Milia formation during recovery is common in cases of mucous membrane pemphigoid and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita but has rarely been reported in cases of BP.

Bullous pemphigoid associated with milia, increased serum IgE, autoantibodies against desmogleins, and refractory treatment in a young patient

Bullous pemphigoid is a blistering autoimmune disease characterized by two hemidesmosomal proteins (anti-BP180 and 230). Pemphigus, by contrast, is characterized by two autoantibodies (anti-desmoglein 1 and 3). Coexistence of autoantibodies of bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus in a patient is rare. A 25-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital, reporting a 3-month history of multiple papules, vesicles, and erosions over an extensive erythema on the entire body. Laboratory tests showed high levels of serum IgE, anti-BP180 antibodies, and anti-desmoglein 1 and 3. Histopathologic and immunopathologic features were characterized by bullous pemphigoid. No improvement was seen with systemic corticosteroid therapy, however, pulse corticosteriod therapy combined with methylprednisolone, immunosuppressants, immunomodulators, and plasmapheresis led to the recovery of his condition with numerous milia.