Vitamin D levels in patients with seborrheic dermatitis.

OBJECTIVE: Seborrheic dermatitis is a common papulosquamous skin disease with unknown pathogenesis. The aim of our study was to determine the serum level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D in patients with seborrheic dermatitis SD. METHODS: A total of 53 patients and 60 healthy controls were included in the study. Serum vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, and parathormone levels were measured in the patient and control groups, and a comparison was made between the two groups regarding these parameters. RESULTS: Severe vitamin D deficiency was more frequent among patients with seborrheic dermatitisSD compared to controls (52.8 vs. 25.8%, p=0.003). In patients with severe vitamin D deficiency, seborrheic dermatitis SD was detected more frequently at an early age (p=0048) and in women (p=0.015). No correlation was found between the seborrheic dermatitis skin involvement site and vitamin D level. CONCLUSION: The fact that vitamin D levels decreased in patients with seborrheic dermatitis SD and patients with severe vitamin D deficiency develop seborrheic dermatitis SD earlier suggests that the low levels of vitamin D are related to seborrheic dermatitis.

Oxidative Stress and Thiol/Disulfide Homeostasis in Human Papillomavirus Infections.

Introduction: Viral warts are a group of dermatological diseases caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Several studies have demonstrated an association between HPV infections and oxidative stress. Thiols are important components of cellular redox homeostasis as antioxidant molecules in the organism. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the role of oxidative stress in patients with HPV infection by analyzing native thiol/disulfide homeostasis. Material and Methods: Forty-two patients with HPV infection and 40 healthy subjects were analyzed for the levels of native thiols, total thiols, and disulfide. Disulfide/native thiol, disulfide/total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol ratios were also calculated. Results: Disulfide and total thiol levels were higher in the patients compared to the healthy controls. The disulfide/native thiol ratio was also higher in the patient group. Native and total thiol levels decreased with the increasing duration of the disease. Conclusion: The native thiol/disulfide homeostasis was shifted toward disulfide in the patients' group, indicating the existence of oxidative stress in HPV infection.

Investigation of the relationship between seborrheic dermatitis and metabolic syndrome parameters.

BACKGROUND: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is a common, chronic inflammatory disease with relapses and remissions. OBJECTIVES: So we planned to investigate the relationship between SD and metabolic syndrome (Mets). METHODS: 54 patients over 18 years of age without known diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease who were clinically diagnosed with SD in our clinic and 47 healthy controls were included in the study. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated of all participants. Complete blood count, fasting blood sugar (FBG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were examined. The relationship between the presence of MetS, disease severity, and duration was investigated. RESULTS: Average age of patients was 35.4 (sd: 12). Average age of controls was 32.9 (sd: 10.7). MetS was detected in 35.2% (n = 19) of the patient group and 10.6% (n = 5) of the control group. The presence of MetS was higher in SD patients than in the control group (p = 0.004). The rate of people with high TG was significantly higher in the SD group than the controls (p = 0.015). HDL level was significantly lower in the patient group (p = 0.050). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were high in patients (p = 0.016, p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: Seborrheic dermatitis should be considered as a MetS marker and the presence of MetS should be examined in this group of patients. This can be helpful for the early diagnosis of a systemic disease complex with numerous complications. Also, treatment of MetS can also improve SD lesions.

Investigation of plasma thiol/disulfide balance in male patients with androgenetic alopecia.

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common cause of hair loss in men. In addition to genetic and hormonal factors, oxidative stress (OS) is suggested as a factor in the etiology. AIM: In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of OS due to thiol disulfide balance deterioration in male patients with AGA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 45 male AGA patients and 42 healthy male controls were included in the study. Native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels were assessed through automated spectrophotometry. The relationship between total protein, albumin, native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels in addition to demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were examined. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 32.6 ± 10 years, and the median AGA duration in the patients was 3 years. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of native thiol, disulfide, total thiol levels, disulfide/total thiol, disulfide/native thiol, and native thiol/total thiol ratios between AGA patients and controls. Native thiol and total thiol levels negatively correlated with age and AGA duration, while disulfide levels only correlated with age.Albumin and native thiol levels were significantly lower in patients with low vitamin D levels (p = 0.040 and p = 0.021, respectively); however, total thiol and native thiol/total thiol ratio values were significantly higher. CONCLUSION: According to this study, thiol disulfide homeostasis is in balance in male patients with AGA. In patients with emotional stress and vitamin D deficiency, the balance appears to be shifted in favor of oxidative stress.

Cutaneous findings in patients with chronic venous insufficiency.

BACKGROUND: Venous hypertension causes many different cutaneous findings such as varicosities, telangiectasia, edema, and pigmentation, dermatitis, and venous ulcers on the skin. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the cutaneous signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and to examine their contribution to early diagnosis. METHODS: A total of 150 patients were included in the study who applied to the dermatology outpatient clinic and were diagnosed with skin disease related to CVI or had skin findings. Patient's age, gender, complaints, occupation, additional diseases, drug usage, history of prolonged standing and travel, smoking habit, number of pregnancies, history of varicose veins in the family, dermatological diagnosis/findings, and venous Doppler ultrasonography reports were examined retrospectively. RESULTS: 56% of patients were women. Mean age was 56.69 ± 13.6 years. Overall, 82.7% of total patients had at least one skin finding. The most frequent skin findings except varicose veins were insufficiency dermatitis accounted for 32.7% of patients, telangiectasia, and pigmentation which were comprised 25.3%, 19.3% of the total number of patients respectively. In addition to this, 48.7% of patients had itching problems and 32.7% had pain. Moreover, 46% of patients presented superficial vein insufficiency, while 8.7% had deep vein insufficiency. For 47.3% of patients, vein diameter dilation was observed and 11.3% suffered from perforating vein insufficiency. In terms of Clinical-Etiologic-Anatomic-Pathophysiologic (CEAP) classification, scores of 52% of the patients were C3 and lower, while scores of 48% of total patients were C4a and higher. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis and treatment of chronic venous insufficiency could prevent further chronic processes such as venous ulceration which is an advanced CVI finding. Thus, assessing the early skin findings might be important to identify the underlying venous insufficiency disease.

Research on the Balance of Thiol-Disulfide in Blood Serum in Women with Telogen Effluvium.

BACKGROUNDS: Telogen effluvium (TE) is the most common reason for hair loss in humans. Although the exact etiopathogenesis of TE has not been revealed clearly and completely, multifactorial etiologies are to be blamed. In recent years, since oxidative stress (OS) has been shown to play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of so many diseases, the effects of OS on several skin diseases are researched and analyzed. Thiols are antioxidant components that include sulfur group, and the balance of thiol-disulfide has an important role in the formation and prevention of OS. This balance is destroyed in many diseases and its effect on TE is not clearly understood yet. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to search the thiol-disulfide balance that could reveal OS in patients with TE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two patients with TE and control group of 46 persons were included in the study. Native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels were evaluated by a new, automatic spectrophotometric method. Disulfide/native thiol, disulfide/total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol rates were calculated. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference between TE patients and control group in terms of native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels. Thiol-disulfide balance was fixed and not affected in TE patients.

Thiol/disulfide homeostasis as a marker of oxidative stress in rosacea: a controlled spectrophotometric study.

BACKGROUND: Rosacea is the chronic inflammatory disease of the facial skin. Although its aetiology is not clear yet, inflammatory processes triggered by oxidative stress and oxidation of lipids have been suggested to play a role. While studies on the relationship between inflammation and oxidative stress are ongoing, thiol metabolism and its role in oxidative stress have also begun to be investigated. Thiols are among the key molecules of protein metabolism in the organism and they are the firstly consumed antioxidants in case of oxidative stress. Thiols regulate intracellular redox metabolism and protect keratinocytes against the results of oxidative alterations in the stratum corneum. There is a balance known as dynamic thiol/disulfide homeostasis between thiols and their oxidized forms; disulfides. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effects of oxidative stress on protein metabolism in rosacea patients by investigating thiol/disulfide homeostasis using a newly developed and fully automated method. Determination of plasma thiol levels provides important clues regarding the extent of free radical-mediated oxidation of proteins causing damage in rosacea. METHODS: The study included 50 rosacea patients who were diagnosed clinically or histopathologically with rosacea and 42 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Plasma levels of native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide were determined. The following ratios were calculated: disulfide/native thiol ratio, disulfide/total thiol ratio, and native thiol/total thiol ratio. RESULTS: The mean age was 41.8 ± 10.5 in the rosacea patients (35 females) and 42.5 ± 10.3 years in the control group (33 females). The mean disulfide level was found to be significantly higher in the rosacea patients than in the control group (23.4 ± 5.5 µM/L and 17.3 ± 6.2µM/L, respectively; p < 0.001). The mean disulfide/native thiol ratio (0.055 ± 0.016 vs. 0.041 ± 0.017) and the mean disulfide/total thiol ratio (0.049 ± 0.012 vs.0.037 ± 0.013) were significantly higher and the mean native thiol/total thiol ratio (0.884 ± 0.118 vs. 0.923 ± 0.027) was significantly lower in the patients as compared with the controls (p < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: In rosacea patients, the thiol/disulfide balance was observed to shift towards disulfides, which could be considered an indicator of oxidative stress in rosacea.

The effect of tinea versicolor on thiol/disulphide homeostasis.

INTRODUCTION: Tinea versicolor is a superficial fungal infection caused by Malassezia spp. Malassezia spp. is a member of the normal human skin flora. It becomes a pathogen by transforming from the yeast form to the mycelium form. The oxidant/antioxidant homeostasis may be responsible for this. Thiol/disulphide homeostasis is a new marker indicating oxidative stress. This homeostasis is affected in many illnesses. AIM: To investigate the thiol/disulphide homeostasis in patients with tinea versicolor. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-two patients with tinea versicolor (median age: 36 years, min.-max.: 19-58) and 36 healthy controls (median age: 32 years, min.-max.: 18-60) were included in the trial. The levels of native thiol, disulphide, and total thiol were measured by an automated method in the patient and control groups. Disulphide/total thiol, disulphide/native thiol and native thiol/total thiol rates were calculated as percentage. RESULTS: For the patient group and the control group, the native thiol levels were found to be 464.32 ±51.48 mmol/l and 465.18 ±51.32 mmol/l, disulphide levels - 19.80 ±7.08 mmol/l and 21.27 ±8.90 mmol/l, total thiol levels - 503.92 ±53.65 mmol/l and 508.07 ±56.59 mmol/l, respectively. No statistical difference was detected between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Thiol/disulphide homeostasis was not affected in tinea versicolor. According to our findings, oxidative stress seems to have no role in the pathogenesis of tinea versicolor.

A case of severe erythema nodosum induced by methimazole.

Erythema nodosum (EN), is the most common variant of septal panniculitis and is possibly a delayed hypersensitivity reaction triggered by a wide range of antigenic stimuli. Hypersensitivity reactions due to medications have been recognized as a cause of 3-10% of EN cases. Case reports of EN associated with the anti-thyroid drugs are quite rarely reported in the literature even if there is a common use of anti-thyroid drugs. We report an EN case due to methimazole. The complaints of patients arose immediately fifteen days after the beginning of methimazole treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this case report is the first of an erythema nodosum induced by methimazole.

Investigation of thiol-disulphide balance in patients with acute urticaria and chronic spontaneous urticaria.

BACKGROUND: Thiol-disulphide balance plays a major role in health and diseases. This balance may be disrupted by various diseases. We aimed to determine status of the effect of thiol-disulphide balance in urticaria. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the thiol-disulphide balance in patients with acute urticaria (AUP) and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). METHODS: Study included 53 AUP and 47 healthy controls plus 57 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSUP) and 57 healthy controls. Levels of native thiols, disulphides and total thiols were evaluated in plasma using a new and automated spectrophotometric method. Ratios of disulphides/total thiols, disulphides/native thiols and native thiols/total thiols were calculated. RESULTS: For AU, there was no statistical difference compared to control group in levels of native thiols, disulphides and total thiols. For CSU, however, there was an increase in levels of native thiols, disulphides and total thiols and the ratio of thiol/disulphide in favour of disulphide. CONCLUSION: Thiol-disulphide balance was not affected by AU but shifted towards to disulphide in CSU indicating the presence of oxidative stress (OS).

Atypical pityriasis rosea: clinical evaluation of 27 patients.

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a common, acute, self-limiting inflammatory skin disease. It can easily be recognized with its typical clinical presentation. However, unusual clinic presentations can cause difficulty in diagnosis. Up to now, not many atypical forms are reported. OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical characteristics of patients with atypical pityriasis rosea. METHODS: A total of 27 cases, diagnosed as atypical PR by clinical and/or histopathological examination and applied to the outpatient clinic of dermatology department between the years 2007 and 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The ages of patients ranged from 2 to 59 years. Of these patients, 15 (55.6%) were male and 12 (44.4%) were female. The male-to-female ratio was 5-4. Five patients had papular, four patients had purpuric, three patients had vesicular, two patients had follicular, one patient had erythema multiforme-like and one patient had eczematous drug-induced atypical form of pityriasis rosea. There were 12 cases of localized, two cases of segmental pityriasis rosea. Four of the localized forms also had atypical morphology. Histopathological evaluation was required for diagnosis in 12 (44.4%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: PR can appear in many different uncommon forms. Localization and skin rush can be misleading and diagnosis can be compelling.

Total serum oxidant/antioxidant status and arylesterase activity in recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disorder of the oral mucosa with unknown etiology. Oxidative stress (OS) is suggested to play a main role in the etiopathogenesis in RAS. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we hypothesize that a systemic OS is present in patients with RAS. METHODS: Forty-four patients with active RAS lesions and 38 healthy controls were being included in the study. Serum total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), and paraoxonase 1 arylesterase (ARES) activity were being determined. RESULTS: RAS patients had significantly lower TAS levels and higher TOS and OSI values than controls. The patients had a lower ARES activity when compared to healthy controls. No correlations were observed between OS parameters and age, gender, duration of disease or frequency of RAS attacks per month. CONCLUSION: A systemic OS is determined with an imbalance in oxidant/antioxidant status and lower ARES activity in RAS. Systemic OS may have an important role in the pathogenesis of RAS formation.