Pemphigus Vulgaris of Esophageal Mucosa

Abstract

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) frequently involves oral mucosa as one of its initial symptoms, but other mucosal surfaces may also be involved. 1,2 A 45-year-old woman had a three-year history of chronic desquamative gingivitis. The condition was diagnosed as oral pemphigus and was initially treated with triamcinolone acetonide ointment. After small bullae appeared on the lower part of her back, the disease was controlled systemically by 10 mg/day of prednisolone. The serum titer of circulating intercellular substance antibodies (ICS-Ab) was 1:10 before and during the treatment. While having a meal, she vomited. The vomitus was found to contain sloughed esophageal mucosa. an immunofluorescent examination demonstrated that the intercellular spaces of the sloughed esophageal mucosa were bound with IgG, C3, and C1q. Report of a Case A 45-year-old Japanese woman had experienced oral-mucosal symptoms of recurrently eroded lesions on the mandibular gingiva and bloody periodontitis from the middle of March 1980. In