Efficacy and Safety of Ustekinumab in Bullous Pemphigoid
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-04-11
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease and typically
affects the elderly. Clinically, BP is an intensely pruritic erythematous eruption with
widespread blister formation. BP is usually a chronic disease, with spontaneous exacerbations
and remissions, which may be accompanied by significant morbidity.
BP usually requires on average a 1-year duration of treatment. Superpotent topical
corticosteroids have been demonstrated to be effective. Despite their high efficacy, topical
corticosteroids are often considered as poorly convenient, requiring the assistance of
patients' relatives or a nurse to apply the topical treatment on a long period of time.
Overall, whereas BP lesions can be adequately and rapidly controlled with either topical
corticosteroids, there is a high need for a safe maintenance therapy to avoid treatment side
effects due to cumulative doses of corticosteroids over months.
Newer therapeutic agents such as ustekinumab targeting molecules involved in the inflammatory
cascade associated with BP represent future alternatives to classical immunosuppressant drugs
for maintenance therapy.