Lipid peroxidation and homocysteine levels in Behçet's disease.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate serum paraoxonase (PON1) activity in relation to homocysteine, malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid parameters in active and inactive Behçet's disease (BD).

METHODS

A total of 46 consecutive BD patients and 25 healthy control subjects were included in the present study.

RESULTS

Serum PON1 activity in both active and inactive BD was significantly lower compared with healthy subjects (p<0.05). When compared to the control group, serum MDA levels were significantly higher in both active and inactive BD (p<0.05). Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine concentrations were significantly higher in active BD than those in inactive BD and control subjects (p<0.05). In addition, there was significant negative correlation between serum PON1 and MDA levels (r=-0.697, p<0.05) and serum PON1 activity was also negatively correlated with homocysteine levels (r=-0.428, p<0.05) in BD patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Decreased PON1 could explain the increased lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress observed in BD. Also, according to our results, we suggest that homocysteine may contribute to decreased serum PON1 activity.