title: Is There Any Relationship between the Chronicity of Chronic Anal Fissure and Endothelin-1?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many kinds of substances are produced on vascular endothelial activation. The aim of this study is to confirm an increase in Endothelin-1 (ET-1), the most potent vasoconstrictor, which is produced by endothelial activation, in patients with chronic anal fissure and to infer the relationship between ET-1 and anal fissure chronicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study groups are divided into three different groups with 30 subjects each. Group 1 is comprised of healthy volunteers, group 2 of chronic anal fissure patients, and Group 3 of patients with higher than 3rd degree hemorrhoids. Blood samples were taken to measure the ET-1 levels in subject's serum and to compare the results with those for the control groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 90 subjects, 38 were male, and 52 were female. The average age was 36.8. The average ET-1 level marked 1.47 ± 0.78 pg/mL for male subjects and 1.16 ± 0.47 pg/mL for female subjects (P = 0.02). The average ET-1 level in the patient groups is as follow: 1.21 ± 0.44 pg/mL in group 1, 1.46 ± 0.83 pg/mL in group 2, and 1.20 ± 0.56 pg/mL in group 3 (P = 0.14).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Group 2, the chronic anal fissure patient group, showed a higher ET-1 level than groups 1 and 3, the control group and the hemorrhoid patient group, but this difference had no statistical significance.
authors: Department of Coloproctology, Yang Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Cheong Ho
authors: CH
authors: Lim
authors: Hyeon Keun
authors: HK
authors: Shin
authors: Wook Ho
authors: WH
authors: Kang
authors: Seung Kyu
authors: SK
authors: Jeong
authors: Hyung Kyu
authors: HK
authors: Yang