title: Immunoglobulin e, interleukin-18 and interleukin-12 in patients with atopic dermatitis: correlation with disease activity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder. Immunological/inflammatory reactions are reported to play a role in AD but their role in disease activity has not been fully investigated. This study was done to investigate the role of immunoglobulin E (IgE), interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-12 in AD patients with different disease severities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera from 50 AD infants with varying levels of disease activity according to the scoring index of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index and 30 age-matched healthy controls were evaluated for serum levels of IgE, IL-18 and IL-12/p40.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum analysis showed higher levels of IgE, IL-18 or IL-12/p40 in AD patients compared with controls. Interestingly, not only was there an increased number of subjects positive for IgE, IL-18 or IL-12/p40, but also the levels of these parameters were higher among AD patients whose SCORAD scores were higher. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the levels of these parameters and SCORAD scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support an association between IgE, IL-18 or IL-12/p40 and AD. The stronger response observed in serum samples from patients with higher SCORAD scores suggest that IgE, IL-18 and IL-12/p40 may be useful in evaluating the progression of AD and in elucidating the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Qassim University , Buraidah, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zedan
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Qassim University , Buraidah, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Zafar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rasheed
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Qassim University , Buraidah, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Yaser
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Farouk
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Qassim University , Buraidah, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Abdullateef A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alzolibani
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Ghada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bin Saif
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University , Buraidah, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Hisham A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Qassim University , Buraidah, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Ahmad A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al Robaee
keywords: Atopic dermatitis; Disease activity; Immunoglobulin E; Interleukin-12; Interleukin-18