The skin, being the largest organ of the body, is constantly attacked by a diverse array of pathogenic agents including bacteria, viruses and fungi; it also suffers from solar damage and wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In some individuals, the immune system, which normally offers protection against fatal external assaults, can malfunction and cause chronic inflammation in the absence of a known pathogen, resulting in a host of disorders categorized as autoimmune skin diseases. This volume contains a series of 19 review articles on a wide range of autoimmune disease processes in the skin. Featuring disorders of humoral as well as cellular immunity, it covers allergic contact dermatitis, toxic epidermal necrolysis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus foliaceus, lichen planus, vitiligo, scleroderma, alopecia areata and dermatomyositis.For these diseases, the latest insights into their etiology and pathophysiology as well as therapeutic strategies are presented by experts in the fields of dermatology, genetics, immunology and pathology. In addition, overviews of the skin as an active immune organ and of the immune privilege of the skin are included. Comprehensive and up-to-date, this book is recommended for basic and clinical researchers, allergists, immunologists, dermatologists, internists and anyone interested in autoimmunity.
Author(s): B. J. Nickoloff, F. O. Nestle
Series: Current directions in autoimmunity 10
Edition: 1
Publisher: Karger
Year: 2008
Language: English
Commentary: 56924
Pages: 391
City: Basel; New York
cover......Page 1
Contents-Foreword.pdf......Page 2
1 Allergic Contact Dermatitis......Page 10
2 Immune Privilege and the Skin......Page 36
3 Immunobiology of Acute Cytotoxic Drug Reactions......Page 62
4 Psoriasis......Page 74
5 Atopic Dermatitis in 2008......Page 85
6 Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Molecular and Cellular Basis of Clinical Findings......Page 128
7 Bullous Pemphigoid and Related Subepidermal Autoimmune Blistering Diseases......Page 150
8 Pemphigus Vulgaris and Its Active Disease Mouse Model......Page 176
9 Pemphigus Foliaceus......Page 191
10 Autoimmunity to Type VII Collagen Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita......Page 204
11 Pathomechanisms of Lichen Planus Autoimmunity Elicited by Cross-Reactive T Cells......Page 215
12 Autoimmune Etiology of Generalized Vitiligo......Page 236
13 The Genetics of Generalized Vitiligo......Page 253
14 Scleroderma......Page 267
15 Alopecia Areata......Page 289
16 Dermatomyositis......Page 322
17 Novel Mechanism for Therapeutic Action of IVIg in Autoimmune Blistering Dermatoses......Page 342
18 Skin Involvement in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases......Page 353
19 Therapeutics and Immune-Mediated Skin Disease......Page 368
Author Index......Page 382
Subject Index......Page 383
