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Background/Aim: Fear against disease course, treatment, and limitations in family, work, and social life are commonly seen but mostly overlooked by physicians of patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease in young adults characterized by limitations in spinal mobility. The Fear Assessment (FAIR) Questionnaire was designed especially for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis to assess the level of fear from the patient’s perspective. Here we evaluate the FAIR score in AS patients and its association with disease activity, AS quality of life (ASQoL), depression, anxiety, and fatigue levels. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 79 patients with AS, and disease activity was assessed by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), AS-Disease Activity Score-C reactive protein, and functional status was assessed by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). Patient global assessment of disease and pain were scored on 0–10 cm visual analog scores. All patients completed FAIR and ASQoL questionnaires. The depression and anxiety were evaluated by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and fatigue was assessed by Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Results: The mean age of AS patients (62% male) was 41.7 (11.3) years. Most of the patients were on biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). The patients’ median BASDAI, ASDAS-CRP, and BASFI were 5.4 (range, 3.8–7.4), 3.83 (1.4), and 4.0 (range, 2.3–6.2), respectively. The overall FAIR, ASQoL, FSS, HADS-depression, and HADS-anxiety scores were 75 (range, 52–91), 9.6 (5.2), 5.4 (range, 4.1–7), 7.7 (4.4) and 9.6 (5.2), respectively. There were statistically significant correlations between disease activity indices and FAIR, ASQoL, FSS, and HADS scores. The FAIR scores significantly correlated with ASQoL, FSS, and HADS scores. The patients with active disease (BASDAI ≥ 4) had significantly higher levels of FAIR, ASQoL, FSS, and HADS. The best cut-off value for the FAIR score of AS patients with moderate to severe disease activity was 50 (AUC: 0.734, 95% CI [0.599–0.870], P = 0.002), with a sensitivity of 89.8%, specificity of 55%, positive likelihood ratio of 1.99, and Youden index of 0.45. Conclusion: This study shows that AS patients face a high level of fear which is associated with higher disease activity, higher risk of mood disorders, and lower quality of life. Physicians should not only focus on the physical improvement of the patient but also handle the fear of patients against their diseases and their treatment. This holistic approach will improve the dialogue between the physician and the patient, which will result in increased compliance with treatment and will raise the quality of care.

Aim of the work: To evaluate the value of three hematological indices to determine subclinical inflammation in Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) patients during attack-free period. Patients and methods: This study included 60 FMF patients without FMF-related symptoms or signs in the preceding month and 50 age and sex matched healthy control. Subclinical inflammation was defined as the presence of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) > 5 mg/dL and/or serum amyloid A (SAA) levels > 6.4 mg/L in the absence of any FMF related clinical signs and symptoms. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) were evaluated. Results: The median age of the patients was 32 and 80% were females. They were 12 (80%) with subclinical inflammation and 48 (80%) without. Mutations of MEFV gene were analyzed in 43 (56.6%) patients and were homozygous in 21, heterozygous in 12 and compound heterozygous in 10. The most common mutation was of M694V. The NLR and PLR were significantly higher and MPV lower in patients with inflammation (p = 0.002, p = 0.02, p = 0.03, respectively) but was comparable to the values in the control. Only NLR was significantly higher in those with inflammation compared to those without (p = 0.009) whereas MPV and PLR were similar (p = 0.45 and p = 0.22, respectively). The best cut-off value for NLR in predicting subclinical inflammation in patients was 2.94 (sensitivity 66.7%, specificity 94.9%;p = 0.009). Conclusions: Only NLR increased in FMF patients with subclinical inflammation which may be used as a marker in determining early activity or flare in addition to other markers.

AIM High Mobility Group Box-1 (HMGB-1) is a nuclear protein acting as a proinflammatory molecule. The serum HMGB-1 levels were found elevated in chronic inflammatory diseases. In this cross-sectional study, serum HMGB-1 levels in Behcet's disease (BD) patients and healthy controls (HC) were studied. Also, its association with disease activity scores and clinical findings were evaluated. METHOD Ninety BD patients and 50 age-sex matched HC were included in the study. Disease activity scores were assessed by Behcet Disease Current Activity Form (BDCAF) and Behcet Syndrome Activity Score (BSAS). Serum HMGB-1 levels were measured using a commercial ELISA kit. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS Serum HMGB-1 levels were significantly higher in BD than in HC (43.26 pg/mL and 16.73 pg/mL; p< 0.001 respectively). Serum HMGB-1 levels were statistically significantly associated with presence of erythema nodosum (EN) and genital ulcers in the last one month prior to recruitment (p= 0.041 and p< 0.001, respectively). BDCAF and BSAS scores were positively correlated with serum HMGB-1 level (p= 0.03 and p= 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSION HMGB-1 may play a role in the development of BD. Also, due to its positive correlation with disease activity indices, it can be used as a novel disease activity parameter in BD.

Objectives:The study aimed to reveal the clinical, laboratory and serological features of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) followed in a referral center and to demonstrate the possible differences of the patients with recurrent thrombosis.Materials and Methods:The data of 43 patients with APS, who applied to our center between January 2010 and January 2019, were scrutinized retrospectively. Clinical, laboratory and serological features of the patients were recorded. The patients with and without recurrent thrombosis were compared. P-value

Background Beta-2 microglobulin (β2M) is mainly released from activated lymphocytes. Increased serum β2M levels have been shown in autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to analyse the serum levels of β2M in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to evaluate its relationship with disease activity measures. Material and Methods This cross-sectional study included 137 RA patients, 102 ankylosing spondylitis patients (AS) and 50 healthy controls (HC). To assess the disease activity of RA patients, the 28-joint Disease Activity Score-Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (DAS28-ESR), the 28-joint Disease Activity Score-C-Reactive Protein (DAS28-CRP), the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) and the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) were used. A p value of Results Serum β2M levels were significantly higher in RA patients (2.95±1.19 mg/L) compared with HC (2.21±0.54 mg/L) and AS patients (2.200.58 mg/L) (p Conclusion Our study revealed that serum β2M levels were higher in RA patients than in healthy controls, and, in contrast to other studies, we found positive correlations between β2M levels and RA disease activity measures.