الفهرس 
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Abstract
Melasma is a common skin condition characterized by irregular
light-brown to dark-brown patches of hyper melanosis on the face. The
etiology of melasma has not been clearly identified. Factors associated
with melasma include exposure to ultraviolet light, genetic influences,
hormones associated with pregnancy, oral contraceptives, hormone
replacement therapy, thyroid autoimmunity, cosmetic ingredients, and
phototoxic drugs, with ultraviolet light exposure and genetic factors
being the strongest predictors.
Melasma is a cosmetic condition, and women with melasma report
that their appearance affects their social life, emotional well-being, and
leisure activities. Most studies reporting the prevalence of melasma are
based on clinical rather than population samples; however, melasma is
generally recognized to be more common in women than in men, and
more common in Latino, black, and Asian than in white populations.
Melasma is more common in individuals with Fitzpatrick skin types
IV–VI than in those with fairer skin. An estimated 50–70% of pregnant
women in the USA develop melasma.
Scoring aids, like the melasma severity scale (MSS), the melasma
area and severity index and the modified melasma area and severity index
were developed to take into account both the darkness and extent of
melasma.
Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase
are intracellular enzymatic antioxidants and reduced glutathione is a
potent antioxidant utilized in these reactions. Role of all these antioxidant
enzymes is to scavenge the free radicals.
This study aimed to shed light on the possible role of superoxide
dismutase enzyme status in melasma patients through its immunohistochemical evaluation in involved skin. In addition, it aimed to
study the correlation of its evaluated expression with different clinical
aspects of melasma in those patients.
To elucidate our aim, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 50
patients presented with melasma and 50 apparently normal individuals as
a control group selected from Outpatient Clinic, Dermatology, Andrology
and STDs Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University during
the period from April 2019 to August 2021.