A case of newly developed pemphigus foliaceus and possible association with alternative bee-venom therapy

Bee-venom is composed of a variety of peptides, enzymes, and biogenic amines, and is demonstrated to have both anti- inflammatory and immune-stimulatory effects in human body. Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is a variant of pemphigus, which is a rare autoimmune bullous disease presenting with erythematous scaly crusted plaques. Although the exact pathogenesis was not identified, there have been three case reports of autoimmune disorders associated with bee-venom. In this case, a 64-year-old female was diagnosed with PF, which was developed after alternative bee-venom acupuncture therapy. We assumed that the bee-venom caused the diseases through a temporal relationship and its known immunostimulatory action. Herein, we suggest that physicians recognize the possibility of bee-venom stimulating the immune system and triggering various autoimmune diseases including pemphigus.