Key clinical point: Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and those with Beh çet’s syndrome (BS) had significantly elevated levels of serum interleukin-36 alpha (IL-36α), although the extent was lesser in BS, highlighting the potential role of the serum IL-36α level in differential diagnosis between PsA and BS.
Major finding: The median serum IL-36α level in patients with BS (201.7 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in control individuals (16.9 pg/mL; P < .001) but lower than that in patients with PsA (544 pg/mL; P < .001). An empirical cut-off level of 420.6 pg/mL for IL-36 α showed a specificity of 0.93 and sensitivity of 0.70 to distinguish patients with PsA from those with BS.
Study details: The data come from a cross-sectional study including patients with PsA (n = 80) and BS (n = 90) and control individuals without immune-mediated inflammatory disease (n = 80) who were assessed for serum IL-36 α levels.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any external funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Bettiol A et al. Serum interleukin-36 α as a candidate biomarker to distinguish Behçet’s syndrome and psoriatic arthritis. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24:8817 (May 16). doi: 10.3390/ijms24108817