Bullous Pemphigoid

Researchers are evaluating camoteskimab, a drug being studied in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. This phase 2b study is multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled, aiming to assess the drug's effects compared to placebo. Participants include those who have not been treated before and those who have had an inadequate response to previous biologic therapies. The study has two parts: Part 1 is a 24-week period where participants are randomly assigned to one of four groups receiving one of three doses of camoteskimab or a placebo, all given by subcutaneous injection. In Part 2, an extension period, all participants will receive camoteskimab. This design allows researchers to compare the drug doses with placebo initially and then provide treatment to all participants. Participants will be involved for at least 24 weeks in the placebo-controlled phase and beyond during the extension. They will undergo assessments including the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), Investigator Global Assessment (IGA), and peak itch ratings. Researchers will measure changes in eczema severity, itch intensity, and skin condition over time. Safety and adherence will be monitored throughout the study period to evaluate the drug's effects and tolerability.

This research aims to evaluate the accuracy of the Belle.ai software in diagnosing common dermatologic diseases across different skin tones. The software uses deep learning technology to analyze clinical images of skin conditions and provides a differential diagnosis from a database of over 2,000 skin conditions based on more than 500,000 images. The study will determine how well the AI-generated diagnoses match those of dermatology experts. Participants who consent will have three images taken of their skin condition using the Belle.ai software. These images will be de-identified and uploaded into the system, where the software will generate a single list of possible diagnoses. Dermatology experts will then review the cases to compare their diagnoses with the AI results. The study will be conducted at dermatology clinics within the Advocate Health system. During the study, images will be captured and uploaded securely without any personal identifiers. The Dermatologic Review Committee will assess the concordance between the AI's primary diagnosis and expert opinions, aiming for greater than 80% agreement. Participants will not need to complete any additional forms, and their involvement primarily involves image capture during their clinic visit. The main outcome measured is the agreement between AI and physician diagnoses on the day of image capture.

Researchers are developing and managing the AnovaOS Network Powered Patient Registry to collect real-world patient data across various diseases globally. This registry aims to capture meaningful clinical information on diagnosis, infection course, treatments, and outcomes to enhance understanding and support future clinical trials and observational studies. The registry serves as a resource to better understand, prevent, diagnose, and treat diverse health conditions. Participants' data will be gathered through this registry, which can also be used to recruit individuals for clinical trials and observational studies on promising therapies. The registry collects ongoing information on patients' health status and treatments, enabling long-term monitoring and analysis. This observational study does not involve administering treatments but focuses on data collection and management. Participants will provide information through questionnaires or instruments, either personally or via an informed proxy, with an expected follow-up once per year. The research team will assess natural history, clinical effectiveness, safety, and quality of care over a period of five years. The registry includes patients with a wide range of conditions, and participation requires informed consent and the ability to complete follow-up data collection.

Researchers are evaluating the severity and impact of autoimmune blistering diseases, specifically pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus, and bullous pemphigoid. These diseases cause severe blistering and require new ways to measure disease severity accurately for use in clinical trials. The study aims to validate two key disease severity instruments, the Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI) and the Bullous Pemphigoid Disease Area Index (BPDAI), against other measures and to understand how these relate to patients' quality of life. Participants will complete several questionnaires, including the PDAI, BPDAI, the Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS), and various quality of life assessments such as the SF-36, Skindex-29, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Autoimmune Bullous Disease Quality of Life (ABQOL), and Treatment of Autoimmune Bullous Disease Quality of Life (TABQOL). Blood samples may also be donated to a blood bank for further immunologic and pathophysiologic studies. The study is observational and data is securely stored within a password-protected database. During the study, participants will be asked to rate their disease severity and complete quality of life questionnaires over a one-year period. The research team will use these assessments to compare disease severity scores and quality of life impacts. This study is conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and involves ongoing data collection to support future clinical trials for these conditions.

This research aims to collect biological and clinical data from patients with autoimmune, dysimmune, or auto-inflammatory skin diseases. These conditions include a wide range of rare diseases that collectively affect a significant portion of the adult population, especially women. The study focuses on understanding the breakdown of self-tolerance and the complex mechanisms behind these diseases, as well as identifying patient subgroups based on clinical and biological profiles to improve diagnosis and treatment. Participants will provide biological samples such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, stools, urine, tissue biopsies, and hair follicles during their normal diagnostic and follow-up care. The study will gather these samples and clinical data over an average period of one year. The goal is to build a collection that supports the identification of new autoantibodies, biomarkers related to disease severity, and the exploration of disease mechanisms. Samples will also be analyzed to compare blood cell populations before and after certain therapies. During the study, participants will be involved in providing biological specimens as part of their routine medical care. Researchers will monitor these samples and clinical data to assess disease markers, treatment responses, and underlying disease processes. The main outcome is the development of a detailed biological and clinical collection to support future research and therapeutic strategies. The study follows participants for about one year, with ongoing data collection throughout this period.

Researchers are evaluating the coagulation and fibrinolysis profiles in people with autoimmune skin diseases, such as bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, mucous membrane pemphigoid, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, and dermatomyositis. The study compares blood samples from participants with active or poorly controlled immune-mediated skin diseases and those with mild or well-controlled conditions. A control group of general dermatology outpatients without immune-mediated skin diseases or certain skin cancers will also provide samples. This observational study aims to help guide future research on how these blood profiles relate to autoimmune skin conditions. Participants will have a one-time blood draw to measure various coagulation and inflammatory markers. Tests include standard coagulation assays such as activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and international normalized ratio (INR), as well as viscoelastic coagulation profiles like rotational thromboelastometry and thromboelastography, including tPA-challenged versions. Blood samples from both groups will be analyzed and compared to understand differences in coagulation and fibrinolysis related to immune-mediated skin diseases. During the study, participants will provide detailed medical history and have their blood collected once for analysis. Researchers will measure primary outcomes including thromboelastography, tPA-challenged thromboelastography, aPTT, and INR over a two-year period to track coagulation function. This study includes adult participants aged 19 and older and involves healthy volunteers as controls. The total participation involves one visit for blood sample collection and history review.

Researchers are creating a network of hospitals, labs, academic institutions, and healthcare organizations to provide annotated biospecimens for various types of medical research and education. These biospecimens will be used for biomarker discovery, diagnostic test development, therapeutics research, and training of researchers and physicians. Participants may be healthy or have medical conditions relevant to ongoing research needs. The study involves collecting remnant specimens originally obtained for clinical testing or specimens collected specifically for research, including biofluids, tissues, and cells. Participants may be identified during clinical care or recruited through outreach programs. Biospecimens may be distributed to various research entities such as academic institutions and companies for diverse research uses, including genetic testing, cell line development, and long-term storage. Participants may undergo minimal risk screening activities and provide biospecimens as needed. The research team will collect data over a 10-year period to support novel research uses. Biospecimens may be used for multiple research and educational purposes, including training laboratory technicians and physicians. The study includes participants aged 1 to 89 years and involves assessment of health status through medical record reviews and clinical exams when blood collection is needed.

Pemphigus diseases are serious, chronic autoimmune conditions that cause blistering due to the immune system attacking certain skin proteins. The two main types studied here are pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus. Researchers are evaluating a new personalized maintenance therapy involving rituximab infusions guided by antibody levels to see if this approach can better prevent disease relapses compared to the standard treatment. This is a phase 4 randomized study conducted by the University Hospital, Rouen, building on previous rituximab trials that led to regulatory approvals. Participants in the trial will receive initial treatment with rituximab and oral prednisone following French guidelines, with rituximab given at Day 1, Day 14, Month 12, and Month 18. One group will receive this standard regimen, while the experimental group will have their treatment adapted based on anti-desmoglein antibody levels. Additional rituximab infusions may be given at Month 6 or later if antibody levels remain high or increase, with up to two extra infusions per year allowed during the study. During the study, participants will be regularly monitored through blood tests for antibody levels and blood cells every three months for up to 7.5 years. Researchers will assess the number of disease relapses, time to relapse, duration of remission, quality of life, and rituximab exposure. The study will also track the total dose of rituximab and record safety outcomes. This long follow-up aims to understand if personalized maintenance with rituximab can reduce relapses and the need for corticosteroid treatment.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune skin disease, mainly affecting older adults. It typically causes tense blisters on the trunk and limbs with severe itching, but can also appear as atypical forms without blisters or with mucosal damage. Current treatments mainly involve strong topical and systemic steroids, which are effective but not targeted, leading to many side effects, especially in elderly patients. About 30% of patients experience relapse within the first year after reducing or stopping steroid therapy. This research focuses on the role of IL-17 family inflammatory cytokines in BP, aiming to better understand their role in inflammation and relapse to advance precision medicine approaches. This study is a prospective, single-center investigation involving 90 patients with bullous pemphigoid. Researchers will analyze the cellular and molecular components of the IL-17B/IL-17RB axis at diagnosis and during treatment. The study aims to confirm IL-17B as a potential biomarker for treatment outcomes, examine how IL-17B and its receptor change during therapy, evaluate their involvement in disease relapse, and characterize inflammatory cell profiles in skin and blood over the first year of treatment. Participants will undergo blood sampling and skin biopsies at multiple time points, including days 1, 30, 60, 90, 150, 270, and 365. Researchers will identify IL-17RB-expressing and IL-17B-producing cells in blood and lesion sites and measure IL-17B concentrations in serum. The study includes detailed clinical evaluations, aiming to better understand BP's inflammatory mechanisms, treatment responses, and relapse patterns over one year.

Researchers are evaluating a zinc oxide adhesive securement device to help reduce complications related to the fixation of midline and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) in hospitalized adult patients. The study aims to compare this zinc oxide device with a standard acrylic adhesive device to see if it lowers issues such as catheter displacement, skin injuries, phlebitis, and pain. The trial is a randomized clinical study designed to improve care decisions for vascular access devices by reducing common complications. Participants will be divided into two groups after catheter insertion using a modified micro-Seldinger technique. One group will receive the standard care using an acrylic adhesive securement device along with a clear polyurethane dressing and cyanoacrylate glue. The intervention group will receive the same care except their catheter will be fixed with a zinc oxide adhesive securement device instead of the acrylic adhesive. Ultrasound guidance is used for all catheter insertions to improve accuracy. During the study, researchers will observe participants for seven days following catheter placement to monitor for treatment-related adverse events, skin changes under the fixation device, catheter displacement, phlebitis using a visual rating scale, and pain in the affected limb measured by a pain scale. Participants will be monitored closely for any complications related to the catheter fixation. The total participation involves care and assessments over this week-long period to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the zinc oxide adhesive device compared to the standard adhesive.