Carotid artery intima-media thickness in Behcet's disease patients without significant cardiovascular involvement.
10.3904/kjim.2008.23.2.87
- Author:
Seo Na HONG
1
;
Jong Chun PARK
;
Nam Sik YOON
;
Sang Rok LEE
;
Kye Hun KIM
;
Young Joon HONG
;
Hyung Wook PARK
;
Ju Han KIM
;
Youngkeun AHN
;
Myung Ho JEONG
;
Jeong Gwan CHO
;
Jung Chaee KANG
Author Information
1. The Heart Center of Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea. jcpark@chonnam.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Behcet's disease;
Carotid intima-media thickness;
Cardiovascular involvement
- MeSH:
Adult;
Behcet Syndrome/complications/diagnosis/*pathology;
Carotid Arteries/*pathology/ultrasonography;
Case-Control Studies;
Endothelium, Vascular/pathology;
Female;
Humans;
Male;
Prognosis;
Prospective Studies;
Risk Factors;
Tunica Intima/*pathology/ultrasonography;
Tunica Media/*pathology/ultrasonography;
Ultrasonography, Doppler;
Vasculitis/pathology
- From:The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine
2008;23(2):87-93
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic disorder associated with a characteristic vasculitis that can involve both veins and arteries of all sizes. Endothelial activation or injury is a characteristic feature of BD. Endothelial dysfunction is widely regarded as being the initial lesion in the development of atherosclerosis. The carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is a widely accepted marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. We aimed to determine the carotid IMT in BD patients with using high-resolution B-mode Doppler ultrasonography. METHODS: We studied 40 patients (24 males, mean age: 39.1+/-8.5 years) who were diagnosed by the international diagnostic criteria of Behcet's disease and 20 healthy controls (13 males, mean age: 40.2+/-5.1 years), and the two groups were matched by age and gender. No subject in either group had a history of atherosclerosis or its complications. The clinical data, including the age of onset, the duration of disease, a history of medication, the activity score and the laboratory data were analyzed. RESULTS: The carotid IMT in the BD group was significantly higher than that in the control group (0.71+/-0.22 mm vs. 0.59+/-0.09 mm, respectively, p<0.01). Cardiac and major vessel involvements were not identified in the BD group. However, minor vascular involvements were documented in 2 patients with deep vein thrombosis, in 4 patients with superficial thrombophlebitis and in 2 patients with pseudoaneurysm. The carotid IMT in the patients with posterior uveitis or retinal vasculitis was higher than that of the patients without these findings (0.85+/-0.21 mm vs. 0.64+/-0.10 mm, respectively, p=0.007), but there was no difference of the IMT according to minor vascular involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Despite that there was no significant cardiovascular involvement in the BD patients, the carotid IMT was significantly higher in the BD patients as compared with the healthy controls.
