Evaluation of serum resistin levels in patients with ocular and non-ocular Behçet’s disease F. Nilüfer Yalçindag,* MD; Ali Yalçindag, † MD; Figen Batioglu,* MD; Osman Çaglayan, † MD; Üçler Kisa, † PhD; Özden Özdemir,* MD ABSTRACT • RÉSUMÉ Background: Resistin, a recently identified adipocytokine, has been found to play an important role in inflammation and the processes of inflammation-related diseases. Serum resistin levels in patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) have not yet been investigated. We aimed to evaluate the relation between resistin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in Behçet patients with or without ocular involvement and in normal controls. Methods: Twenty-two patients with BD and 19 healthy control subjects were included in this study.While 14 patients had posterior segment involvement of the eye, the other 8 did not have ocular disease. Serum resistin and interleukin-6 (IL-6), levels were measured in all samples. Data from all groups were tested for statistical significance. Results: The mean resistin and IL-6 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with BD than the control subjects (p = 0.011 and p = 0.0001, respectively).There was a significant difference in resistin and IL-6 levels between the patients with non-ocular BD and controls (p = 0.013 and p = 0.0001, respectively), as well as resistin and IL-6 levels between the ocular BD group and the control group (p = 0.05 and p = 0.0001, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between patients with ocular versus non-ocular BD. Interpretation: Resistin levels were found to be raised in Behçet patients with or without ocular involvement compared with the control subjects. Contexte : Il s’avère que la résistine, adipocytokine récemment identifiée, joue un rôle important dans l’inflammation et le processus des maladies liées à l’inflammation. Les niveaux de résistine du sérum chez les patients atteints de la maladie de Behçet (MB) n’avaient pas encore fait l’objet d’investigations. Notre but était donc d’évaluer la relation entre la résistine et l’interleukine-6 (IL-6) chez ces patients, avec ou sans implication oculaire et sous contrôles normaux. Méthodes : L’étude a porté sur 22 patients atteints de la MB et 19 sujets témoins en santé. Alors que 14 patients avaient une atteinte au segment postérieur, les 8 autres n’avaient pas de maladie oculaire. On a mesuré les niveaux de résistine du sérum et d’interleukine-6 (IL-6) de tous les échantillons. Les données de tous les groupes ont fait l’objet de tests pour en évaluer la signification statistique. Résultats : La moyenne de concentration de résistine et d’IL-6 était significativement supérieure chez les patients atteints de la MB que chez les sujets témoins (p = 0,011 et p = 0,0001, respectivement). Il y avait un écart important des niveaux de résistine et d’IL-6 entre les patients atteints de la MB avec atteinte oculaire et les sujets témoins (p = 0,013 et p = 0,0001, respectivement), de même que des niveaux de résistine et d’IL-6 entre le groupe MB et le groupe témoin (p = 0,05 et p = 0,0001, respectivement). Toutefois,il n’y avait pas d’écart important entre les patients avec ou sans MB oculaire. Interprétation : Les niveaux de résistine se sont avérés élevés chez les patients atteints de la maladie de Behçet avec ou sans implication oculaire comparativement aux sujets témoins. B ehçet’s disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. 1 The main immunolog- ical features consist of increased T-cell and B-cell responses to heat-shock proteins, increased neutrophil activity, and alterations in cytokine levels. However, the interrelations between these features have not been entirely clarified. 2 Serum levels of neutrophil-priming cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor and interleukins, are found to be raised in patients with BD. 3 Resistin is a recently discovered adipocyte hormone that antagonizes insulin action and impairs glucose tolerance. It has also been identified in several other tissues, such as From *the Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey; and † the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Kirikkale University Faculty of Medicine, Kirikkale, Turkey Originally received Oct. 26, 2007. Revised Dec. 28, 2007 Accepted for publication Jan. 25, 2008 Published online July 11, 2008 Correspondence to F. Nilüfer Yalçindag, Esat Caddesi 74/3 Küçükesat, 06660 Ankara, Turkey; yalcinda@medicine.ankara.edu.tr This article has been peer-reviewed. Cet article a été évalué par les pairs Can J Ophthalmol 2008;43:473–5 doi:10.3129/i08-081 CAN J OPHTHALMOL—VOL. 43, NO. 4, 2008 473 Pagination not final/Pagination non finale