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Ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid: a review

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Abstract

Ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a rare, immuno-mediated chronic progressive condition of the conjunctiva characterized by blisters developing from sub-epithelial tissue through disruption of the adhesions between the conjunctival epithelium and the sub-epithelium. Patients with ocular MMP, in many cases, develop profound conjunctival scarring and visual impairment. Furthermore, ocular MMP may lead to a progressive secondary corneal vascularization and to corneal opacification. Ocular MMP is difficult to diagnose during the initial stages because of false negatives during biopsy and variability in the clinical presentation. Most of the current pharmacological treatments aim to control the inflammatory response to reduce the progressive tissue remodeling which leads to the formation of a fibrotic scar. The course and prognosis of ocular MMP depend on the severity and progression of the disease after systemic immunomodulatory therapy. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current literature on established and emerging concepts in ocular MMP, with special attention to its clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and pathogenic mechanisms, including the role of some cytokines and growth factors in the development of the disease.

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Funding

The research for this paper was financially supported by Italian Ministry of Health and Fondazione Roma.

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Author notes

  1. Samanta Taurone, Marialuisa Spoletini, Antonio Greco and Alessandra Micera contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRCCS – Fondazione Bietti, Rome, Italy

    Samanta Taurone & Alessandra Micera

  2. Department of Sensory Organs, “Sapienza” University of Rome, V. le del Policlinico 155, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Marialuisa Spoletini, Massimo Ralli, Marco Artico & Antonio Greco

  3. Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Urbino, Italy

    Pietro Gobbi

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    Laszlò Imre, Cecília Czakò & Illés Kovàcs

Authors
  1. Samanta Taurone
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  2. Marialuisa Spoletini
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  3. Massimo Ralli
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  5. Marco Artico
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  9. Antonio Greco
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  10. Alessandra Micera
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Correspondence to Massimo Ralli.

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Taurone, S., Spoletini, M., Ralli, M. et al. Ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid: a review. Immunol Res 67, 280–289 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-019-09087-7

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