Juvenile dermatitis herpetiformis versus "benign chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood." Are these immunologic diseases?

Seven cases of juvenile dermatitis herpetiformis have been investigated. Immunofluorescence and histologic studies were made in all and jejunal biopsies in three. Immunopathologic results were positive in all cases including one that had previously been reported to be negative. Two groups could be distinguished according to clinical and histologic criteria, response to sulfapyridine, and character of the immunoglobulin deposits. The first corresponded to dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) of adults, with characteristic lesions of the jejunal mucosa; the second corresponded either to bullous pemphigoid (BP), although in the majority of the cases without circulating antibasement-membrane antibodies, or to a mixed type with the combined features of DH and BP. Repeated biopsies with serial sections are essential for demonstrating immune deposits. The question arises whether any immunologically negative cases of "benign chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood" actually exist.