SHORT COMMUNICATION Decreased vitamin D levels in patients with familial mediterranean fever Bunyamin Kisacik • Suheyla Uzun Kaya • Yavuz Pehlivan • Turker Tasliyurt • Mehmet Sayarlioglu • Ahmet Mesut Onat Received: 21 July 2011 / Accepted: 10 December 2011 / Published online: 21 December 2011 Ó Springer-Verlag 2011 Abstract Familial mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the FMF gene (MEFV). The gene causing FMF, designated MEFV, encodes a protein called pyrin or marenostrin that is expressed mainly in myeloid bone marrow precursors, neutrophils, and monocytes. Since there are several etio- logical factors, FMF is the most common periodic fever syndrome. However, it is still unknown what triggers or ends these periodical attacks. As a pleiotropic hormone, vitamin D has immunomodulation effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin D levels in FMF patients. The study group was comprised of 26 patients diagnosed with FMF (men/women: 12/14), and 34 healthy control (men/women: 17/17). Vitamin D levels in FMF patients and healthy controls were 11.05 ± 7.11, 17.15 ± 6.49, respectively. FMF patients had significantly decreased vitamin D levels compared with healthy controls (P \ 0.001). In conclusion, it is thought that vitamin D deficiency in FMF patients may trigger the attacks. Further studies with larger patient populations need to hold to investigate the vitamin D deficiency in patients with FMF and that may assist to clarify the mechanism behind the colchicines resistant cases. Keywords Familial mediterranean fever Á Vitamin D Á T cell Introduction Familial mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease which predominantly affects certain eth- nic groups, mainly Sephardic Jews, Turks, Arabs, and Armenians [1]. The gene causing FMF, designated MEFV, encodes a protein called pyrin or marenostrin that is expressed mainly in myeloid bone marrow precursors, neutrophils, and monocytes [2]. Since there are several etiological factors, FMF is the most common periodic fever syndrome. However, it is still unknown what triggers or ends these periodical attacks. The most common clinical manifestations are serositis (peritonitis, pleuritis, and pericarditis), arthritis, and pleurisy accompanied by fever. Despite colchicines is the only effective treatment, up to 30% of the FMF patients those who are resistant to col- chicines are still a problem. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone which is essentially needed in the homeostasis of calcium and phosphorus and for the functioning of musculoskeletal system. Vitamin D has immunomodulation and pleiotropic effects. Supple- mentation of vitamin D was shown to be therapeutically effective in various animal models such as systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel disease, and collagen- induced arthritis [3–5]. Circulating levels of vitamin D have been shown to decrease in several inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and B. Kisacik (&) Á Y. Pehlivan Á A. M. Onat Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27100 S ¸ ahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey e-mail: Bunyamin_k@hotmail.com S. U. Kaya Á T. Tasliyurt Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey M. Sayarlioglu Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey 123 Rheumatol Int (2013) 33:1355–1357 DOI 10.1007/s00296-011-2278-z