This study demonstrates impairment of endothelial function in ankylosing spondylitis.

The clinical implication of these findings as predictive factors for subsequent events such as malignant arrhythmias in patients taking 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy need longer follow-up and further detailed evaluations.

When sensitive echocardiographic Doppler techniques such as MPI, TDI-derived MPI, and PW-TDI are utilized, DD can be detected in a significant proportion of patients with AS without cardiovascular (CV) disease which may contribute CV mortality in these patients.

The cardiac toxicity of LV5FU2 (de Gramont) regimen which is a widely used chemotherapy regimen in gastrointestinal system cancers is not well defined. We aimed to evaluate the impact of this regimen on cardiac rhythm. Two Holter ECG recordings were obtained in all patients with gastrointestinal system cancers treated with LV5FU2 regimen as first-line chemotherapy (one before and the second during the first 24 h of chemotherapy). Records were reviewed for the heart rate, rhythm, atrial premature complexes (APC), ventricular premature complexes (VPC), grades according to Lown-Wolf grading system and ST segment changes. Holter ECG recordings were evaluated in 27 patients. In the baseline evaluation, neither clinical symptom nor ST segment changes were observed. During the treatment period, chest pain was observed in two patients without any cardiac enzyme and ST segment changes. Moreover, a decrease in mean heart rate, and an increase in the number and complexity of premature complexes secondary to treatment were observed. The mean heart rate, APC per hour and VPC per hour (+/-SD) before vs. during treatment were, respectively, 93.1+/-16.4 vs. 81.6+/-12.7 (p=0.001), 18.9+/-54.0 vs. 45.3+/-53.8 vs. (p=0.049) and 12.7+/-29.6 vs. 38.1+/-42.1 (p=0.002). LV5FU2 regimen leads to a decrease in mean heart rate and a significant increase in APC and VPC which may lead to serious arrhythmias. These effects must be better understood for a safer administration of this useful and widely used drug regimen.

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis characterized by genital and oral ulcers, uveitis, and other organs' involvement. Left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction has been documented in BD. However, conventional echocardiographic techniques have serious limitations like its dependence on preload, afterload and heart rate. Recently, new techniques like colour M-mode and tissue Doppler imagining (TDI) have provided additional concept in the assessment of diastolic function. The aim of the present study was to investigate the LV diastolic dysfunction with conventional and new echocardiographic techniques in BD. Forty-eight patients with BD (25 women, 23 men) and 26 healthy volunteers (15 women, 11 men) were enrolled in the study. LV diastolic functions were examined with mitral inflow pulse wave Doppler, TDI and mitral flow propagation rate (MFPR). The following were accepted as diastolic dysfunction: in mitral inflow pulse wave Doppler, E/A<1, isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT)>110 ms and deceleration time of E wave (DT)>240 ms; in TDI of mitral ring with pulse wave, E'/A'<1; and in MFPR, velocity slope (Vp)<45 cm/s. The two groups were comparable in age, sex, heart rate, body mass index, smoking, hyperlipidemia and basic echocardiographic measurements. LV diastolic dysfunction was significantly higher in BD group according to E/A<1 (p<0.05). When echocardiographic measurements were compared one by one for two groups, As' (late diastolic TDI wave in septal wall) was found to be significantly higher in BD group (p<0,0001). IVRT was longer in BD group than in controls, but it did not reach statistical significance (p=0,06). Diastolic dysfunction of LV is more frequent in patients with BD than in control according to E/A and As'. Conventional and current techniques like TDI and colour M-mode Doppler echocardiography could be used to investigate diastolic functions in BD.