Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vitamin D: Two concordant players controlling depression among alopecia areata and vitiligo patients: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common psychiatric comorbidity among chronic dermatology patients. There is extreme lacking in the research studying biomarkers responsible for it. Both brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and vitamin D have a significant role in the development of depression. AIM: To assess BDNF and vitamin D serum levels in different clinical verities of alopecia areata (AA) and vitiligo patients, correlating them with depression prevalence and quality of life. METHODS: In all, 30 AA patients, 30 vitiligo patients, and 30 healthy volunteers were included. Both alopecia and vitiligo severity and activity were evaluated using the suitable clinical scores. Depression was assessed using Beck depression inventory (BDI) scale and quality of life was recorded using Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Both serum BDNF and vitamin D levels were investigated using ELISA. RESULTS: In both alopecia and vitiligo patients, serum BDNF and serum vitamin D were significantly lower compared to controls (p = 0.001 for both). Both were associated and negatively correlated with BDI and DLQI. Regarding alopecia, they showed a significant decline in more sever disease and with longer disease duration. However, in vitiligo, BDNF (p = 0.001) and vitamin D (p = 0.03) correlated negatively with disease activity, but not with disease severity. Serum BDNF and vitamin D correlated positively with each other (p = 0.001) in both AA and vitiligo cases. CONCLUSION: The inverse association of both serum BDNF and vitamin D with depression, and the positive correlation noted between their serum levels, may indicate a potential combined effect of these two players on development of depression and its negative health-related outcomes.

Mi-RNA-93 and Mi-RNA-152 in the Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy.

Background and Aim: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disorder with diabetic retinopathy (DR) as one of its main microvascular outcomes, being a prime cause of vision loss. Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been associated with some diabetic microvascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy. This hypothesised changes in the serum of miR-93 and miR-152 in diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. Methods: The study cohort consisted of 80 healthy volunteers, 80 type 2 diabetic patients, and 80 diabetic retinopathy patients, of whom 40 had proliferative (PDR) and 40 non-proliferative retinopathy (NPDR). Serum fasting and 2-hour postprandial glucose (2hPP), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR were evaluated by routine methods, miR-93 and miR-152 expression by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: FBG, 2hPP, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and miR-152 showed an increasing trend across groups while miR-93 showed a decreasing trend (all p < 0.001). Binary logistic regression analysis for prediction of DR found that the most significant were miR-152 (OR 1.37, 95% CI: 1.18-1.58, <0.001), BMI (1.13, [1.07-1.31], p = 0.004), duration of disease (1.29 [1.04-1.6] p = 0.018), and miR-152 (0.01, [0.0-0.47] p = 0.019). The most significant predictors of PDR were miR-152 (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.12-1.92, p = 0.005), HOMA-IR (2.66 [1.30-5.45] p = 0.007), and miR-93 (0.25 [0.07-0.86] p = 0.028). Conclusion: MiR-93 and miR-152 can differentiate patients with diabetes and those with DR. Both miRNAs might be potential biomarkers for diabetes and diabetic retinopathy, and specifically for proliferative diabetic retinopathy.