Endocrine Abstracts

Visfatin/pre-B-cell enhancement factor is an adipocytokine, which is found in the visceral fat tissue and enhances the growth of precursor of B cells through showing synergy with IL7 and stem cell factors. Other cytokines released from the adipose tissue are TNFα and IL6, which has been shown to be related with pathogenesis of insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, inflammation, and atherosclerosis. Our aim was to determine the relationship of plasma visfatin/pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor levels with thyroid autoimmunity and atherosclerosis. The study was performed randomly on 35 patients (32 women/three men, mean age 43.8±9.6 years) diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and 18 healthy controls (17 women/one men, mean age 43.3±5.2 years) attending our outpatient clinic between June 2009 and January 2010. Before therapy anthropometric levels, carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT), serum anti-Tg, anti-TPO, hsCRP, homocystein, lipo(a), ApoA, ApoB1, β-2 microglobulin, insulin, glucose, visfatin, IL6, TNFα, oxidized-LDL levels, and lipid profile was measured. Plasma visfatin oxidised LDL, IL6, and TNFα levels did not differ from the control group before and after therapy in hypothyroid patients, statistically. The cardiovascular risk factors like systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HOMA-IR index, triglyceride, Apo B and ApoB/ApoA, homocystein, β-2 microglobulin, and CIMT were found to be elevated in the patients. Ox-LDL, cholesterol, homocysteine, and proteinuria levels were positively correlated with anti-Tg levels. Conclusionally, we think that non-traditional CVD risk factors are elevated in hypothyroid Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients and as a atherosclerosis indicator CIMT increase accompanies it and anti-Tg antibody is a bridge between autoimmunity and atherosclerosis.