Abe, E. O.Adisa, A. O.Adeyemi, B. F.Awolude, O. A.Owotade, F. J.2026-04-1620222212-4411ui_art_abe_relationship_2022Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology 133(2), pp. 182-188https://repository.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/13755Objective. Oral melanotic hyperpigmentation (OMH) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been attributed to the use of antifungal or antiretroviral drugs, as well as HIV-induced cytokine dysregulation. This research aimed to determine the relationship between immunosuppression and cytokine dysregulation in newly diagnosed HIV-seropositive subjects with OMH. Study Design. The study was conducted among newly diagnosed HIV-seropositive patients at the Infectious Disease Clinic, Ibadan, Nigeria. The cases were patients with OMH matched for age and sex with control subjects without OMH. CD4+ count and cytokine levels (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-a) were compared between the cases and control subjects. SPSS version 21 software was used for data analysis. Results. Seventy newly diagnosed HIV-seropositive patients were studied, which comprised of 35 cases and 35 control subjects. The median CD4+ counts for cases and control subjects were 174 cells/mm3 (interquartile range [IQR], 57-250) and 324 cells/ mm3 (IQR, 107-424), respectively. Severe immunosuppression (CD4+ count, 200 cells/mm3) was found in over half of the study participants, being more prevalent among the cases than among the control group (P = .019). Serum cytokine levels did not significantly vary between the cases and control subjects. Conclusions. There was a significant association between HIV-OMH and severe immunosuppression in the newly diagnosed HIV-seropositive patients.enArticle