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List volumes - List articles in this issueA Retrospective Epidemiological Study on the Association of Bullous Pemphigoid and Neurological Diseases
doi: 10.1080/00015550410024481
Abstract:
Bullous pemphigoid is a rare chronic recurrent Dermatosis that is often reported in association with various neurological diseases. No investigation involving a large number of patients has ever been carried out to demonstrate such an association. This study was accomplished by analysing the discharge diagnosis of all hospitalized patients, both day-patients and inpatients, during a 5-year period (1995-2000) covering a total population group of 934,023 living in a region of Italy that has approximately 1,200,000 inhabitants. The results support the hypothesis of an association between bullous pemphigoid, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease on a highly significant statistical basis. The aetiopathogenic mechanisms and the causes that induce the loss of immunological tolerance are not yet understood.