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Evaluating serum prolactin and serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in patients with pemphigus
Author(s) -
Yousefi Maryam,
Mozafari Nikoo,
Hosseini Mahboobeh Sadat,
Gholamin Sharareh,
Razavi SeyedMostafa,
Namazi Mohammad Reza,
Younespour Shima
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/ijd.13199
Subject(s) - dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate , prolactin , pemphigus , medicine , hormone , endocrinology , pathogenesis , testosterone (patch) , dehydroepiandrosterone , immunology , androgen
Background Altered levels of sex hormones have been observed in many autoimmune disorders, but there is no considerable data about pemphigus. The aim of this study is to compare serum total and free prolactin and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate ( DHEAS ) levels between patients with pemphigus and healthy controls and to determine the correlation of these hormones with disease severity. Methods This study included 52 newly diagnosed cases of pemphigus and 57 healthy controls. Serum prolactin (total and free) and DHEAS were measured in all subjects. Data analyses were performed using JMP , Version 7. Results Pemphigus patients had significantly higher levels of total and free serum prolactin (both P = 0.01) and lower levels of DHEAS ( P = 0.005) than healthy controls. A significant association was found between severity of pemphigus and total prolactin levels ( r = 0.40, P = 0.003). Conclusions The patients with pemphigus had higher total and free prolactin and lower DHEAS concentrations, and patients with more severe disease had higher levels of serum total prolactin. These new data may suggest a potential role for sex hormones in the pathogenesis of pemphigus disease and provide new insights for the better management of this chronic and life‐threatening disease.