ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The etiopathogenesis of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is not known completely. In most of the cases, CAE is associated with atherosclerosis; however, isolated CAE has a nonatherosclerotic mechanism. The association between atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and apelin has been examined in previous studies. However, the role of plasma apelin in isolated coronary artery ectasia has not been studied. In this study, we investigated the relationship between plasma apelin levels and isolated coronary artery ectasia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population included a total of 54 patients. Twenty-six patients had isolated CAE (53.6±8.1 years); 28 patients with normal coronary arteries (51.6±8.8 years) and with similar risk factors and demographic characteristics served as the control group. Apelin levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit. RESULTS: Apelin level in the CAE group was significantly lower (apelin=0.181±0.159 ng/mL) than that in the control group (apelin=0.646±0.578 ng/mL) (p=0.033). Glucose, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, we showed that patients with isolated CAE have decreased plasma apelin levels compared with the control group. Based on the data, a relationship between plasma apelin and isolated CAE was determined.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) will probably remain the most important cause of death over the next decades. Traditional risk factors of atherosclerosis could not exactly explain the development of acute coronary events such as AMI. Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is a disorder characterized by the development of arterial and venous thrombosis. AIM: In this study, we investigated the relations between acute myocardial infarction and anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome in our population representing Aegean Region people characteristics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred patients with acute myocardial infarction were consecutively included in the study (group I) and one hundred age and sex matched people with similar risk factors were enrolled in the study as a control group (group II). Anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) IgM and IgG levels were measured in the two groups. Levels of aCL IgG ≥ 48 U/ml and/or aCL IgM ≥ 44 U/ml were accepted as positive and significant. RESULTS: In patients with acute myocardial infarction, 5 patients (5%) had positive IgM levels and 8 patients (8%) were found to have positive IgG levels. All cases in the control group had negative aCL IgM and IgG antibody levels. These results were accepted as significant for both aCL antibodies between patients and controls (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that aCL antibody levels are also higher in a small proportion of patients with acute myocardial infarction than controls in our region, also, and these results suggest that there may be an immune stimulus in the pathogenesis of acute coronary events.
