Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is usually an asymptomatic and self-limiting papulosquamous skin disease with acute onset. The etiology has not been clarified yet. Recently, increased oxidative stress was found to play a role in etiopathogenesis of multiple cutaneous diseases with T cell-mediated immune response. However, there are no studies demonstrating the oxidative stress status in PR. AIM: The aim of the study is to determine the status of oxidative stress (OS) and paraoxonase (PON) 1/arylesterase enzyme activities in PR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study included 51 patients with active PR lesions, and 45 healthy volunteers. Serum levels of total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), and PON1/arylesterase (ARES) activity were determined and oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated in all patients and controls. RESULTS: TAS levels and ARES activities in the patient group were significantly lower than the control group. On the other hand, TOS and OSI levels were significantly higher in patients compared with controls. There was no significant correlation between the duration of disease and TAS, TOS, OSI levels, and ARES activities. CONCLUSION: A systemic oxidative stress exists in PR, which suggests that OS may be involved in the etiopathogenesis of disease.