The present study showed that serum level of 25(OH)D is statistically significantly lower in patients than controls, so screening for vitamin D deficiency seems of value in patients with vitiligo for the possibility of vitamin D supplementation. We also report that VDR gene polymorphisms may be a risk for the development of vitiligo in an Egyptian population.

Psoriatic plaques have been shown to contain increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also, serum levels of several cytokines have been reported elevated in psoriatic patients. It is postulated that changes in cytokine production both locally and systemically could be useful in monitoring disease activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum cytokine profile of interleukin (IL)-8, γ-interferon (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in Egyptian psoriatic patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and to correlate these levels with disease severity. We analyzed serum samples from 60 Egyptian patients (31 females and 29 males) with a mean age of 40.2 ± 17.4 years with active psoriasis, and 21 healthy volunteers for major T-helper type 1 cytokines using the ELISA technique. The disease severity, including erythema, induration and scales, was assessed by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score. TNF-α and IFN-γ were markedly elevated in all sera from psoriatic patients. TNF-α was found a more efficient predictor for disease severity than IL-8 and IFN-γ using three receiver-operator curves with accuracy. IL-8 was also moderately elevated and correlated with the age of patients (r = 0.28). We have obtained evidence that TNF-α in our study was found to be more useful than the other two tested cytokines, IL-8 and IFN-γ as a follow-up marker for monitoring disease severity in Egyptian psoriatic patients. A positive correlation between lL-8 and the age of the patients was also noted.

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Isolated leukonychia totalis is a rare condition of nails with mainly an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. In this report, we present three sibs (a sister and two brothers) with isolated congenital leukonychia totalis, without any manifestation among parents and other family members. The sibs had similar facial features and were offspring of consanguineous Egyptian parents. We discussed possible mechanisms of inheritance and suggested an autosomal recessive mode of transmission.