الفهرس 
Introduction and aim of workOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease which can present with extra-articular manifestations. Cutaneous manifestations are fairly common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and they can help early diagnosis , prompt treatment, and hence reduced morbidity from the disease.YKL-40 is a secretory glycoprotein of chondrocytes, synovial cells, macrophages and neutrophils, this protein was detected in serum of RA patients as well as in cutaneous diseases.
Aim of work: To assess the role of YKL-40 protein in the pathogenesis of skin manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Patients and Methods: The study included 40 RA patients diagnosed according to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, 20 healthy donors served as controls. RA patients were classified according to skin disorders into 2 groups (20) RA patients with skin manifestations and (20) RA patients without skin manifestations. YKL-40 was measured by ELIZA in serum samples collected from patients and controls.
Results: Serum YKL-40 was higher in RA patients compared with controls with p-value <0.05. The level of YKL-40 was higher in RA patients with skin disorders than RA patients without skin disorders but this difference was not a statistically significant with p-value >0.05.
Conclusion: In conclusion, YKL-40 has a limited role in the pathogenesis of dermatological manifestations of RA. YKL-40 has a role in RA but not reflect the severity of skin manifestations in RA.