Abstract
BACKGROUND: Symptomatic dermographism (SD) is the most common chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU) type. Thiol/disulfide homeostasis (TDH) and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels are indicators of oxidative stress. AIM: Our study aims to investigate the role of thiol/disulfide balance and IMA levels in the pathogenesis of SD. This focus guides our research and helps us to better understand the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted with utmost care and precision, included 50 SD patients and 50 healthy volunteers. The patients and controls were meticulously evaluated regarding IMA, native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels and disulfide/native thiol, disulfide/total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol ratios, ensuring a thorough and reliable understanding of the data. RESULTS: In our study, the patient group demonstrated significantly higher levels of native thiol, total thiol, disulfide, and IMA values than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with SD, impaired TDH and increased IMA suggest that oxidative stress may play a significant role in the disease pathogenesis, underscoring the importance of our findings.