Evaluation of Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Behcet's Disease by Using Noninvasive Radiological Methods such as Intima-Media Thickness of the Carotid, Ankle-Brachial Pressure Index, Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring, and Their Relation to Serum Fetuin-.
- Author:
Belkiz UYAR
1
;
Aynur SOLAK
;
Berhan GENC
;
Muhittin AKYILDIZ
;
Neslin SAHIN
;
Ihsan Sami UYAR
;
Ali SAKLAMAZ
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Ankle brachial index; Alpha-2-HS-Glycoprotein; Behcet's disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Carotid intima-media thickness
- MeSH: alpha-2-HS-Glycoprotein*; Ankle Brachial Index; Atherosclerosis; Calcium*; Cardiovascular Diseases; Carotid Arteries; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Case-Control Studies*; Coronary Vessels*; Humans; Methods*; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Systemic Vasculitis; Vascular Calcification; Vascular Stiffness*
- From:Annals of Dermatology 2015;27(6):702-708
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND: Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory systemic vasculitis. Evidence for increased atherosclerosis in BD has been observed. The relation between cardiovascular risk factors and increased atherosclerosis in patients with BD is still controversial. OBJECTIVE: We performed this study to evaluate arterial stiffness in patients with BD by using noninvasive radiological methods such as carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT), ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI), coronary artery calcium score (CACaS), and their relation to serum fetuin-A levels, which was recently found to be important in vascular calcification. METHODS: This prospective study included 26 patients with BD and 25 control subjects. In all patients, the CIMT, ABPI, CACaS, and serum fetuin-A levels were examined. RESULTS: The CIMT and CACaS were statistically higher and the ABPI was statistically lower in BD patients than in the control group. All p-values were <0.001. Positive correlations were found between the CACaS and CIMT, and negative correlations were found between the CACaS and ABPI. Although the values of fetuin-A were higher in BD, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.064). However, the correlations found between fetuin-A levels and CIMT and between fetuin-A levels and CACaS were significant. CONCLUSION: The CIMT, CACaS, and ABPI are all useful in detecting structural and functional vascular damage in BD.
