Circulating Antibodies in Cicatricial Pemphigoid

Cicatricial pemphigoid is a chronic, scarring, vesiculobullous eruption, with a theoretical autoimmune cause. It is closely related to bullous pemphigoid, yet unlike bullous pemphigoid, no circulating antibodies have been found. We present here a patient with cicatricial pemphigoid with circulating antibodies to the basement membrane zone of the skin, thus giving more evidence for it being an immunologic disease and for rationale for treatment.