 previous article in this issue | next article in this issue  |
|
Document Details : Title: Plasma interleukin-6 levels are increased in coronary artery ectasia Author(s): TOKGOZOGLU, Lale , ERGENE, Oktay , KINAY, Ozan , NAZLI, Cem , HASCELIK, Gülsen , HOSCAN,Yesim Journal: Acta Cardiologica Volume: 59 Issue: 5 Date: October 2004 Pages: 515-519 DOI: 10.2143/AC.59.5.2005226 Abstract : Objective — Recent studies have suggested a cytokine-induced tissue inflammation in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysms and it has been documented that circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in these patients are increased. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a similar association also exists for patients with coronary ectasia, which may also be regarded as an abnormal dilatation of the arterial system. Methods and results — The study group was composed of 43 patients with coronary ectasia and 48 patients with normal coronary arteries constituted the control group. Coronary diameters were measured by quantitative angiography. A coronary diameter index was defined for each segment as the coronary diameter divided by the body surface area (BSA). A coronary segment with a diameter index of more than 1.5 fold of the control group was defined as ectatic. Baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients with coronary ectasia (5.18 ± 2.04 pg/ml vs. 4.13 ± 0.5 pg/ml, p = 0.002). There was no significant correlation with the maximal diameter of the most dilated coronary segment and IL-6 levels in patients with coronary ectasia (r = 0.10, p = 0.50). Conclusions — Results of this study have demonstrated increased levels of circulating IL-6 in patients with coronary ectasia which might indicate a possible role of inflammatory processes. Absence of a significant correlation between the dimensions of the ectatic segments and IL-6 levels might be due to the narrower range of the diameters of the coronary arteries compared with the abdominal aorta. |
