Serum salusin-α and salusin-β levels in patients with Behcet's disease.

BACKGROUND

Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic, relapsing, systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology. There is an increased predisposition to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in BD patients.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine serum salusin-α and salusin-β levels in BD patients and healthy controls and to investigate their association with MetS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty-five BD patients and 25 healthy controls were included in the study. Salusin-α and salusin-β levels were measured in blood samples using ELISA. In addition, BD patients and healthy controls were evaluated in terms of MetS.

RESULTS

The mean serum salusin-α level in BD patients was significantly lower compared to healthy controls (p = 0.03), whereas the mean serum salusin-β level in BD patients was significantly higher compared to healthy controls (p = 0.03). The mean serum salusin-α level was significantly lower in BD patients with MetS compared to BD patients without MetS (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Serum salusin-α level (an anti-atherogenic molecule) was lower, while serum salusin-β level (a pro-atherogenic molecule) was higher in BD patients. We consider that the decrease in salusin-α and the increase in salusin-β levels contribute to the development of MetS.