PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between levels of total testosterone and total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in healthy men with PSA<4 ng/mL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised 179 men with a mean age of 59.19+/-12 years who visited Osmaniye State Hospital, Osmaniye, Turkey, between January 2006 and January 2007 for a routine checkup. The patients were divided into two subgroups: patients with PSA<2.5 mg/ml (group I, n=160 patients) and patients with PSA of 2.5 to 4 ng/mL (group II, n=19 patients). The relationship between PSA and testosterone levels was investigated in both groups and in patients aged <60 years. The mean testosterone level was calculated for patients aged <50 years and was compared with the mean value of patients aged > or =50 years. RESULTS: In all patients, the mean values for serum PSA and total testosterone were 1.27+/-0.88 ng/mL and 404.04+/-158.86 ng/mL, respectively. No correlation was detected between serum PSA and testosterone levels in either subgroup (group I, r=0.072, p=0.363; group II, r=0.031, p=0.900) or in patients aged <60 years (r=0.032, p=0.72). The mean values of testosterone in patients aged > or =50 years and in patients aged <50 years were 417.01+/-163.35 and 344.16+/-120.21 ng/dL, respectively (p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: No impact of testosterone was found on the PSA level in healthy men with PSA <4 ng/mL. Therefore, a high serum testosterone level may not mandate adjustment of PSA values. This serum sex hormone showed a significant increment after the age of 50 years. Further studies including a larger number of patients should be carried out to confirm these findings.
Aged ; Aging/blood ; Humans ; Kallikreins/*blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/*blood ; Reference Values ; Testosterone/*blood ; Tumor Markers, Biological/blood

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Systemic inflammation has an important role in the initiation of atherosclerosis, which is associated with arterial stiffness (AS). Aortic flow propagation velocity (APV) is a new echocardiographic parameter of aortic stiffness. The relationship between systemic inflammation and AS has not yet been described in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). We aimed to investigate the early markers of AS in patients with FMF by measuring APV and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-one FMF patients (43 women; mean age 27.3±6.7 years) in an attack-free period and 57 healthy individuals (36 women; mean age 28.8±7.1 years) were included in this study. The individuals with atherosclerotic risk factors were excluded from the study. The flow propagation velocity of the descending aorta and CIMT were measured to assess AS. RESULTS: APV was significantly lower (60.2±16.5 vs. 89.5±11.6 cm/sec, p<0.001) and CIMT was significantly higher (0.49±0.09 vs. 0.40±0.10 mm, p<0.001) in the FMF group compared to the control group. There were significant correlations between APV and mean CIMT (r=-0.424, p<0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (r=-0.198, p=0.032), and left ventricle ejection fraction (r=0.201, p=0.029). APV and the ESR were independent predictors of FMF in logistic regression analysis (OR=-0.900, 95% CI=0.865-0.936, p<0.001 and OR=-1.078, 95% CI=1.024-1.135, p=0.004, respectively). Mean CIMT and LVEF were independent factors associated with APV in linear regression analysis (β=-0.423, p<0.001 and β=0.199, p=0.017, respectively). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that APV was lower in FMF patients and is related to CIMT. According to our results, APV may be an independent predictor of FMF.
Aorta, Thoracic ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Sedimentation ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Echocardiography ; Familial Mediterranean Fever* ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Linear Models ; Logistic Models ; Observational Study* ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Stiffness