A prospective study of 29 Qatari lichen planus
patients over a period of two months was
conducted at Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha,
Qatar. Of the studied group 23 patients (79.31%)
had different endocrinal and metabolic disoorders,
10 of them (43.48%) had the combination of more
than one disorder.
For the biochemical work-up of each system per
se, 11 patients (37.93%) had significant elevation
of free cortisol in urine FCU (p <0.05). There was
no clear explanation for such elevation. No
association was observed between elevated FCU,
diabetes, hypertension, or stress in our patients.
Six normotensive patients (20.69%) had slight
elevation of serum aldosterone, seven (24.14%)
had abnormal liver enzymes, seven (24.14%) were
diabetic and five (17.24%) had thyroid disorders.
It would be interesting to know if alteration of
immune mechanisms in lichen planus has any
relation with such abnormalities; or is lichen
planus a disease expression of an autoimmune
antigenic stimulus influencing different body
systems.
Lichen planus patients should not be treated as a
sole dermatological disorder. Full biochemical
work-up for the patients is required to exclude and
treat other associated systemic disorders.
Introduction
Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory
disease of the skin and mucous membranes. It
is one of the common skin disorders in Qatar.
Many reports have been published about the
association of lichen planus with glucose
interolance(1), and with immune-mediated
diseases such as chronic active hepatitis(2),
primary biliary cirrhosis(3), myathesnia gravis
with thymoma(4), bullous pemphigoid(5),
ulcerative colitis(6) and systemic lupus
erythematosus(7).
The present study was undertaken with the
objectives of finding the incidence of different
endocrinal and metabolic abnormalities
associated with lichen planus in Qatar,
including the biochemical work-up for the
suprarenal gland, which, to our knowledge, had
not been conducted before. |
