Assessment of Serum ADMA Levels and Aortic Elastic Properties in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Abstract

Introduction: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic infl ammatory disease which may be associated with cardiovascular complications. The aim of the study was to investigate aortic elastic properties and serum asymetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis without any cardiac involvement. Patients and Methods: Fifty-fi ve ankylosing spondylitis patients and 30 age/gender matched healthy subjects were enrolled into this study. Fasting glucose, serum lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and ADMA were studied. Aortic strain, distensibility and stiffness index were calculated from aortic diameters measured by transthoracic echocardiography and simultaneous blood pressure measurements. Results: ESR and CRP were higher in patients group. Serum ADMA levels were also higher in ankylosing spondylitis than in controls (0.76 ± 0.19 vs. 0.55 ± 0.12, p< 0.001). In subgroup analysis, ADMA was signifi cantly lower in anti-TNF-alfa treatment group than conventional treatment group (0.68 ± 0.15 vs. 0.87 ± 0.18, p< 0.001). Mean aortic strain and distensibility were lower and stiffness index was higher in ankylosing spondylitis group than controls. No correlation between ADMA and aortic elastic properties was observed. In ankylosing spondylitis group, a negative signifi cant correlation was found between duration of ankylosing spondylitis and aortic strain and distensibility. Conclusion: Our study suggest that patients with ankylosing spondylitis without cardiac involvement, aortic elasticity was impaired and ADMA levels were increased, while there was no signifi cant correlation between aortic elastic properties and ADMA levels.