<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi All--

The topic of celiac disease and its connection to or
with other autoimmune diseases has been a fairly
regular topic - sorry to be revisiting it yet again,
but I'm hoping someone on the list might have some
information not yet posted.

I work in a bookstore and was browsing though a book
on autoimmune disorders yesterday. I was mostly
interested in what it had to say about celiac disease
(fairly accurate). I also ran across a disease called
"pemphigus" - a blistering disease of the skin and
mucous membranes. Since I notice a number of people on
the list mention rashes or itching without a diagnosis
of DH, myself included, I did some research on the
disorder. Ten years ago or so, I was diagnosed with
transient acantholytic dermatosis (Grover's disease)
after a severe outbreak of a blistering rash on my
back. I've never totally bought into this diagnosis
because most, if not all, of the medical information
refers to Grover's disease as affecting mostly males
over the age of 60, and the areas of the body affected
are those exposed to sunlight. I'm female and at the
time of diagnosis, was 30-something. Also, the rash
persists under my arms and on my scalp - two areas not
affected by Grover's. Both pemphigus and Grover's
affect the skin's cells ability to "stick together."
And one treatment for pemphigus is dapsone.

One of the symptoms of one type of pemphigus is
fluid-filled blisters in the mouth. I get those
periodically, but none of my doctors have been able to
explain them (though they are all extremely excited
about them). So....

I guess my questions are: has anyone on the list been
diagnosed with celiac and pemphigus, and are there
certain autoimmune diseases that tend to cluster in a
patient or is this issue irrelevant - one autoimmune
disease predisposes one to *any* of the long list of
others?

Pemphigus can be quite serious and I don't intend to
alarm anyone who experiences rashes without a DH
diagnosis. Typically, according to the pemphigus
organization website, pemphigus is almost always the
last disease considered because it's so extremely rare
(where have we heard this before?)

Any information anyone might have to share, I would be
grateful. I'll summarize if anyone is interested or if
I get any responses.

Cheers,
Ayn in Alabama

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