Systemic inflammation plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis (AS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of early AS in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) that is characterized by recurrent inflammatory attacks of serositis. Sixty-one FMF patients (30 Male/31 Female; 31.5 [18-54] years) and 31 healthy controls (16 Male/15 Female; 31 [22-58] years) were studied. All FMF patients were on regular daily colchicine treatment and during attack-free periods. Both the FMF patients and controls with a history of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were excluded. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Serum lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were assessed. Two-hour oral glucose tolerance test was performed to rule out DM and glucose intolerance. To investigate early AS "endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilatation (FMD%)," "nitroglycerin-induced endothelium-independent peripheral vasodilatation (NTG%)," and intima-media thickness (IMT) of common carotid arteries (CCA) were measured by ultrasonograpy. The median disease duration for FMF patients was 16 (1-45) years. Age, sex, BMI, smoking status, and serum lipids were comparable in patients and controls (p > 0.05). However, ESR and standard CRP were significantly higher in the patients group (p < 0.05). There were no differences in the measurements of right, left, and averaged IMT of CCA between patients and controls ([0.49 vs 0.5], [0.51 vs 0.52] and [0.5 vs 0.51]; p > 0.05, respectively). None of the subjects had carotid artery plaques. FMD% and NTG% were also similar in patients and controls group ([18.2 vs 20.6] and [24.2 vs 22.5]; p > 0.05, respectively). This study suggests that the markers of early AS are not impaired in FMF patients on regular daily colchicine treatment.

Our results suggest that LT(4) suppression therapy for benign thyroid nodules is associated with enhanced coagulation.

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Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the effect of LT4 suppression therapy on plasma thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) antigen and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels in benign thyroid nodules. We also compared hyperthyroid patients and healthy controls. Subjects and Methods: Twenty premenopausal women with benign thyroid nodules were given LT4 suppression therapy for 1 year. Plasma TAFI and PAI-1 antigen levels were measured at baseline and after LT4 suppression treatment. The endogenous hyperthyroid group was composed of 19 premenopausal females with newly diagnosed endogenous hyperthyroidism. Eighteen age-matched euthyroid healthy premenopausal women were enrolled as the control group. Results: TAFI antigen levels decreased after LT4 suppression treatment; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.057). LT4 treatment resulted in a nonsignificant increase in PAI-1 levels. Patients with endogenous hyperthyroidism had decreased levels of TAFI antigen and increased levels of PAI-1 antigen (p < 0.05). There was a negative correlation between the FT₄ and TAFI antigen levels. Serum TSH was positively correlated with the plasma levels of TAFI antigen. Conclusion: LT4 suppression therapy for benign thyroid nodules did not result in a significant decrease in TAFI antigen levels in premenopausal women, but endogenous hyperthyroidism was associated with significantly decreased levels of TAFI antigen.

AimTo investigate the effectiveness of indirect computed tomography (CT) venography applied after pulmonary CT angiography to patients with suspected pulmonary embolism.Material and methodsThe study comprised 80 patients at high/moderate risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) according to the clinical findings. Computed tomography venography (CTV) was performed 3-3.5 minutes after taking pulmonary CTA images. Color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) of the lower extremities was applied to all patients before pulmonary CTA or within 24 hours after CTA.ResultsPulmonary embolism was determined in a total of 19 patients (23%). Six patients had deep venous thrombosis on CTV examination even though the CDUS findings were normal. Accepting color Doppler ultrasonography findings as the gold standard, the sensitivity of CTV in determining deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was found to be 100%, specificity 91%, positive predictive value 60%, negative predictive value 100%, likelihood of giving a positive result 11.1, and likelihood of giving a negative result 0. There was a statistically significant good degree of correlation between the two methods (r = 0.741, p < 0.001).ConclusionsComputed tomography venography examination applied after pulmonary CTA is a fast imaging technique that has high diagnostic value and can be an alternative to CDUS, especially when CDUS is insufficient in application and evaluation.