Pemphigus vulgaris responds to rituximab treatment

Doctors at New England Baptist Hospital, in Boston, reviewed 10 medical journal articles that discussed treating individuals who had the skin disease pemphigus vulgaris. The articles described a total of 17 individuals with the disease who were treated with the drug Rituxin (rituximab) as well as the usual medications for pemphigus vulgaris (corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressants). They found that 14 of these individuals (88%) experienced improvement, with 9 individuals having complete remission (no symptoms) for at least 6 months. The doctors suggest that since this research had good results, now researchers should try to determine how to best use rituximab to treat pemphigus vulgaris. The review of the research articles was published in the September, 2006, issue of Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.