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Homocysteine: an activity marker in Behçet's disease?
Tuncay Sarican1, Hatice Ayabakan, Sembol Turkmen
1Ministry of Health, Okmeydani Educational and Research Hospital, Department of Biochemistry, Okmeydani-Istanbul, Turkey.
Insights
Elevated homocysteine levels are linked to Behçet's disease (BD) activity and may contribute to vascular damage. This finding suggests hyperhomocysteinaemia is a risk factor and marker for BD activation.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Vascular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory condition frequently associated with vascular thrombosis.
- Understanding risk factors for BD pathogenesis and activation is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hyperhomocysteinaemia contributes to the pathogenesis and activation of Behçet's disease.
- To assess the role of homocysteine as a potential risk factor in BD.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-four BD patients and 26 healthy controls were enrolled.
- Serum total homocysteine (Hcy) levels were measured using chemiluminescence immunoassay.
- Patients were categorized based on BD activity, with some providing samples in both active and inactive stages.
Main Results:
- Serum Hcy concentrations were significantly higher in BD patients compared to healthy controls.
- Active BD patients exhibited significantly higher Hcy levels than inactive patients and controls.
- Hcy levels were elevated in the active stage of BD compared to the inactive stage.
Conclusions:
- Hyperhomocysteinaemia may cause endothelial damage in Behçet's disease.
- Elevated homocysteine is suggested as a risk factor and activation marker for BD.
Background:
Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multisystem inflammatory disorder commonly complicated by vascular thrombosis.
Objective:
In this study, we investigated whether hyperhomocysteinaemia, being a well known risk factor for atherothrombogenesis, is also a contributive risk factor for the pathogenesis and the activation of Behçet's disease.
Methods:
Sixty-four patients fulfilling the criteria of the International Study Group for Behçet's disease (48 males, 16 females, 33+/-8 years) were enrolled. They were separated into two groups with respect to activation features of Behçet's disease. Additionally, we collected the blood samples from 13 patients with BD in both active stage and in inactive stage. Twenty-six healthy individuals were included as a negative control group. Serum total homocysteine (Hcy) levels were determined by chemiluminescence immunoassay.
Results:
Mean serum homocysteine concentrations in total BD patients were significantly higher than in the healthy controls (11.7+/-4.6 versus 8.7+/-2.8micromol/L, p<0.01). Mean serum homocysteine concentrations in the active patients were significantly higher than in the inactive patients and the healthy controls (13.3+/-3.6; 10.8+/-5.0; 8.7+/-2.8micromol/L, respectively) (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference between the patients with inactive disease and the healthy controls. When the active and the inactive stage of 13 patients with BD were compared, we found that mean serum total homocysteine levels were higher in the active stage than in the inactive stage (p<0.05).
Conclusion:
Hyperhomocysteinaemia may be responsible for the endothelial damage in BD and assumed to be a risk factor and a marker for activation of BD.
