title: Thrombophilic abnormalities of natural anticoagulants in patients with ulcerative colitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ulcerative colitis patients have increased risk for thromboembolic events. Factors predisposing to thrombosis in ulcerative colitis are poorly defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible thrombophilic abnormalities in patients with ulcerative colitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one patients with ulcerative colitis and 51 healthy controls were studied. Disease activity, clinical and endoscopic, was assessed by standard criteria. Plasma levels of antithrombin, protein C, free protein S and activated protein C resistance were determined in both study groups. Genetic test for factor V Leiden was performed in cases with abnormal activated protein C resistance. Parameters of inflammation and fibrinogen were additionally measured in ulcerative colitis patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean values of free protein S were significantly lower in ulcerative colitis patients (84.01 +/- 21.57) compared to healthy controls (100.17 +/- 24.7) (p < 0.001). Mean values of protein C were higher in ulcerative colitis patients (124.6 +/- 39.03) than healthy controls (100.19 +/- 19.86) (p < 0.001). No other significant differences were observed, but there was a trend towards higher prevalence of low values for antithrombin (9.8% vs. 0%, p = 0.056) and free protein S (19.6% vs. 5.9%, p = 0.072) in ulcerative colitis patients. Three ulcerative colitis patients and three healthy controls had low activated protein C resistance ratio. All these subjects were heterozygous for factor V Leiden. No correlation was observed between abnormalities in thrombophilic parameters and clinical, endoscopic or inflammatory parameters in ulcerative colitis group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Abnormalities in natural anticoagulants are more common in ulcerative colitis patients compared to healthy controls, irrespective of disease activity. Low activated protein C resistance ratio due to factor V Leiden is not more common in ulcerative colitis patients than in healthy controls.
authors: Division of Gastroenterology, 2nd Propaedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hippokration Hospital, Greece. zezosp@hol.gr
authors: Petros
authors: P
authors: Zezos
authors: Georgia
authors: G
authors: Papaioannou
authors: Nikolaos
authors: N
authors: Nikolaidis
authors: Themistoclis
authors: T
authors: Vasiliadis
authors: Olga
authors: O
authors: Giouleme
authors: Nikolaos
authors: N
authors: Evgenidis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019851:Thrombophilia / Q000209:etiology*