2019 Volume 81 Issue 5 Pages 418-423
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are used to treat diabetes mellitus. Bullous pemphigoid, associated with the use of such inhibitors, is characterized by blistering without erythema and low anti-BP180 NC16a antibody titers. However, no study has yet assessed the characteristics of bullous pemphigoid associated with diabetes mellitus. Here, we divided 93 pemphigoid patients treated at the Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, over the past 10 years into three groups by the presence or absence of diabetes at pemphigoid onset and a history of oral DPP-4 inhibitor prescription. We assessed clinical features, eosinophil numbers in peripheral blood, anti-BP180 NC16a antibody titers, and treatments. Bullous pemphigoid patients with diabetes mellitus exhibited the characteristic features of pemphigoid patients that are associated with the use of DPP-4 inhibitors. Our findings suggest that DPP-4 inhibitors trigger pemphigoid onset in patients with diabetes mellitus.
