Increased atherosclerosis defined as the presence of plaques was not observed in patients with FMF. The significance of increased C- and F-IMT among patients with FMF must be further assessed.

IntroductionThe usefulness of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) release assays for tuberculosis screening before tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antagonists and for monitoring during treatment is a contraversial issue. The aims of this study were to determine whether TNF-α antagonists affect the results of the Quantiferon-TB Gold in-tube assay (QTF); to assess how QTF performs in comparison with the tuberculin skin test (TST) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are about to start treatment with TNF-α antagonists, RA patients who are not candidates for treatment with TNF-α antagonists, rheumatology patients with confirmed current or past tuberculosis infection, and healthy controls, and to determine the specificity of the QTF test to differentiate leprosy patients, another group of patients infected with mycobacteria.MethodsThe 38 RA patients who were prescribed TNF-α antagonists, 40 RA patients who were not considered for TNF-α antagonist use, 30 rheumatology patients with a history or new diagnosis of tuberculosis, 23 leprosy patients, and 41 healthy controls were studied. QTF and TST were done on the same day, and both were repeated after a mean of 3.6 ± 0.2 months in patients who used TNF-α antagonists.ResultsTreatment with TNF-α antagonists did not cause a significant change in the QTF or TST positivity rate (34% versus 42%; P = 0.64; and 24% versus 37%; P = 0.22). Patients with leprosy had a trend for a higher mean IFN-γ level (7.3 ± 8.0) and QTF positivity (61%) than did the other groups; however, the difference was not significant (P = 0.09 and P = 0.43).ConclusionsTreatment with TNF-α antagonists does not seem to affect the QTF test to an appreciable degree. The higher IFN-γ levels in leprosy patients deserves further attention.

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Background. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a viral disease, common across the world, and associated with several extraintestinal manifestations including vasculitis. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) are sensitive and specific markers for vasculitides. There is limited data available in the literature on whether ANCA formation is stimulated by CHB infection. In the present study we aimed to identify the frequency of ANCA in CHB patients. Methods. A total of 174 subjects were included in the study (87 CHB patients, 87 control subjects). Perinuclear-ANCA (P-ANCA), cytoplasmic-ANCA (C-ANCA), myeloperoxidase ANCA (MPO-ANCA), and proteinase 3-ANCA (PR3-ANCA) were studied. IFA was used for P-ANCA and C-ANCA assays, and ELISA was used for MPO-ANCA and PR3-ANCA assays. Results. ANCA positivity was high in both groups (31% in the CHB group and 26% among controls). There were no significant differences between the groups for P-ANCA and MPO-ANCA (P = 0.6 and P = 0.6, resp.). Frequency of borderline positive C-ANCA and all positive PR3-ANCA (positive + borderline positive) was significantly higher in the CHB group (P = 0.009 and P = 0.005, resp.). Conclusions. In the present study, the frequency of ANCA was high in both groups. The CHB group had a relatively higher frequency of ANCA positivity compared to controls. Borderline positive C-ANCA and positive PR3-ANCA were significantly higher in the CHB group. These results suggest that ANCA may have a high prevalence in Turkey. Patients with CHB should be evaluated particularly for C-ANCA and PR3-ANCA in the presence of vasculitic complaints and lesions.