Vesiculobullous Darier Disease Symptomatically Responsive to Cetirizine

Darier disease is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis of abnormal keratinization characterized by hyperkeratotic papules and plaques with a predilection for seborrheic areas. We report a case of a rare vesiculobullous variant of treatment-resistant Darier disease in a 55-year-old woman that failed topical tacrolimus and topical and oral glucocorticoids. Cetirizine was initiated at 10 mg daily and increased to 40 mg daily over four weeks, with resultant marked improvement of the patient’s burning sensation. A punch biopsy revealed a perivascular infiltrate of eosinophils. This patient’s symptomatic improvement with cetirizine, which has antagonizing properties against eosinophils, highlights the potential role of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of vesiculobullous Darier disease. We suggest that major basic protein secreted by eosinophils may propagate blister formation in vesiculobullous Darier disease by disrupting desmosomes. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(2):213-214.