Određivanje vrijednosti antigena buloznoga pemfigoida 1 i 2 za procjenu aktivnosti bolesti [Determination of antigen bulous pemphigoid 1 and 2 values for assessment of disease activity]

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a subepidermal blistering disease, primarily affecting the elderly. This study aimed to assess the relationship between BP desease activity and serum levels of autoantibodies directed against BP antigen 1 and BP antigen 2 – detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) BP 1 and BP 2 – and the titer of indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). Additionally, we analyzed whether age and gender moderated ELISA BP 1 and BP 2 desease monitoring. This retrospective study sampled all patients (N = 30) treated for BP at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009. The diagnosis of BP was based on clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical criteria. Serum samples were collected initially and after one, three, six, and twelve months, as well as in the case of exacerbation. The patients' age ranged from 30-88 years. Serum samples were analyzed by IIF on human salt-split skin and ELISA BP 1 and BP 2. Of the three tests, ELISA BP 2 demonstrated the highest sensitivity. In comparison to ELISA BP 1, ELISA BP 2 was superior in the assessment of desease activity. No significant effects of sex and age were observed.