title: Prolactin and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate: are they related to the severity of chronic urticaria?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Elevated prolactin and reduced dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels are associated with autoimmune diseases. A limited number of studies have investigated these hormones in chronic urticaria (CU). The autologous serum skin test (ASST) reaction has also been linked to autoimmune diseases, and a positive reaction is usually associated with a more severe disease. We aimed to compare serum prolactin and DHEA-S levels between female CU patients with positive and negative ASST reactions and healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 30 female CU patients with a positive ASST reaction, 30 female CU patients with a negative ASST reaction, and 30 healthy female controls. All identifiable causes of urticaria were excluded. Serum prolactin and DHEA-S levels were measured in all subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prolactin was significantly higher among ASST positive patients than among ASST negative patients and controls but did not differ between ASST negative patients or controls. Higher prolactin levels were associated with increasing disease severity among ASST positive patients. DHEA-S levels did not differ between ASST positive or negative patients but were significantly lower among both patient subgroups than controls. DHEA-S levels did not differ according to the severity of disease among either of the patient subgroups. DHEA-S levels did not correlate with prolactin among any group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrate for the first time a possible role for prolactin in ASST-positive CU patients and its association with disease severity. We recommend larger prospective studies to assess changes in prolactin and DHEA-S levels after complete disease remission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed Kamel
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Sabry
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamel-Sabry
authors.forename: Mohamed Nazmy
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Farres
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nazmy-Farres
authors.forename: Nermine Abdelnour
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Melek
authors.forename: Nermine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abdelnour-Melek
authors.forename: Naglaa Ahmed
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Arafa
authors.forename: Naglaa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmed-Arafa
authors.forename: Annie Arek
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ohanessian
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arek-Ohanessian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D012882:Skin Tests; D014581:Urticaria / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D011388:Prolactin