title: Serum Visfatin Levels in Ulcerative Colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have suggested that adipokines play a role in inflammatory bowel disease by inducing proinflammatory cytokines, but it is uncertain whether visfatin is causally involved in ulcerative colitis (UC). We evaluated visfatin levels in patients who presented with UC flares before and after treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cohort study, we assessed 31 patients with UC in the activation period and remission in the same patients after treatment, and a healthy control group, consisting of 29 persons, at a single academic medical centre between 2010 and 2013. Disease severity was evaluated clinically using Trulove and Witt's criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum visfatin levels did not vary according to the extent of disease and were significantly higher in patients in the activation period (7.77 ± 2.41 ng/ml) than in remission (6.18 ± 2.04 ng/ml) and the healthy controls (6.54 ± 2.20 ng/ml; P < 0.01 and < 0.05, respectively). In a comparison of patients in the inactive period with the control group, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). To assess activation of the disease, a visfatin cut-off point for active UC was determined as 6.40, with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of 72%, 52%, 66.7% (43.0-85.4) and 50.0% (29.1-70.9), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The visfatin level was higher in the active group than in post-treatment remission and the healthy control group. Sensitivity and specificity were similar to other inflammatory markers for assessing clinical activity, which did not improve clinical outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). These findings did not provide a rationale for assessment of UC activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical School, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. serkandogan77@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical School, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kadri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guven
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical School, Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Celikbilek
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Medical School, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deniz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Medical School, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Berkay
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saraymen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical School, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sebnem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gursoy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase
keywords: adipokine; inflammatory bowel disease; ulcerative colitis; visfatin