Oxidative stress markers in patients of psoriasis with metabolic syndrome

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory, T cell mediated immune disorder characterized by the formation of erythematous scaly papules and plaques. Objective: To do a comparative evaluation of the markers of oxidative stress, namely glutathione peroxidase (GP), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in patients of psoriasis with metabolic syndrome (MS), patients of psoriasis without metabolic syndrome and normal healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: 150 subjects in the age group of 18-70 years were included in the study; Group A consisted of 50 psoriasis patients with metabolic syndrome, Group B consisted of 50 psoriasis patients without metabolic syndrome while Group C had 50 normal healthy individuals. Thorough history was taken and clinical examination was done. The punch biopsy was performed for confirmation of the diagnosis of psoriasis. Serum markers of oxidative stress were measured in each case and these values were then statistically compared among all the groups. Results: On comparison of the groups, the mean values of Superoxide dismutase and Glutathione peroxidase were least in Group A (248.3 U/ml, 6105 U/ml) followed by Group B (280 U/ml, 6868.3 U/ml) and were maximum in Group C (395 U/ml, 14,058.3 U/ml) whereas the mean value of Malondialdehyde was maximum in Group A (1.0 nmol/ml) followed by Group B (0.7 nmol/ml) and Group C (0.13 nmol/ml). On comparing these values among different groups, all the values were highly significant (p<0> Conclusions: Free radical mediated oxidative stress play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis especially when it is associated with metabolic syndrome. Therefore, anti-oxidants can have a preventive as well as a therapeutic role in such patients.