Mean platelet volume and β-thromboglobulin levels in familial mediterranean fever: Effect of colchicine use?

Background: Many studies have shown that subclinical inflammation persisted during remission period of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) patients but long term effects of subclinical inflammation in these patients aren't clearly known. Besides, a few of the recent studies revealed that risk of atherosclerosis had increased in FMF patients. beta-Thromboglobulin (beta-TG) is considered as a sensitive marker of platelet activation. In this study Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and beta-TG levels were evaluated in FMF patients. Methods: Following the Local Ethics Committee's consent, 25 FMF patients were included in the study. Twenty eight age and sex matched healthy volunteers were recruited as a control group. Lipid profile, inflammatory parameters, hemogram, beta-TG, MPV were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS for Windows 16.00. Results: Group I consisted of 25 FMF cases (16 females, 9 males; mean age: 35.72 +/- 12.34 years), Group II consisted of 28 cases (22 females, 6 males; mean age 31.78 +/- 10.31 years). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of age and gender distribution, smoking status, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and MPV (p > 0.05). HDL levels were found to be statistically lower in Group I (p:0.04). Median beta-TG levels was significantly higher in Group II than Group I (129.50 (range: 372.00) ng/mL versus 104.00 (range: 212.80) ng/mL respectively; p:0.03). Conclusion: In this study MPV and beta-TG were evaluated for FMF cases and healthy controls, beta-TG levels were found significantly lower among patients; we hypothesized that this difference may have resulted from the effect of colchicine use on platelet functions. (C) 2012 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.