Biomedical subjects

M Tunca

Publications and source records attributed to M Tunca.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its soluble receptor (sIL-6R) in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients and their first degree relatives.

OBJECTIVE: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is a hereditary disease characterized by recurrent inflammatory attacks. A subclinical inflammation may persist in periods between the attacks and heterozygotes may have higher than normal levels of acute phase proteins. We investigated the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its soluble receptor (sIL-6R) in FMF patients and their obligatory carrier relatives. METHODS: Serum levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R were measured during acute attacks (n = 18) and in attack-free FMF patients (n = 26), obligatory carriers of FMF (n = 17) and normal controls (n = 11). RESULTS: The median levels of IL-6 were significantly higher (45.71 pg/ mL, p = 0.001) during acute attacks of FMF only, and were normal (0.01 pg/ mL) in the other groups studied. There was no statistically significant difference in the median sIL-6R values between any of the groups (p = 0.22). CONCLUSION: IL-6 was extremely elevated during FMF attacks but could not detect hypothetical "subclinical" inflammation during attack-free intervals or in the heterozygote relatives of patients. Serum levels of sIL-6R were comparable in all four groups.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of interferon alpha administration on acute attacks of familial Mediterranean fever: A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: About a quarter of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients are partially or totally resistant to colchicine. A previous observation reported that acute attacks may be shortened by administration of interferon alpha (IFN). OBJECTIVE: We designed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test our initial observations of a beneficial response with IFN in FMF attacks. METHODS: We treated 34 acute abdominal attacks with IFN 5 million IU or placebo sc in the early phase of the attack. Leucocytes, thrombocytes, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A protein (SAA), haptoglobin, transferrin, IL-1beta and TNF-alpha were measured at hours 0, 6, 12, 24 and 48. RESULTS: The median time to recovery in those treated with IFN and placebo was not significantly different, while the leucocytosis and high levels of fibrinogen were significantly more prolonged in placebo-treated patients. CRP and SAA were extremely elevated and peaked at 24h, remaining less marked in the IFN-treated patients but the difference was not statistically significant. Observations regarding the other parameters were unremarkable. CONCLUSIONS: Although there were some clues indicating a depressed inflammatory response with IFN, we could not demonstrate a definitive effect of this agent in this double-blind trial. The drug may suppress the acute inflammation of FMF only if administered at the earliest phase. CRP and SAA may be more sensitive indicators of an attack than ESR or fibrinogen.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Are carriers for MEFV mutations "healthy"?

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare whether carriers for the MEFV mutations display an increase or decrease in certain features. We compared the frequency of a number of inflammatory symptoms and diseases in carriers and a control population. METHODS: A questionnaire was designed to be applied to parents of children with FMF and a control group of parents. Clinical features and some diseases including the frequency of febrile episodes, abdominal pain, arthralgia, prophylaxis with penicillin, acute rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, spondyloarthropathy, urinary tract infection, asthma, allergy, irritable bowel disease, appendectomy and tonsillectomy were inquired. 676 parents of 440 children with FMF were surveyed in this study. Controls (n: 774) were selected as parents of healthy children. RESULTS: The presence of febrile episodes more than four per year, arthralgia, past diagnosis for acute rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis and prophylaxis of penicillin, acute rheumatic fever, and rheumatoid arthritis were significantly higher in asymptomatic parents for the MEFV mutations compared to controls. The frequency of allergy was found to be significantly lower in the asymptomatic parents as compared to controls. There was no significant difference at the frequency of urinary tract infection and tonsillectomy between the parents of the patents and controls. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that one MEFV mutation may indeed be conferring a heightened inflammation as suggested by the increased frequency in inflammatory symptoms. The carrier status for MEFV mutations seem to be unique, in that they cause an alteration in the state of "health".

Adult↗