Endocan Measurement for Active Behçet Disease
Ayhan KUL1, Orhan ATEŞ2, Meltem ALKAN MELİKOĞLU1, Mahir UĞUR1, Nurinnisa ÖZTÜRK3, Gülsüm ERKAYHAN4, İbrahim KOÇER2
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Atatürk University Erzurum, Turkey
2Department of Ophtalmologia, Medical Faculty of Atatürk University Erzurum, Turkey
3Department of Biochemistry, Medical Faculty of Atatürk University Erzurum, Turkey
4Department of Ophtalmologia, Mersin Public Hospital, Mersin, Turkey
Keywords: Behçet disease; endocan; tumor necrosis factor-alpha
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationships between serum endocan, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in active Behçet disease.
Patients and methods: Forty patients with active Behçet disease (24 males, 16 females; mean age 37.6±8.7 years; range 20 to 50 years) and 40 healthy controls (22 males, 18 females; mean age 38.8±7.9 years; range 21 to 52 years) were included in this study. Both patient and control groups underwent a complete systemic and ophthalmic examination by the same specialist. Endocan, VEGF, and TNF-α levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit in all subjects.
Results: Serum endocan levels were 775.2±479.3 ng/mL and 275.8±145.8 ng/mL in the patient and control groups, respectively. VEGF levels were 1768.2±900.5 pg/mL and 980.2±135.3 pg/mL in the patient and control groups, respectively. TNF-α levels were 22.4±74.3 pg/mL-1 and 11.4±16.9 pg/mL-1 in the patient and control groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of serum endocan, VEGF, and TNF-α levels. There was a significant positive correlation between serum endocan and VEGF levels in the patient group (r=0.630; p<0.001). Also, there was a significant positive correlation between serum endocan and TNF-α levels in the patient group (r=0.713; p<0.001).
Conclusion: Serum endocan level may be a new marker in evaluation of both the prognosis and activity of Behçet disease.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.