Midkine level may be used as a noninvasive biomarker in Crohn’s disease

Background/aim

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a kind of inflammatory bowel disease. Midkine (MDK) is an endogenous inflammatory marker. We aimed to investigate the relationship between MDK levels and inflammation and hence determine whether MDK can be used as a noninvasive biomarker in active CD.

Materials and methods

Sixty-five consecutive patients over the age of 18 with CD and 36 healthy controls were included in this study. CD patients’ venous blood samples were taken before treatment. Serum MDK levels were determined in human plasma samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

Results

The mean age of the study patients was 44.8 ± 12.5 years, 35 patients were female, and 30 were male. Of these 65 patients, 37 had active CD and 28 were in the remission phase. MDK levels were significantly higher in active and remission CD than in healthy controls (P = 0.01, P = 0.038, respectively).

Conclusion

We report that there is an association between MDK levels and CD activation, and therefore with enhanced inflammation. MDK levels were significantly correlated with inflammatory indices. In line with our findings, we suggest the theory that MDK inhibitors may be useful in treating Crohn’s disease.

Homocysteine and fibrinogen changes with L-thyroxine in subclinical hypothyroid patients

The aim of the present study was to evaluate plasma total homocysteine (Hcys) and serum fibrinogen concentrations in subclinical hypothyroid (SH) and overt hypothyroid patients before and after L-thyroxine (LT4) replacement and to compare them in euthyroid subjects. Fifteen SH and 20 hypothyroid premenopausal women were recruited in the study. We measured fasting plasma levels of Hcys and serum levels of free thyroxine (fT4), free triiodothyronine (fT3), thyrotropin (TSH), folate, vitamin B12, fibrinogen, renal functions, and lipid profiles in patients with SH and overt hypothyroid patients before and after LT4 treatment. Eleven healthy women were included in the study as a control group. Pretreatment Hcys levels were similar in SH and control subjects, whereas mean fibrinogen level of SH patients was higher than that of control subjects (p<0.05). Baseline Hcys (p<0.01) and fibrinogen (p<0.001) levels of the overt hypothyroid patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy subjects, and the pretreatment Hcys levels decreased with LT4 treatment (p<0.001). In conclusion, our data support that SH is not associated with hyperhomocysteinemia and Hcys does not appear to contribute to the increased risk for atherosclerotic disease in patients with SH.