Decreased bone mineral density in adult familial Mediterranean fever patients: a pilot study

We investigated the association between familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and osteoporosis (OP) in adult patients. Thirty-five attack-free FMF patients (28 females, 7 males; mean age 36.9 +/- 5.7 years) were individually matched to control subjects on the basis of age (within 2 years) and sex. All patients were taking regular colchicine. Subjects having any condition that can cause decreased bone mineral density (BMD) were excluded from the study. BMD was measured at the spine and femur by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Data was given as the median (IQR). T scores of the spine were -0.700 (-1.097 to -0.262) and -0.450 (-0.830 to 0.112) in FMF patients and healthy controls, respectively (p > 0.05). T scores of the femur neck were -0.900 (-1.480 to -0.570) and -0.430 (-1.472 to 0.247) in FMF patients and healthy controls, respectively (p > 0.05). Total femur T scores were significantly lower in FMF patients than healthy controls (-0.780 [-1.222 to -0.085] vs. -0.100 [-0.765 to 0.537], respectively, p = 0.021). Total femur T scores were significantly decreased in adult patients with FMF. Ongoing subclinical inflammation may be associated with decreased bone mineral content in those patients

Health-related quality of life and its associations with mood condition in familial Mediterranean fever patients

The aim of the present study was to investigate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mood conditions in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients. Ninety FMF patients (F/M 60/30, median age 29) and 67 control subjects (F/M 46/21, median age 30) were included in this study. HRQOL was assessed with short form-36 (SF-36) and mood conditions were assessed with hospital anxiety depression scale (HADS). FMF patients had significantly lower mean scores on SF-36 physical components compared to the control group. However, mental components were comparable between groups. FMF patients were significantly more likely to have depression and anxiety compared to the control group [30 (33%) vs. 8 (12%), respectively, chi (2) = 9.58, OR (95% CI) = 3.7 (1.5-8.7), p < 0.01 for depression and 48 (53%) and 11 (16%), respectively, chi (2) = 22.31, OR (95% CI) = 5.8 (2.7-12.5), p < 0.001 for anxiety]. When frequency of anxious subjects was adjusted for the presence of concomitant depressive status as a confounding factor, the difference between the groups remained statistically significant [chi (2) = 11.86, OR (95% CI) = 5.4 (2.1-13.7), p < 0.01]. However, the difference of depression status between groups was not statistically significant when adjusted for the presence of concomitant anxiety status [chi (2) = 0.08, OR (95% CI) = 1.3 (0.5-3.8), p = 0.78] and FMF was found to be independently associated with only anxiety [OR (95% CI) = 7.1 (2.3-20.3)]. In addition, pure anxious FMF subgroup had significantly lower scores of mental health and mental component summary when compared to normal mood subgroup. In conclusion, FMF might adversely affect HRQOL. Depression and anxiety are more frequent in FMF patients than healthy subjects

Predictive value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in renal prognosis of patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a rare necrotizing vasculitis, which usually involves the upper and lower respiratory systems and kidneys and often have a relapsing course. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been shown to be a useful marker predicting not only progressive disease, but also mortality in various inflammatory diseases. We aimed to investigate the roles of NLR in predicting the extend of clinical involvement and prognosis of patients with GPA