Objectives FMF is the most common periodic fever syndrome, characterized by recurrent episodes of fever and serosal inflammation accompanied with high acute phase reactants. The analysis of possible comorbidities is important to understand the impact of these conditions on clinical care and whether they share a common aetiological pathway. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the comorbidities associated with FMF patients in a large genetically diagnosed cohort. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the medical and genetic records of FMF patients who were followed up by rheumatologists in Hacettepe University for 15 years. The FMF patients who had homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations were included in the study. Comorbidities associated with FMF were divided into three groups: (i) comorbidities directly related to FMF, (ii) comorbidities due to increased innate inflammation, and (iii) comorbidities that were regarded as being incidental. Results A total of 2000 patients with a diagnosis of FMF were enrolled in the study. Among them 636 were children (31.8%) and M694V was the most common mutation in patients with associated inflammatory conditions. The frequency of AS, Iga Vasculitis (Henoch–Schönlein purpura), juvenile idiopathic arthritis, polyarteritis nodosa, multiple sclerosis and Behçet’s disease were increased in patients with FMF when compared with those in the literature. Conclusion This study represents the largest genetically confirmed cohort and compares the frequencies with existing national and international figures for each disease. The increased innate immune system inflammation seen in FMF may be considered as a susceptibility factor since it predisposes to certain inflammatory conditions.

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The electronic attributes of an electrochemically deposited copper monolayer on Au(111) were compared to its bulk equivalent by XPS experiments. Due to the modified interaction between the Cu-Cu as well as Cu-Au atoms at the surface a core level shift to lower binding energies occurs, which exceeds the values found for surface core level shifts of Cu atoms on Cu(100) surfaces. It could be shown that the thymine orientation on a copper layer depends on the externally applied potential in analogy to the adsorption behaviour on Au(111) and Ag(111) single crystals. The transition between a chemisorbed and a physisorbed phase occurs around the potential of zero charge. Independently of the adsorption state of thymine the electron density around the surface copper atoms is reduced by the interaction between thymine molecules and the copper surface. At electrochemically deposited silver monolayers, bilayers as well as at bulk silver on Au(111) different orientations and adsorption states of thymine could be evaluated. A comparison between XPS and electrochemical data reveal an alteration of the thymine–Ag interaction within the chemisorbed thymine layer deposited on 1 ML Ag/Au(111). It is notable that the transformation between the chemisorbed and physisorbed thymine phase does not seem to be dependent on the thickness of the silver adlayers, while the potential of zero charge differs by about 200 mV. In contrast, the onset of the hydrogen evolution shifts to lower potentials with increasing thickness of the Ag layers.