Background:Lichen planus (LP) is a common disorder whose etiopathogenesis is not clear. Recently, it has been suggested that increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in the underlying mechanism of LP.Objectives:The principal aim of this study was to evaluate serum uric acid (UA) levels as a measure of the antioxidant defense status in LP patients.Methods:Serum UA levels were determined in 58 LP patients and 61 controls.Results:Serum UA levels were significantly decreased in patients with respect to controls. Moreover, serum UA level was decreased according to increasing duration of disease.Conclusions:The results of our study suggest that LP is associated with decrease of UA levels in serum. UA may be a potential, useful biomarker of antioxidant status in LP for elaboration of treatment strategy and monitoring.

Post herpetic neuralgia is a most common complication of herpes zoster which is difficult to treat. Significant beneficial effects found when treated with antiviral, tricyclic antidepressant, anticonvulsive like gabapentine and pregabalin, opioid and non opioid analgesic etc. Primary prevention can also be done with vaccine. The aim of this randomized comparative study was to establish clinical efficacy with amitriptyline and pregabalin. Methods: An open ended randomized clinical trial was conducted to compared clinical efficacy of amitriptyline (n=25) and pregabalin (n=25). Amitriptyline was given 25 mg once daily and pregabalin 75 mg twice daily. Total period of treatment were 6 month and patients were reviewed at the end of 2 months, 4 months and 6 months to evaluate the degree of improvement in pain perception and any adverse reaction. Results: Four types of patients were included in this study and among them thoracic type was the commonest (54%). It was followed by cervical (24%), trigeminal (16%) and lumbosacral types (6%). According to VAS score, satisfactory significant improvements in pain perception was observed at the end of 2 months (36%vs 8%, p<0.05) and 4 months (61.9%vs 27.8%, p<0.05) in pregabalin group than amitriptyline group. The chances of improvement more than 6 times and 4 times higher in patients with pregabalin group than those in amitriptyline group. There is no significant improvement difference was noticed at the end of 6months between groups. However, improvement was 89%(OR=1.89, 95% CI: 0.53-6.68) higher in pregabalin group than amitriptyline group. More importantly dizziness was the commonest side effect in pregabalin group while dryness of mouth was the commonest side affect in amitriptyline group. Conclusion: In conclusion, therapy with pregabalin is better compare to amitriptyline in post herpetic neuralgia. However a similar study with larger augmentation is required to establish the findings.

Introduction and Aim: Early onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA) ensues before age of 35 years and develops stage 3 in Hamilton-Norwood classification. AGA is more noticeable in males. Early onset AGA has been linked to hyperuricemia (a metabolic disorder characterised by elevated levels of serum uric acid) but has been explored inadequately. Hyperuricemia (HU) corroborates with the presence of hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Given the above and lack of data in this context, a study in this regard was necessary. This study was intended to relate the prevalence of HU and level of serum uric acid (SUA) levels in patients of early onset AGA versus matched controls and determine correlation between the severity of alopecia and serum uric acid and between the SUA and age (secondary objectives). Materials and Methods: Each patient was evaluated by taking history, clinical examination and laboratory investigation. Results: The groups were not different from each other with respect to age (p=0.5). The SUA in the AGA patient group was greater than in the control group; however the difference was not statistically significant. (p=0.2). AGA patients were found to have higher number of hyperuricemics as compared to the control group (Chi square test P=0.03, Odds ratio=0.39). There was no correlation between the severity of alopecia or the age of the subject with SUA. Conclusion: Our study found that men who have early onset AGA tend to have higher serum uric acid levels; also, hyperuricemics are commoner in patients who have early onset AGA than in controls.

No abstract

No abstract