Assessment of Endocan Serum Level in Patients with Behçet Disease: Relation to Disease Activity and Carotid Intima Media Thickness.

Behçet disease (BD) is a form of vasculopathy that can influence blood vessels of variable diameters. Endocan is a biomarker of endothelial activation and it is secreted from endothelial cells as a soluble proteoglycan. The aim of the work was to assess endocan serum level in patients with BD and to examine its relationship with disease activity parameters and carotid intima media thickness (IMT).

Serum Soluble CD163 and its association with various disease parameters in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: Cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163) is a receptor that binds haptoglobin-hemoglobin complexes and is mainly expressed on macrophages and monocytes. As a result of shedding, the extracellular portion of CD163 circulates in the blood as a soluble CD163 (sCD163). This study aimed to measure serum sCD163 levels in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to assess its association with the clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of the disease.

Interleukin-18 gene polymorphisms in systemic lupus erythematosus: relation to disease status.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune connective tissue disorder characterized by loss of self-tolerance causing immune-mediated tissue destruction and various clinical presentations Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders. This study investigates polymorphisms of the IL-18 gene in SLE patients at positions -607 and -137 of the promoter to elucidate their possible roles in the activity and severity of this disease. Fifty SLE patients and fifty unrelated healthy control group were included.