title: Serum lipoprotein (a) levels and Behçet's disease: is there an association?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disorder found in individuals with a particular genetic background. Hemostatic studies in BD support an imbalance towards a prothrombotic state at different levels. Lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) has atherogenic and thrombogenic properties. It is mostly under genetic regulation. We investigated the possible relationship between Lp(a) and BD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients diagnosed with BD and 40 healthy controls were enrolled. The clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded. Serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, and Lp(a) levels of the two groups were assessed and compared statistically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients (100%) had oral aphthous ulcers. Thirty (75%) had genital ulceration, 37 (92.5%) had either erythema nodosum or papulopustular lesions, and 10 (25%) had eye involvement. Twelve (30%) had a positive pathergy test. Four (10%) had vascular involvement. The Lp(a) level of the patient population was 19.6+/-18.8 mg/dL. This level was higher than that of the controls, but not statistically significant. The Lp(a) levels of the four patients with vascular complications were within normal limits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lp(a) is of interest, as it is a genetically determined parameter that was found to be high in BD patients in our study group. The levels were independent of thrombotic complications, perhaps suggesting a different role for this lipoprotein in the etiopathogenesis of BD. Further studies with a larger number of patients are essential to discover the exact role of Lp(a) in BD.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Gaziantep Government Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozgul
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Balik
authors.forename: Gunes
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gur
authors.forename: Nurdan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lenk
authors.forename: Ferda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Artuz
authors.forename: Nuran
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017270:Lipoprotein(a) / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D017270:Lipoprotein(a); D008074:Lipoproteins; D002784:Cholesterol