Journal of Clinical and Investigative Dermatology

Review Article

Therapeutic Apheresis and/or Monoclonal Antibodies in Dermatological Diseases

Bambauer R1* and Schiel R2

1Formerly: Institute for Blood Purification Germany
2Inselklinik Heringsdorf GmbH, Germany
*Address for Correspondence: Bambauer R, Frankenstras, 66424 Homburg, Germany, Tel. 0049-6841/68500, Fax: 0049/ 6841/6856; E-mail: rolf.bambauer@t-online.de
Submission: 2 December, 2020; Accepted: 30 December, 2020; Published: 3 January, 2021
Copyright:© 2021 Bambauer R, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Therapeutic Apheresis (TA) is increasingly applied as support treatment in dermatological diseases especially in severe and/or refractory autoimmune bullous diseases. Since the pathogenetic relevance of autoantibodies could defined in various diseases, disease-specific adsorbers have been developed. Especially, dermatologic immune-mediated diseases respond to TA. The different TA methods, such as Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE), Immunoadsorption (IA), adsorptive cytapheresis, Extracorporeal Photopheresis (ECP) were discussed elsewhere [1,2]. Dermatologic immune-mediated diseases represent a heterogeneous group of disorders associated with circulating autoantibodies against distinct adhesion molecules of the skin and/or mucosa. The incidence of autoimmune blistering skin diseases for example in Germany has doubled during in the last 10 years, to about 25 new cases per million humans per year, because of improved diagnostic techniques as well as the age of the population [3]. The incidence of Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) in Europe is one to two cases per million humans per year, and 80% of pemphigus patients have PV [4]. Bulbous Pemphigoid (BP) is the most common type of subepidermal autoimmune blistering skin disease in Europe, with an incidence of about 13 cases per million humans per year.