ABSTRACT
Acne vulgaris is a common skin disorder. The complete etiology of this disease remains to be identified; however, it seems that aberrant expression of cytokine genes might be a contributing factor. This study aimed to investigate the association of genetic polymorphisms related to interleukin 4 [IL-4] promotor and receptor [IL-4R] genes as inflammatory modulators with acne vulgaris. A case-control study 95 acne patients recruited from outpatient dermatology clinics affiliated with Qassim University, Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Acne patient data were compared with 87 normal healthy unrelated controls from the same locality. The genomic DNA was extracted and processed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction amplification for characterization of polymorphisms related to IL-4 [-590 T/C] and IL-4R [Q551R A/G] genes. Acne patients compared to controls showed no significant difference in the frequencies of IL-4 [-590 T/C] polymorphic genotypes [P=.8], yet had a highly significant difference in IL-4R [Q551R A/G] genotypes [P<.001]. The frequencies of the mutant genotype IL-4R GG as well as the allele IL-4R G were significantly higher in cases of acne than in controls. Furthermore, acne cases showed higher frequencies of combined genotypes IL4R_GG with IL-4_CC, CT, or TT. However, no significant difference was noted on comparing subgroups related to disease severity or response to treatment [P>.05]. This study provides evidence for a significant association of IL-4R [Q551R A/G] genetic polymorphisms with the susceptibility rather than the severity of acne vulgaris
ABSTRACT
Vitiligo is a common depigmentary disorder of the skin with a prevalence rate of 1-2%. The social acceptance of people with vitiligo is largely dependent on perceptions of this disease in a given population and often represents a considerable problem for patients and their families. To know our population's attitude towards vitiligo, including people's knowledge of the disease, sources of information and reaction towards vitiligo patients. This cross-sectional survey was done using a self-administered questionnaire. Subjects were recruited from the graduate students, and employees of Qassim University from April, 2006 to July, 2006. The data were collected and analyzed using Statistical Program for Social Sciences [SPSS release 15.0]. p<0.05 was accepted for statistical significance. The study included 423 subjects; 325 [76.2%] were males and 98 [23.8%] were females. One hundred and thirty five subjects [31.9%] had no information about vitiligo while 78.7% of them reported that available sources of information about the disease in general are not enough. The main source of information for males was their physicians and for females were the newspapers [p>0.05] The disease was regarded as genetically transmissible by 58.2% and 55.6% thought it could be aggravated by stress. About 83% of surveyed subjects declined to marry a diseased person. Community education is needed to clear some false perceptions in the mind of general population regarding vitiligo. This chronic skin disease prevents healthy life style, and better understanding of this disease by general public can result in better adaptation of vitiligo patients in the society