title: Sclerostin serum levels in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases.
abstract: Systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs) are associated with lower bone mass and an increased risk of fractures. Sclerostin has a pivotal role in bone metabolism. Available data on circulating sclerostin levels in healthy subjects are limited, whereas those in SAD patients are absent. Our objective was to determine circulating sclerostin concentrations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc) and Crohn's disease (CD) patients, and to analyze the factors associated with sclerostin concentrations. In this cross-sectional case-control study, serum sclerostin levels were measured in 38 SLE patients, 20 CD patients, 8 SSc patients and 20 healthy controls using a sclerostin ELISA. The mean values of the sclerostin (95% confidence interval) were 35.36 pmol l(-1) (12-101) in patients and 33.92 pmol l(-1) (2.31-100) in control subjects. The mean sclerostin value was 36.4 pmol l(-1) (22.1-48.5) in SLE patients, 26.7 pmol l(-1) (17.3-36.3) in CD patients and 51.8 pmol l(-1) (26.5-77.1) in SSc patients (P=0.001). Serum sclerostin levels were positively correlated with age (P<0.001), body mass index (BMI) (P=0.01) and lumbar spine Z-score (P=0.001) and negatively with creatinine clearance (P=0.001). Glucocorticoid treatment did not affect sclerostin levels. Sclerostin levels seem to have a heterogeneous pattern in different autoimmune diseases. SLE and SSc patients did not differ from healthy controls regarding sclerostin levels. The CD group had significantly lower values compared with SSc patients. Factors associated with sclerostin levels in autoimmune diseases seem to be the same than in the general population.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes y Sistémicas, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio , Granada, España.
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández-Roldán
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Epidemiología Genética y Arteriosclerosis en Enfermedades Inflamatorias Sistémicas, IDIVAL , Santander, España.
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Genre
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Epidemiología Genética y Arteriosclerosis en Enfermedades Inflamatorias Sistémicas, IDIVAL , Santander, España.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López-Mejías
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Epidemiología Genética y Arteriosclerosis en Enfermedades Inflamatorias Sistémicas, IDIVAL , Santander, España.
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ubilla
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Epidemiología Genética y Arteriosclerosis en Enfermedades Inflamatorias Sistémicas, IDIVAL , Santander, España.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mijares
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes y Sistémicas, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio , Granada, España.
authors.forename: Daniel Sánchez
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Cano
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes y Sistémicas, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio , Granada, España.
authors.forename: Concepción López
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Robles
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes y Sistémicas, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio , Granada, España.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Callejas-Rubio
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes y Sistémicas, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio , Granada, España.
authors.forename: Raquel Ríos
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: FIBAO (Fundación Pública Andaluza para la Investigación Biosanitaria de Andalucía Oriental - Alejandro Otero) , Granada, España.
authors.forename: Manuela Expósito
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Epidemiología Genética y Arteriosclerosis en Enfermedades Inflamatorias Sistémicas, IDIVAL , Santander, España.
authors.forename: Miguel Á
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: González-Gay
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes y Sistémicas, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio , Granada, España.
authors.forename: Norberto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ortego Centeno