Association of pyrin mutations and autoinflammation with complex phenotype hidradenitis suppurativa: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a rare, debilitating neutrophilic dermatosis characterized by chronic inflammation of hair follicles. Many inflammatory conditions may accompany HS.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association of variants of the MEFV gene with a complex HS phenotype.

METHODS

Firstly, we identified the clinical characteristics of 119 patients with HS with a complex phenotype (Hurley stage III disease and/or additional inflammatory symptoms). Then, we searched for MEFV variants among these patients. The odds ratios (ORs) for pathogenic MEFV mutations were calculated using data from these patients with HS and 191 healthy controls.

RESULTS

The male/female ratio was higher, and the mean age of onset was earlier, in our complex HS group compared with patients with HS in general. Five of the patients with HS (4·2%) had a diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) with a standardized morbidity ratio of 45 [95% confidence interval (CI) 16·50-99·84, P < 0·001] when compared with the frequency of FMF in the general Turkish population. Of the patients with complex HS, 38% were positive for pathogenic variants of MEFV. The OR for carrying a pathogenic MEFV allele was 2·80 (95% CI 1·31-5·97, P < 0·001).

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of MEFV mutations in the group of patients with complex HS was higher than that in healthy controls, suggesting that MEFV mutations may contribute to the pathogenesis of HS. Understanding the role of autoinflammation in HS is of fundamental importance for the development of novel therapies.

Hematological Values of Healthy Adult Population Living at Moderate Altitude (1869 m, Erzurum, Turkey)

In this study, the normal hematological values in healthy adults living in Erzurum area in Turkey at moderate altitude (1869 m above sea level), and the effect of moderate altitude on these hematological values was investigated. The study population comprised of 929 females and 1204 males aged between 17-95. The mean values for red blood cell and leukocyte counts, and hemoglobin level were significantly higher in males than in females (p<0.0001), whereas platelet count was significantly higher in females than in males (p<0.0001). ›n conclusion, we could not find an increase in the number of red blood cells as well as other hematological parameters in healthy adults living in Erzurum area. Hematological values in this study were similar to those reported in the previous studies carried out with those living under 1869 m.

Epstein-Barr Virus in Hodgkin's Disease Patients in Northeast Anatolia

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is implicated as an etiologic factor in Hodgkin's disease (HD). The proportion of HD patients with EBV is high in developing countries but low in developed countries. In the present study, the EBV association with HD in Northeast Anatolia was investigated. Thirty-six formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cases of HD were analysed for the presence of EBV and, for the latent membrane protein (LPM-1) by immunohistochemistry. There were 26 males and 10 females; age distribution ranged from 12 to 73 years (mean ± standard deviation, 34.1 ± 15.2 years). Overall, LPM-1 was detected in 27 of the 36 cases (75%). LPM-1 expression varied according to the istological subtype of HD (9/55 cases of lymphocyte predominance subtype, 3/4 cases of nodular sclerosis, 18/18 cases of mixed cellularity subtype, and 1/5 cases of lymphocyte depletion subtype). In this study, the EBV-positivity ratio in HD was found extremely high in Northeast Anatolia.