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Introduction. Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) comprises general body pain, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. Vitamin B12 (VB), vitamin D (VD), and iron deficiencies lead to similar complaints. First, this study aimed to evaluate the VB, VD, and ferritin levels of patients with FS. Second, it aimed to investigate whether there was a relationship between these parameters and FS severity.

Background: Subclinical atherosclerosis may be seen at an early age of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Syndecan 1 (S1) expression is increased in response to proinflammatory cytokine and inflammation. High S1 may reduce carotid atherosclerosis progression. We aimed to investigate the relationship between S1 levels and subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with AS. Methods: Fifty-eight patients diagnosed with AS and 58 age-, sex-, and body mass index-matched controls were included in the study. S1 level and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) were evaluated using appropriate methods. Results: AS patients' cIMT (0.53 ± 0.1 vs 0.45 ± 0.1 mm, p = .008), S1 (6.0 [1.7-149.2] vs 5.5 [1.0-29.8] ng/ml, p = .020), CRP (C-reactive protein) (2.1 [0.1-19.7] vs 1.1 [0.3-9.6] mg/dl, p = .012), fibrinogen (330.2 ± 87.0 vs 278.0 ± 54.5 mg/dl, p < .001) values were significantly higher than the values of the control group. There was a negative correlation between cIMT and CRP (p = .034), age (p < .001), disease duration (p = .005), BASDAI (p = .048) and fibrinogen (p = .009) in AS patients. There was a negative correlation between cIMT and S1 (p = .029). In multivariate analysis, an independent relationship was found between cIMT and age (β = 0.611, p < .001) and syndecan (β = -0.196, p = .046). Conclusion: S1 level may rise in AS patients to suppress the inverse effects of proinflammatory cytokines and inflammation. A negative relationship between the cIMT values of AS patients and S1 level may reveal that S1 has a protective effect on the development of atherosclerosis in AS patients, independent of disease activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Erkan. Cure, Adem. Kucuk, Medine. Cure Although many potent drugs have been used for cytokine storm, mortality is high for patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which is followed up [...]

Byline: Z. Kaya ?slamo?lu, Mehmet. Unal, Adem. Küçük Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder affecting a large number of people in the world. Atopic dermatitis [...]

OBJECTIVE: Increased reactive oxygen species may play an important role in Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) etiopathogenesis. The thiol group is a very potent antioxidant. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of oxidative stress in patients with AS by evaluating thiol/disulfide homeostasis. METHODS: In this study, a total of 66 AS patients (27 male, 39 female) and 66 healthy controls (21 male, 45 female) were enrolled. Recently, a novel method for the thiol measurement was found. Thiol and disulfide values were measured by the novel methods. RESULTS: Native thiol (NT) (p<0.001) and native thiol/total thiol (NTT) (p<0.001) levels of AS patients were significantly lower compared to the values of the healthy group. However, disulfide (p<0.001), disulfide/native thiol (DNT) (p<0.001) and disulfide/total thiol (DTT) levels of AS patients were a strongly higher control group. A negative correlation was found between BASFI and NTT. Also, a negative correlation was found between BASDAI and NT, NTT levels. A positive correlation was found between BASFI and disulfide, DNT and DTT levels. A positive correlation was found between BASDAI and disulfide, DNT and DTT levels. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed that thiol-disulfide homeostasis deteriorated in patients with AS in favor of disulfide amounts. Thiol-disulfide homeostasis can play roles in the etiology and severity of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular diseases, among which atherosclerotic heart disease, are known to be one of the most important mortality and morbidity causes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) is a potential marker that can be used to assess atherosclerosis‐related myocardial ischemia. Another frequently used marker for the assessment of atherosclerotic lesions is the carotid intima media thickness (CIMT). Aim: To evaluate the role that IMA has on atherosclerosis development and its clinical usability in patients with RA, by assessing the values of IMA and CIMT. Methods and materials: Our prospective study was conducted between June 2012 and March 2013 at the Rheumatology Department of Necmettin Erbakan Meram Medical School, Turkey. Fifty‐two RA patients, diagnosed according to the 1987 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, and an age‐ and sex‐matched control group of 46 healthy subjects were included in this study. Results: No significant difference was detected between the groups with respect to age, sex and body mass index. In the patient group the IMA and CIMT values were found to be 0.37 ± 0.12 absorbance units (ABSU) and 0.80 ± 0.22 mm, respectively, while in the control group they were 0.31 ± 0.11 ABSU and 0.51 ± 0.18 mm, respectively. The IMA and CIMT values were significantly higher in the patient group (P = 0.022 and P < 0.0001, respectively). A positive correlation was found between IMA, CIMT and Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (P = 0.016 and P = 0.002, respectively). Conclusion: Since the values of IMA were higher in the patient group compared to controls and because of its correlation with CIMT, we suggest the use of IMA as an early marker of atherosclerosis in RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder. Urticaria is a disease with papules and plaques accompanied by pruritus and edema. In this study, the relationship between these two diseases, which have many common features, was evaluated. Material and Methods: Patients with urticaria and volunteers who did not have any dermatologic disease were included in the study. Participants were assessed for diagnosis of IBS according to Rome III diagnostic criteria. In addition, findings supporting IBS diagnosis, and fecal shape and consistency were evaluated. Results: Fifty urticaria patients (18 males - 36% and 32 females - 64%) and 70 volunteers (38 males - 54.3% and 32 females - 45.7%) were evaluated. The mean age of the urticaria group was 34.8 ± 15.0; the mean age of the control group was 25.8 ± 10.9. IBS was detected in 34 (68%) patients in the urticaria group; and in 22 (31.4%) controls (p <0.001). Diagnosis-supporting findings were more frequently detected in the group of urticaria (p values respectively: 0.037; < 0.001; 0.036; 0.050). It was observed that the higher the serum IgE level, the higher the incidence of IBS in chronic urticaria patients ( p: 0.02; eta: 0.206). Conclusion: IBS was observed more frequently in urticaria patients. Diagnosis-supporting findings for IBS were found more frequently in urticaria patients. Serum IgE values also seem to be associated with IBS. These results indicate an association between chronic urticaria and IBS. For this reason, the presence of IBS in patients with chronic urticaria diagnosis should be questioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between the prevalence and severity of restless legs syndrome ( RLS) and the anemia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE). Methods This was a case-control study which was conducted at the rheumatology clinic of a university affiliated hospital, including 62 patients with SLE and 62 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The patients were divided into two groups in terms of their hemoglobin levels. The criterion for anemia was hemoglobin level lower than 12 g/ dL in females and 13 g/ dL in males. Results Nineteen patients (30.6%) in the patient group were diagnosed with RLS, and International RLS Study Group Rating Scale ( IRLSSG- RS) score was 10.7 ± 9.5 (median:10.0 [range:0.0-30.0]). Three subjects (4.8%) in the control group had RLS, and the IRLSSG- RS score was 0.7 ± 3.3 (median:0.0 [range:0.0-18.0]). The prevalence of RLS and the IRLSSG- RS score were higher in the patient group than those in the control group ( P < 0.001). Ten SLE patients (50%) with anemia had RLS, and their IRLSSG- RS score was 14.5 ± 9.9 (median:21.0 [range:11.0-30.0]). Nine SLE patients (21.4%) without anemia had RLS and their IRLSSG- RS was 9.0 ± 8.9 (median:21.0 [range:11.0-24.0]). Significant differences were present in the prevalence of RLS and the IRLSSG- RS score between SLE patients with and without anemia ( P = 0.024, P = 0.044, respectively). Conclusion The present study demonstrated that the prevalence of RLS was higher in patients with SLE than that of the normal population. Results of this study also suggested that anemia was associated with higher frequency of and more severe RLS in patients with lupus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]