James Michael “Jim” Flaherty (1949-2014) served as the finance minister of Canada from 2006 to 2014.
In 2013 (age 64) he announced that he had bullous pemphigoid (BP) and that he was undergoing treatment for it.
From the picture below taken in early 2013 (vs 2010), it can be inferred that he already had been treated for the disease for a while.
Indeed features of systemic steroid-intake such as central obesity and a swollen face (Moon facies) are visible.
He resigned on March 18 2014 and died three weeks later on April 10 2014 of a heart attack, he was 65 years old.
Note:Bullous pemphigoid is often diagnosed many years following its initial presentation
BP is difficult to manage and often steroid sparing agents such as methotrexate are combined with oral steroids. We did not find the information that he would have gone a combination treatment.
To read more about bullous pemphigoid, click HERE
To read general information on oral steroids, click HERE
This article was written at the time of the 2015 World Congress of Dermatology which took place in Vancouver, Canada.
Bibliography
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/treatments-that-suppressed-jim-flahertys-rare-skin-disorder-had-a-tremendous-effect-on-him
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