Background: 

There is evidence for reduced production of IFN-γ by T cells in asthmatic and AD (atopic dermatitis) patients, and this correlates with disease activity. This appears to be a feature of atopic diseases and is not specific to asthma. This suggests that IFN-γ production may be important asthma.

Objective: 

The objective of the study is to evaluate the level of serological IFN-γ in asthmatic, AD and both asthmatic and AD patients, compare the results with healthy control lot and verify the association between AD and asthma.

Patients and methods: 

The study was performed in Tikrit Teaching Hospital during March till the end of september 2009. A total of eighty-five patients were taken into study. This included 40 patients with asthma, 23 patients with AD, 22 patients with asthma and 15 apparently healthy individuals as control group. A blood sample (5 ml) was collected from each patient and control. The sample was divided into two parts: 3 ml to determine IFN-γ and 2 ml to determine total WBC and eosinophils.

Results: 

The results of the study demonstrated that AD is more common in patients with less than 9 years old, asthma is more common in 20-29 and 29-30 years while both AD asthma, more common in 30-39 years old. Eosinophil count was higher in those with AD asthma and serum IFN-γ was higher in those with asthma. Total WBC did not show significant difference between the studied

groups.

Conclusions: 

Our study extend the findings observed for asthma and AD and suggests that deficient IFN-γ release is a general feature of the disease, also the study indicates that the degree of the deficiency in IFN-γ release might be related to disease activity.