title: Biochemical markers of oxidative and nitrosative stress in acne vulgaris: correlation with disease activity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acne vulgaris is a multifactorial skin disorder of unknown etiology. Free radical-mediated reactions have been implicated but their role in eliciting this response and contributing to disease progress remains unexplored. This study was undertaken to investigate the status and contribution of oxidative/nitrosative stress in patients with acne vulgaris.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera from 50 acne vulgaris with varying levels of disease activity (mild, moderate, and severe) according to the Global Acne Grading System (GAGS) and 40 age- and sex-matched controls were evaluated for serum levels of oxidative/nitrosative stress markers, including protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum analysis showed significantly higher levels of carbonyl contents, malondialdehyde (MDA) and NO, in acne patients compared with healthy controls (P < 0.05). Interestingly, not only there were an increased number of subjects positive for carbonyl contents, but also the levels of these oxidants were significantly increased with the increase of the disease activity (P < 0.05). In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the levels of carbonyl contents and the GAGS scores (r = 0.341, r = 0.355, and r = 0.299, respectively). Furthermore, sera from acne patients had lower levels of SOD and GSH compared with healthy control sera.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support an association between oxidative/nitrosative stress and acne. The stronger response observed in serum samples from patients with higher GAGS scores suggests that markers of oxidative/nitrosative stress may be useful in evaluating the progression of acne and in elucidating the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis.
authors: Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors: Hani A
authors: HA
authors: Al-Shobaili
authors: Abdullateef A
authors: AA
authors: Alzolibani
authors: Ahmad A
authors: AA
authors: Al Robaee
authors: Abdel-Raheim M A
authors: AR
authors: Meki
authors: Zafar
authors: Z
authors: Rasheed
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D001798:Blood Proteins; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D005978:Glutathione