Endothelial-specific molecule 1 (endocan) is expressed in endothelial cells. We investigated the relationship between acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and serum endocan levels. We included 30 individuals as a control group and 53 patients diagnosed with ACS. The severity of coronary artery disease was assessed by a modified Gensini stenosis and SYNTAX scoring system. There was a significant difference in serum endocan levels between the control group and the ACS group (0.75 ± 0.13 vs 0.86 ± 0.25 ng/mL, P = .014). There was also a significant difference in serum endocan levels between diabetic patients with ACS and nondiabetic patients with ACS (1.02 ± 0.33 vs 0.81 ± 0.21 ng/mL, P = .016). There was no significant correlation between serum endocan level, Gensini, and SYNTAX score (r = .11, P = .53 and r = .16, P = .37). Endocan, a new biomarker of endothelial pathology, is significantly increased in patients with ACS.

Endothelial-specific molecule 1 (endocan) is expressed by endothelial cells and may have a major role in the regulation of cell adhesion and in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders. We aimed to assess change in endocan levels after 3 months of lifestyle change recommendations and guideline-based treatment. Diabetic patients (n = 77) who had neither chronic kidney disease nor chronic inflammatory disease were included. After baseline evaluation, the patients were advised lifestyle changes, and their medical treatment was determined individually according to recommendations of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines. At the end of third month patients were reevaluated. Baseline endocan levels were significantly increased in the study group compared with the control group. The third-month laboratory workup showed significant reductions in hemoglobin A1c, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and endocan levels. Only δ-UACR was independently correlated with δ-endocan in multivariate linear regression analysis. Our findings suggest that serum endocan concentrations are elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes and decrease following anti-hyperglycemic treatment. Furthermore, decrease in endocan concentrations might be associated with improved glycemic control and reductions in UACR.

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Introduction Two‐dimensional (2D) speckle‐tracking echocardiographic (STE) imaging is frequently performed in the assessment of cardiovascular diseases. We aim to investigate the role of the global and territorial longitudinal strain (GLS and TLS) values assessed via 2D STE imaging to detect significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in non‐ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients without wall‐motion abnormalities. Methods This study enrolled 150 patients with the diagnosis of NSTEMI. Patients who had typical chest pain with unstable angina characteristics within the last 24 hours were 18–80 years of age and had a typical rise and/or fall of cardiac biomarkers were included. Myocardial functions were assessed via myocardial deformation analyses of 2D STE images. Results The mean age of the CAD group was 52.91 ± 9.11, vs 50.31 ± 8.32 in the control group. In the CAD group, 56 patients were male (65%), whereas 21 were male (60%) in control group. GLS and TLS assessments demonstrated a statistically significant difference between CAD and control groups, with GLS values of −16.27 ± 1.91 and −18.74 ± 1.93 (P < 0.001), TLS‐LAD values of −15.67 ± 1.83 and −18.54 ± 1.97 (P < 0.001), TLS‐RCA values of −17.04 ± 1.81 and −19.20 ± 1.86 (P < 0.001), and TLS‐Cx values of −17.40 ± 2.08 and −18.34 ± 2.18 (P = 0.028), respectively. Correlation analyses revealed that as high‐sensitivity troponin (hsTnT) values increased, GLS decreased significantly, and further, an increase in severity of CAD resulted in decreased TLS‐LAD, ‐CX and ‐RCA (TLS‐LAD: P < 0.001, r = −0.743; TLS‐CX: P < 0.001, r = −0.449; TLS‐RCA: P < 0.001, r = −0.737). Multivariate analyses indicated that GLS and GRACE ACS risk scores are independent predictors of CAD in patients with NSTEMI (GLS: OR = 0.514, P < 0.001; GRACE score: OR = 0.938, P = 0.007). Conclusions Global longitudinal strain (GLS) assessed with 2D STE is a promising, easy to perform and quick imaging method to predict CAD in patients with NSTEMI.