Department of Rheumatology & Rehabilitation, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Eur J Dermatol. 2011 Sep-Oct;21(5):686-90. doi: 10.1684/ejd.2011.1423.
To identify the relation between serum levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) and severity of systemic sclerosis (SSc).
25 SSc patients and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Assay of serum NT-pro BNP was done for all patients and controls. Patients were subjected to modified Rodnan skin score (mRss), echocardiography, pulmonary function tests and skin biopsies for histopathological skin thickness score assessment. There was a significant increase in the mean values of serum levels of NT- pro BNP in SSc patients compared to controls (t=11, p<0.001).
There was a significant positive correlation between serum levels of NT-pro BNP in SSc patients and mRss, systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) and histopathological skin thickness score (r=0.93, r=0.92, r=0.92, p<0.001 respectively). There was a significant increase in the mean value of serum levels of NT-pro BNP and sPAP in SSc patients with restrictive pulmonary affection compared to those with normal respiratory function tests (p<0.001).
NT-pro BNP may be a useful biological marker for assessing the severity of SSc as it has a role in detecting the extent of skin fibrosis, the severity of PAH and the degree of restricted pulmonary involvement in SSc patients.
确定血清 N 端脑利钠肽前体（NT-pro BNP）水平与系统性硬化症（SSc）严重程度之间的关系。
纳入 25 例 SSc 患者和 25 名年龄和性别匹配的健康对照者。对所有患者和对照者进行血清 NT-pro BNP 检测。患者接受改良 Rodnan 皮肤评分（mRss）、超声心动图、肺功能检查和皮肤活检以评估组织病理学皮肤厚度评分。与对照组相比，SSc 患者的血清 NT-pro BNP 水平均值显著升高（t=11，p<0.001）。
SSc 患者的血清 NT-pro BNP 水平与 mRss、收缩期肺动脉压（sPAP）和组织病理学皮肤厚度评分呈显著正相关（r=0.93、r=0.92、r=0.92，p<0.001 分别）。与肺功能检查正常的 SSc 患者相比，有限制性肺功能障碍的 SSc 患者的血清 NT-pro BNP 和 sPAP 均值显著升高（p<0.001）。
NT-pro BNP 可能是评估 SSc 严重程度的有用生物学标志物，因为它在检测皮肤纤维化程度、PAH 严重程度和 SSc 患者限制性肺受累程度方面发挥作用。
