ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the correlation between serum levels of growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk scores in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The serum levels of GDF-15 in 97 patients with UA and 30 healthy volunteers were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between 3 patient groups with different TIMI scores to analyze relationship between serum GDF-15 levels and TIMI risk scores.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum levels of GDF-15 in UA patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy volunteers (P<0.01). GDF-15 levels also differed significantly between patients with different TIMI scores (P<0.01), and showed a significant positive correlation to TIMI risk scores.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Serum levels of GDF-15 can be used as an index for evaluating the severity of UA.</p>