2 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorders are believed to be due to immune cells, cells that normally protect the body and are now causing damage to the body. This study is designed to examine whether treating patients with high dose cyclophosphamide (a drug which reduces the function of the immune system) together with anti-thymocyte globulin (a protein that kills the immune cells that are thought to be causing your disease), followed by return of the previously collected special blood cells (stem cells) will result in improvement of this disease. Stem cells are undeveloped cells that have the capacity to grow into mature blood cells, which normally circulate in the blood stream. The purpose of the intense chemotherapy is to destroy the cells in the immune system which may be causing this skin disease. The purpose of the stem cell infusion is to restore the body's blood production, which will be severely impaired by the high dose chemotherapy and anti-thymocyte globulin.
This study will examine the coagulation and fibrinolysis profiles of those with autoimmune skin diseases. Blood samples will be collected from participants with active/poorly controlled immune-mediated skin diseases and mild/latent/well-controlled immune-mediated skin diseases. A one-time sample from 15 general dermatology outpatients who do not have a known or suspected diagnosis of bullous diseases, immune-mediated dermatologic condition, or cutaneous malignancy will also be collected to serve as control. Blood samples from both participant populations will be analyzed for coagulation and inflammatory markers and compared. The results of this study may help inform future studies on the utility of analyzing coagulation and fibrinolysis profiles of patients with autoimmune skin diseases.