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This study was carried out to determine lumbar and femoral bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an autosomal-recessive disease characterized by recurrent episodes of peritonitis, pleuritis, and arthritis, which are usually associated with fever. In patients with FMF and control subjects, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured. BMD was determined at the lumbar spine (L1-4) and the femoral regions (neck and total) using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Twenty-eight FMF patients and 30 control subjects without a history of inflammatory disease participated in our study. The demographic variables, such as age, sex and body mass index were similar between patients and controls (P > 0.05). We found statistically significant difference in ESR and CRP between FMF patients and controls (P < 0.01, P < 0.05 respectively). There was statistically significant difference in lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total femur BMD between FMF patients and control groups (P < 0.001, P < 0.01, P < 0.01 respectively).Our study indicates that lumbar spine and femoral neck and total femur BMD in patients with FMF may be lower than in healthy subjects.

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a membrane-bound molecule primarily involved in cell-cell adhesive interactions of the immune system. It is a cytokine-induced glycoprotein involved in the recruitment of cells into tissues undergoing inflammatory responses. The levels of soluble ICAM-1 were measured in sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay. Serum levels (mean +/- SD) of soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) were significantly higher in 24 patients with SLE than in 20 controls (372+/-42 ng/dL vs 231+/-29 ng/dL, P0.001). A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between sICAM-1 levels and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score in SLE patients, and no correlation was found between sICAM-1 and CRP, SLEDAI and CRP, or SLEDAI and ESR in patient groups (P0.05). These findings suggest that sICAM-1 measurement may serve as an additional serologic marker of disease activity in patients with SLE.

The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and to examine the relationship between anti-CCP and joint findings. We measured the serum levels of the anti-CCP antibodies in patients with FMF (n = 55) and healthy controls (n = 43). Serum levels of rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, ferritin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell (WBC) were also measured in all the samples. Fibrinogen, ferritin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and RF levels were normal in the patient and the control groups (P > 0.05). There was a significant difference in anti-CCP between the patient and the control groups (P = 0.008). There was a positive correlation between arthritis and anti-CCP (P = 0.001). In patients without arthritis, there was no significant relationship between abdominal pain or fever and anti-CCP (P > 0.05). Anti-CCP levels increased in FMF patients with arthritis independent from acute phase reactants such as CRP, ESR, and fibrinogen. We conclude that in patients who are under investigation for arthritis, the ones with positive anti-CCP and negative RF, may be examined for FMF. In addition, we also conclude that it is very likely that FMF patients with anti-CCP antibodies will have signs of arthritis. On the other hand, it is possible that long-term follow-up of the FMF patients with anti-CCP antibodies may reveal the eventual development of inflammatory joint disease.