Search

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy in reproductive women. Cardiovascular disease risk factors are more frequent in this population. We aimed in this study to investigate presence of QT dispersion and effects of sex hormones and insulin on QT duration in young PCOS patients., Methods: This present study was cross-sectional observational study. A total of 47 women, 25 patients with PCOS and 22 healthy, were included. Serum testosterone, estradiol and insulin levels were studied and electrocardiography was performed at 2nd or 3th days of menstrual cycle. The study population was divided into groups according to serum testosterone and estradiol levels. Sub-groups and pairwise groups were compared by Mann-Whitney U or student t-test. The associations of QTc durations with hormone levels were calculated using Spearman rank correlation analysis. The results were evaluated at the p<0.05 significance level., Results: No differences found between groups regarding to demographic parameters. Estradiol and testosterone levels were higher in patients with PCOS (41.12 ± 13.59 vs. 35.57 ± 19.29 pg/mL, p=0.09 and 105 ± 58.5 vs. 17.6 ± 10.9 ng/dL, p=0.01, respectively). QT dispersion was significantly longer in PCOS patients (47.1 vs. 32.7 ms, p=0.01). A positive correlation was found between the serum insulin level and QTc min, QTc max, and QTc mean (r=0.402, p=0.011; r=0.341, p=0.033; r=0.337, p=0.036; respectively). QT dispersion with serum testosterone and estradiol levels were positively correlated (r=0.525, p=0.001 and r=0.326, p=0.046; respectively)., Conclusion: Our results suggest that QT dispersion is prolonged and testosterone, estradiol and insulin are associated with QT duration in young PCOS patients.

Objective: NT-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has been shown to be an accurate diagnostic marker in patients with heart failure (HF). Adiponectin (Adp) levels are increased in HF but its diagnostic value is still uncertain in these patients. The study was designed to investigate the possible association of these markers in non-cachectic patients with newly diagnosed systolic heart failure., Methods: Fifty-seven systolic HF patients and 20 matched controls were enrolled in an observational cross-sectional study. Physical and echocardiographic examinations were performed and serum Adp, NT-proBNP, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels were measured. Study variables were compared between the groups. Correlation analyses were done and the diagnostic validity of the markers was compared with ROC analysis., Results: Adp and NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher in HF group (20.19±12.9 vs. 7.65±4.6 μg/mL; p<0.001 and 1051.74±606.2 vs. 222.53±65.6 pg/mL; p=0.002; respectively). TNF-α levels were similar between the groups (2.83±1.8 vs. 2.08±1.2 pg/mL; p=0.582). Correlation analysis showed significant association among Adp and NT-proBNP levels, (r=0.448; p<0.001), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) values (r=-0.466; p<0.001). The Adp and NT-proBNP showed comparable diagnostic performances with mean [95% confidence interval] areas under the curves of 0.857 (0.771-0.944) and 0.888 (0.815-0.960), respectively., Conclusion: There were significant correlation between Adp levels with NT-proBNP levels and LVEF values but no any association between Adp levels with body mass index values and TNF-α levels in patients with newly diagnosed systolic heart failure. The result may arouse suspicion about the hypothesis, which proposes that Adp levels simply reflects disease severity or cardiac cachexia in patients with HF.

Objective: Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is used to evaluate endothelial functions. Computer-assisted analysis utilizing edge detection permits continuous measurements along the vessel wall. We have developed a new fully automated software program to allow accurate and reproducible measurement., Methods: FMD has been measured and analyzed in 18 coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and 17 controls both by manually and by the software developed (computer supported) methods. The agreement between methods was assessed by Bland-Altman analysis., Results: The mean age, body mass index and cardiovascular risk factors were higher in CAD group. Automated FMD% measurement for the control subjects was 18.3±8.5 and 6.8±6.5 for the CAD group (p=0.0001). The intraobserver and interobserver correlation for automated measurement was high (r=0.974, r=0.981, r=0.937, r=0.918, respectively). Manual FMD% at 60th second was correlated with automated FMD % (r=0.471, p=0.004)., Conclusions: The new fully automated software© can be used to precise measurement of FMD with low intra- and interobserver variability than manual assessment.