Apolipoprotein E polymorphism and lipoprotein compositions in patients with Behçet's disease.

BACKGROUND

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic disease of unknown etiology characterized by chronic relapsing oral-genital ulcers and uveitis. Some abnormalities in lipoprotein metabolism have been described in patients with BD.

METHODS

In this study, apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in 30 patients with BD were compared with those of 27 control subjects.

RESULTS

Both patients and controls were found to be normolipidemic. Patients with BD had significantly higher concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol than those of controls (P < 0.05); however, there was no difference in serum triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol concentrations. The distribution of apo E genotypes and alleles was the same in both groups. There were slight differences in allele frequency between the groups, but this was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The high HDL cholesterol levels observed in our patients were not related to abnormalities in apo E alleles.