Long-term remission in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis on a normal diet.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

A life-long gluten-free diet is the treatment of choice for dermatitis herpetiformis, which is considered to be coeliac disease of the skin.

OBJECTIVES:

To investigate the effects on long-term remission of dermatitis herpetiformis in patients who underwent a gluten challenge and subsequently reintroduced dietary gluten.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

We studied 38 patients (14 male and 24 female) with biopsy-confirmed dermatitis herpetiformis. They had followed a gluten-free diet for a mean of 8 years, achieving clinical remission and intestinal normalization. The patients were asked to reintroduce gluten in their diet and agreed to undergo skin and intestinal biopsies during the follow-up.

RESULTS:

Of the 38 patients abandoning a gluten-free diet, 31 reported the onset of rash within an average of 2 months. Seven subjects (three males, mean age 15 years at challenge) experienced no clinical or histological relapses (median follow-up 12 years), and lost IgA immunoglobulin from the skin. The two series of patients differed in terms of age at diagnosis (mean age: 26.6 vs. 6 years), the use of dapsone (one of 31 vs. four of seven) and adherence to the gluten-free diet (strict compliance in 26 of 31 vs. none of seven).

CONCLUSIONS:

Our data suggest that the ingestion of small doses of gluten in childhood and/or the use of an anti-inflammatory drug may modify the immunological response inducing immune tolerance. We report long-term clinical and histological remissions in seven patients with dermatitis herpetiformis after the reintroduction of dietary gluten.

• Authors: M T Bardella, C Fredella, C Trovato, E Ermacora, R Cavalli, V Saladino, L Prampolini
• Journal: The British journal of dermatology (Br J Dermatol) Vol. 149 Issue 5 Pg. 968-71 (Nov 2003) ISSN: 0007-0963 [Print] England
• PMID: 14632800 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
• Glutens
• Dapsone

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Age Factors
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal (therapeutic use)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Combined Modality Therapy
• Dapsone (therapeutic use)
• Dermatitis Herpetiformis (diet therapy, drug therapy, immunology)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Glutens (administration & dosage, toxicity)
• Histocompatibility Testing
• Humans
• Immune Tolerance
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Patient Compliance
• Recurrence
• Remission Induction