The International Coeliac Symposium, Tampere, Finland - September, 1996

The following was written by Dr. Joseph Murray, one of the leading USA physicians in the diagnosis of celiac disease (celiac disease) and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). Dr. Murray (Open Original Shared Link) of the Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, is a gastroenterologist who specializes in treating Celiac disease:
In response to your questions about DH, The following represents my views about this curious and very itchy condition. In general DH is a severely itchy skin condition that often starts abruptly, affecting the elbows knees buttocks and scalp and the back. It usually starts as little bumps that can become tiny blisters and then are usually scratched off. It can occur in one spot only but usually occurs in many different areas. The condition is related to the deposit under the...

Iodine testing for DH: This is an old procedure used to create DH blisters. By applying a 30 percent solution of iodine as a patch, a DH outbreak can be created. This may be applicable in some patients when a biopsy is needed and no blisters are available.
Immunofluorescence: The indirect immunofluorescence test shows that the serum of a patient contains specific antibodies that bind to different areas of the epithelium. The direct immunofluorescence tests by a skin biopsy shows a specific diagnosis pattern of DH. Traditionally this biopsy is obtained from the buttocks. If no outbreaks are observed in this area, the biopsy is recommended for another area where the itching is observed. DH Drugs: The common drugs used to initially control the blisters are: Dapsone, Sulfoxone, and Sulfapyridine...

The the connection between iodine and Dermatitis Herpetiformis is briefly described by the following excerpt from a resource guide of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America:
Iodine can trigger eruptions in some people (with dermatitis herpetiformis). However, iodine is a essential nutrient and should not be removed from the diet without a physicians supervision. Iodine does not contain gluten. Iodine can worsen the symptoms of skin lesions in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis. When the deposits of IgA have been cleared from the skin over time by following a gluten free diet, iodine should no longer present any problem for dermatitis herpetiformis patients. As background, for those who are not familiar with Dermatitis Herpetiformis, the following description...

Celiac.com 11/13/2013 - Dermatitis herpetiformis is the cutaneous manifestation of celiac disease. Both celiac and dermatitis herpetiformis are diseases of gluten-sensitivity.
People with celiac disease, even with asymptomatic forms, often experience reduced bone density from metabolic bone disease. This led scientists to ask if dermatitis herpetiformis results in bone loss as celiac disease does.
However, there is very little data about bone density in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis, so that question remained unanswered.
To find an answer, a team of researchers recently set out to compare bone mineral density (BMD) of people with celiac disease against bone mineral density for dermatitis herpetiformis patients.
The research team included K. Lorinczy, M. Juhász, M....