Dermatological findings are commonly observed among patients with IBD and significantly impact their quality of life. These skin-related issues, including pyoderma gangrenosum, erythema nodosum, and psoriatic rashes, often become during the active phases of the disease. Recently, new biomarkers have been identified as being correlated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity and complications . Activin-A, a member of the Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily, stands out as a noteworthy molecule. 

The present study was an observational investigation that enrolled 34 patients with ulcerative colitis who were receiving treatment. The patients underwent a dermatological evaluation and their serum activin A levels were measured.

There was no significant difference in activin-α levels between the patients with and without dermatological involvemen

Table 1. Age, sex, activin-a levels and dermatologic findings among the group

Normally distributed numerical variables are presented as means ±standard deviations, and categorical variables are presented as numbers (%). Numerical variables that are not normally distributed are presented as medians (minimum-maximum).

The role of activin-A in managing dermatological involvement in UC appears to be limited. Clinically, a broader panel of biomarkers should be used to assess the inflammatory status in these patients