Khan Shahida A, Halawani Saeed H, Zughaibi Torki Al, Khan Sarah A
King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22252, Saudi Arabia.
Exp Ther Med. 2023 Sep 1;26(4):485. doi: 10.3892/etm.2023.12184. eCollection 2023 Oct.
Inflammation plays an integral role in the complications of sickle cell disease (SCD), which can lead to vaso-occlusive crisis and extreme pain. SCD is accompanied by numerous complications, including cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and endothelial dysfunction, contributing to mortality. As disease severity increases with age, the present study aimed to assess if age is also correlated with a definite pattern of progression of the two inflammatory markers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and total homocysteine (tHCY). The findings of the present study could lead to an improved understanding of the threshold levels of these inflammatory markers and timely interventions to delay complications. In an observational study, levels of hsCRP and tHCY were analyzed in 70 patients (35 male and 35 female patients) with SCD aged between 5 and 16 years. hsCRP levels were in the high-risk range in 64.29% (n=45) of all male and female patients. A sex-wise distribution showed that, of the 35 male patients, 74.28% (n=26) were in the high-risk range, and of the 35 female patients, 54.28% (n=19) were in the high-risk range. An age-wise distribution showed that of the 41 patients in the 5-10-years age group, 70.73% (n=29), were in the high-risk range. In comparison, of the 29 patients in the 11-16-years age group, 55.17% (n=16) were in the high-risk range. tHCY levels were observed to be in the normal range in 98.57% (n=69) of all children, as compared with 1.43% (n=1) in the high-risk range. Furthermore, a sex-wise distribution showed that female patients in the high-risk group of hsCRP had higher concentrations of tHCY as compared with the male patients in that risk group. An age-wise distribution of hsCRP concentration also showed that the risk of CVD in patients in the 11-16-years age group was higher with increased concentrations of tHCY. A weak negative correlation was observed between age and hsCRP concentrations (r-value=-0.280; P=0.026) and a weak positive correlation was detected between tHCY and age (r-value=0.259; P=0.036). In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that higher levels of hsCRP could be a useful marker in children with SCD, and levels of tHCY may be an adjunct marker as the disease progresses with age.
炎症在镰状细胞病（SCD）的并发症中起着不可或缺的作用，可导致血管阻塞性危机和剧痛。SCD伴有多种并发症，包括心血管疾病、认知能力下降和内皮功能障碍，这些都会导致死亡。随着疾病严重程度随年龄增长而增加，本研究旨在评估年龄是否也与两种炎症标志物——高敏C反应蛋白（hsCRP）和总同型半胱氨酸（tHCY）的特定进展模式相关。本研究的结果可能会增进对这些炎症标志物阈值水平的理解，并及时进行干预以延缓并发症的发生。在一项观察性研究中，分析了70例年龄在5至16岁之间的SCD患者（35例男性和35例女性患者）的hsCRP和tHCY水平。在所有男性和女性患者中，64.29%（n = 45）的hsCRP水平处于高风险范围。按性别分布显示，在35例男性患者中，74.28%（n = 26）处于高风险范围，在35例女性患者中，54.28%（n = 19）处于高风险范围。按年龄分布显示，在5至10岁年龄组的41例患者中，70.73%（n = 29）处于高风险范围。相比之下，在11至16岁年龄组的29例患者中，55.17%（n = 16）处于高风险范围。观察到所有儿童中98.57%（n = 69）的tHCY水平在正常范围内，而处于高风险范围的为1.43%（n = 1）。此外，按性别分布显示，hsCRP高风险组中的女性患者tHCY浓度高于该风险组中的男性患者。hsCRP浓度的年龄分布还显示，11至16岁年龄组患者中，随着tHCY浓度升高，患心血管疾病的风险更高。观察到年龄与hsCRP浓度之间存在弱负相关（r值 = -0.280；P = 0.026），tHCY与年龄之间存在弱正相关（r值 = 0.259；P = 0.036）。总之，本研究结果表明，较高水平的hsCRP可能是SCD患儿的一个有用标志物，而随着疾病随年龄进展，tHCY水平可能是一个辅助标志物。
