Serum endocan levels in patients with cardiac syndrome X

Abstract

Background: Endocan is a recently introduced marker of endothelial dysfunction and is also associated with inflammation and atherosclerosis. To date, the relationship between cardiac syndrome X (CSX) and endocan has not been studied. The objective of this study was to compare the serum endocan levels of patients with CSX with those of control subjects.

Patients and methods: In this study, 50 patients were included in the CSX group and 28 patients in the control group. Patients with pathological conditions that could potentially influence endothelial functions were excluded. Endocan serum concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: The mean endocan level of the CSX group was significantly higher than that of the control group (3051.3 ± 1900.5 ng/l vs. 2088.1 ± 522.2 ng/l; p = 0.002). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of age, gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and smoking status. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, endocan levels greater than 2072 ng/l had a 72% sensitivity and 54% specificity (p = 0.002) for accurately predicting a diagnosis of CSX.

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that patients with CSX have higher endocan levels. Therefore, endocan may be valuable in helping uncover the underlying pathogenesis of CSX.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cardiac syndrome x; Coronary angiography; Coronary artery disease; Proteoglycans.