SummaryAutoimmune bullous skin disorders are induced by autoantibodies against distinct adhesion complexes of the epidermal and dermal-epidermal junction. Since most of these disorders are characterized by a severe, potentially lethal course, they require long-term immunosuppressive treatment to reduce the de novo synthesis of pathogenic autoantibodies by B lymphocytes. Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody against CD20 on B lymphocytes, has shown promise in several case reports or cohort studies in the treatment of paraneoplastic pemphigus, refractory cases of pemphigus vulgaris and foliaceus and in other autoimmune bullous disorders.Treatment with rituximab leads to depletion of pathogenic B-cells which may last up to 12 months resulting in a reduction of plasma cells secreting pathogenic autoantibodies. Rituximab is usually administered in an adjuvant setting at a dose of 375 mg/m 2 i. v. in weekly intervals for four consecutive weeks in addition to the standard immunosuppressive treatment. The present consensus statement of German-speaking dermatologists, rheumatologists and oncologists summarizes and evaluates the current evidence for the use and mode of application of rituximab in autoimmune bullous skin disorders.

Despite the use of high-dose systemic corticosteroids in combination with other immunosuppressants, in some patients with autoimmune bullous diseases only insufficient improvement is achieved. In these cases and in acute severe disease, adjuvant immunoapheresis has been increasingly used. A consensus meeting was held in mid-2005 in Hamburg, aiming at developing guidelines for the use of immunoapheresis in the treatment of autoimmune bullous diseases. This paper summarizes the experts' recommendations.

Lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET) is an uncommon and photosensitive inflammatory skin disorder which is characterised by erythematous urticarial plaques. In the last 20 years, extensive research on clinical and histological aspects of the disease have led to a better characterization of this nosological entity and to differentiate it from other similar or related diseases. Today, LET is considered as a separate subtype of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) with a benign, intermittent clinical course (intermittent CLE, ICLE) and only rarely associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

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