الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Melasma is a common skin condition characterized by irregular light-brown to dark-brown patches of hyper melanosis on the face. The etiology of melasma has not been clearly identified. Factors associated with melasma include exposure to ultraviolet light, genetic influences, hormones associated with pregnancy, oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, thyroid autoimmunity, cosmetic ingredients, and phototoxic drugs, with ultraviolet light exposure and genetic factors being the strongest predictors. Melasma is a cosmetic condition, and women with melasma report that their appearance affects their social life, emotional well-being, and leisure activities. Most studies reporting the prevalence of melasma are based on clinical rather than population samples; however, melasma is generally recognized to be more common in women than in men, and more common in Latino, black, and Asian than in white populations. Melasma is more common in individuals with Fitzpatrick skin types IV–VI than in those with fairer skin. An estimated 50–70% of pregnant women in the USA develop melasma. Scoring aids, like the melasma severity scale (MSS), the melasma area and severity index and the modified melasma area and severity index were developed to take into account both the darkness and extent of melasma. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase are intracellular enzymatic antioxidants and reduced glutathione is a potent antioxidant utilized in these reactions. Role of all these antioxidant enzymes is to scavenge the free radicals. This study aimed to shed light on the possible role of superoxide dismutase enzyme status in melasma patients through its immunohistochemical evaluation in involved skin. In addition, it aimed to study the correlation of its evaluated expression with different clinical aspects of melasma in those patients. To elucidate our aim, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 patients presented with melasma and 50 apparently normal individuals as a control group selected from Outpatient Clinic, Dermatology, Andrology and STDs Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University during the period from April 2019 to August 2021. |