الفهرس 
Review of literatureOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 74 |  |  |
| | | from | 74 | | |
Abstract
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic , relapsing skin disease with a characteristic phenotype and typically distributed skin lesions. The cardinal features of AD are erythematous eczematous skin lesions, flexural lichenification, or papules accompanied by intense pruritus and cutaneous hyperreactivity.
The clinical phenotype that characterizes AD is a product of complex interactions among genetically determined immune abnormalities that are influenced by environmental factors, the skin barrier defect, susceptibility to infection and immunological factors. It is a skin allergic disease that is characterized by peripheral eosinophilia, mast cell activation and predominance of Th2 cells.
Galectin-9 is a member of the tandem-repeat galectin family, which is widely distributed in human tissues including epithelial tissues and expressed in several cell types. Gal-9 binds to various partners expressed on the cell surface, such as T –cell Ig and TIM -3, CD44 and IgE. It has been well characterized as an eosinophilic chemoattractant, it also alters the T-cell balance by negatively regulating Th1 and Th17 cells, resulting in Th2 polarization, and is known to play a variety of cellular roles, including modulation of cell differentiation,adhesion, aggregation and cell death. Through these functions, Gals can regulate multiple physiological and pathological processes including allergy.
The aim of this work was to evaluate serum level of Gal-9 in patients with AD in order to elucidate its possible role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
The present study included 35 patients with AD and 15 healthy persons of matched age and sex serving as controls. Patients and controls were subjected to complete history taking, clinical examination (general and dermatological), SASSAD score calculation (for AD patients) and determination of serum Gal-9 level.
The result of this study showed the followings: Serum level of Gal-9 wassignificantly higher in patients with AD compared to controls. There was a significant positive correlation between serum Gal-9 level and severity of the disease evaluated by SASSAD score. It is worth to mention that there was a significant positive correlation between serum Gal-9 level and personal, family history of other atopic disorders. On the other hand , age,sex of the patients and duration of AD did not show any significant correlation with serum Gal-9 level.