Can Serum Endocan Levels Predict the Presence and Severity of Coronary Artery Ectasia?

Abstract

<span><strong><em>Background: </em></strong><span>The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum endothelial cellspecific molecule-1 endocan levels and coronary artery ectasia (CAE).<br /><span><strong><em>Methods: </em></strong><span>This cross-sectional study was conducted on 99 patients. According to angiographic data, the<span> patients were divided into 3 groups: 1) patients with isolated CAE (n = 33), 2) patients with<span> documented coronary artery diseases without CAE (n = 33), and 3) those with normal coronary<span> arteries (n = 33). The endocan concentration was measured via the ELISA technique.<br /><span><strong><em>Results: </em></strong><span>patients with isolated CAE had significantly lower levels of endocan than did the controls<span> (261.30 ± 61.34 vs 564.58 ± 81.69; <span><em>P </em><span>< 0.05). There was no significant correlation between<span> endocan levels and the severity of CAE according to the Markis classification (<span><em>P </em><span>> 0.05). The<span> patients who used opium had a significantly higher prevalence rate of CAE (65.6% vs 35.3%; <span><em>P</em><span> = 0.012). Moreover, in the group with ectasia, by comparison with the non-ectatic group,<span> significantly high levels of serum triglyceride, cholesterol, and LDL levels, as well as low HDL<span> levels, were detected.<br /><span><strong><em>Conclusions: </em></strong><span>Among our study population, a decrease in endocan levels was a sensitive and accurate<span> indicator for predicting the presence of CAE, although the level of this marker was not very<span> effective in determining the severity of ectasia. In addition to a drop in endocan expression<span> levels, the use of opium and also an abnormal lipid profile were the other predictors of CAE.</span></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>