Věra Semrádová

Bullous pemphigoid and internal diseases – A case-control study

To study associations of bullous pemphigoid (BP) with internal diseases, we conducted a retrospective case control study assessing the frequency of selected diseases - diabetes mellitus, neurological diseases, malignant tumors, benign prostate hyperplasia, hypertension and ischemic heart disease in patients with BP. 89 patients with BP, whose data were retrieved from the register of the Centre of bullous diseases from the period of 1991-2006, were matched with 89 controls of the same age and gender, recruited from patients treated for other skin diseases. The frequency of internal diseases at the time of the onset of BP was evaluated by unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age and gender and maximum likelihood test for contingency tables. Neurological disease was found in 42.7% of the patients and in 19.1% of controls. This difference was statistically significant (p value = 0.001). Moreover, regression analysis has shown that patients with neurological disease in the age group >or= 80 years have significantly higher risk of pemphigoid than patients without neurological disease (odds ratio 10.55; 95% confidence interval 2.68 to 41.49). Most frequent were cerebral stroke in men and dementia in women. For other diseases and other age groups, no statistically significant influence was found.

Genotype association of C(-735)T polymorphism in matrix metalloproteinase 2 gene with G(8002)A endothelin 1 gene with plaque psoriasis

Background: Excessive angiogenesis is one of the characteristic features of psoriasis. Objective: To determine the possible genetic background of neo-angiogenesis in plaque psoriasis, frequent polymorphisms in matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and endothelin 1 (ET-1) genes were studied. Methods: The case group (n = 119) included patients with plaque psoriasis, aged 44 ± 15 years. The age of onset of psoriasis was 27 ± 11 years. The control group (n = 184) consisted of healthy subjects without any individual history of psoriasis, aged 37 ± 15 years. C(-735)T MMP-2 and G(8002)A ET-1 polymorphisms were determined by PCR reaction with subsequent restriction analyses. Results: A significant difference in genotype distribution of C(-735)T MMP-2 between psoriatic and control patients was found (pcorr = 0.008). Two associated genotypes (CCGG and CTGG) of the two polymorphisms were significantly less frequent in psoriatic patients (pcorr = 0.03 and pcorr = 0.008, respectively). Conclusion: The results seem to reflect a different susceptibility of MMP-2 as well as of some associated MMP-2 and ET-1 genotypes to psoriasis.

Cryopreserved and lyophilized cultured epidermal allografts in the treatment of leg ulcers: a pilot study

Background  In the conservative therapy of venous leg ulcers modern types of dressings are used most frequently. In the past 20 years ‘active wound dressings’ − cultured epidermal keratinocytes as autografts and allografts − were also introduced in the management of leg ulcers.

Gene polymorphisms (G82S, 1704G/T, 2184A/G and 2245G/A) of the receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) in plaque psoriasis.

Abstract. Having in mind the relationships among oxidative stress, psoriasis and common disorders, the association between polymorphisms in the gene encoding the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and plaque psoriasis, including patients with a personal history of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, cancer and allergy, was investigated. The allele frequencies and genotype distribution combinations of the four polymorphisms in the RAGE gene (6p21.3, G82S, 1704G/T, 2184A/G and 2245A/G) were compared in a case-control study of 272 subjects (130 patients with plaque psoriasis and 142 healthy control subjects of comparable age and sex distribution). The polymerase chain reaction with subsequent restriction analysis was used for detection of genotype variants. There was a significantly higher frequency of the 2184G allele of the 2184A/G RAGE polymorphism in psoriatic patients than in the control subjects (odds ratio 2.18, 95% CI 1.32–3.59, P=0.001). The 2184G allele occurred more often in psoriatic patients with a negative history of cardiovascular diseases (odds ratio 2.38, 95% CI 1.35–4.18, P=0.001, Pcorr=0.004), in those with a negative history of diabetes mellitus (odds ratio 2.05, 95% CI 0.1.22–3.45, P=0.004, Pcorr=0.012) and in those with a negative history of cancer (odds ratio 1.97, 95% CI 1.17–3.31, P=0.007, Pcorr=0.014) compared with the corresponding control subjects. We conclude that the 2184G allele of the RAGE gene is a significant risk factor for plaque psoriasis. The risk is associated with the non-presence of some common, especially cardiovascular, diseases in psoriatic patients.

Polymorphisms in inflammation genes (angiotensinogen, TAP1 and TNF-β) in psoriasis

Abstract This study focused on the association between plaque psoriasis and polymorphisms of several inflammation genes. Included in the study were 142 Caucasian (Czech) patients with plaque psoriasis and 141 healthy subjects. The genotypes of the polymorphisms in angiotensinogen [M235T ATG, A(-6)G ATG], in transporters associated with antigen processing TAP1 ( TAP1*0101, TAP*02011 and TAP1*0301 ) and in lymphotoxin α (TNFβ) (NcoI in intron 1) were detected by polymerase chain reaction-based methods and restriction enzyme analysis. An increase in B1 (less frequent) allele of NcoI TNFβ polymorphism was found in psoriatic patients compared to healthy individuals (odds ratio = 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.13–2.26, P = 0.006). A positive family history of psoriasis was associated with a higher B1 allele frequency in NcoI TNFβ ( P = 0.011). Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium was found in TAP1 polymorphism A→G at nucleotide 1207 in psoriatic patients. A case-control difference was found in the allelic concurrence of M235T and A(-6)G ATG polymorphisms. The most frequent population genotypes MMGG, MTAG and TTAA were observed in 92% of patients vs 74% of control subjects (odds ratio 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.14–0.60, P = 0.0003). A positive history of tonsillitis and/or tonsillectomy was associated with a higher T allele frequency of the M235T ATG polymorphism ( P = 0.037) as well as with a higher G allele frequency of the A(-6)G ATG polymorphism ( P = 0.022). Polymorphisms in proinflammatory angiotensinogen and TNFβ genes were associated with plaque psoriasis, a positive family history of psoriasis and with frequent tonsillitis in childhood.