Serum fetuin-A level is not correlated with subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with amyloid A amyloidosis

Abstract

Objective: Amyloidosis is the build-up of amyloid fibrils in tissues, which eventually leads to various local and systemic problems. Amyloid A amyloidosis (AA amyloidosis) is the most frequent type of systemic amyloidoses. Data from cohort studies show that decreased serum fetuin-A (SF-A) levels in the serum are associated with morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage kidney disease. Our aim was to investigate whether elevated SF-A levels were associated with common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with AA amyloidosis. Methods: We recruited 63 patients with AA amyloidosis and 29 age-matched healthy controls. Demographic data, biochemical parameters, SF-A and carotid IMT values between two groups were compared. We also investigated the association between carotid IMT and SF-A levels in patients with AA amyloidosis. Results: We determined a significant increase in carotid IMT among patients with AA amyloidosis compared to healthy controls (p<0.001). SF-A levels were similar in patients and controls (p=0.11). In addition, we did not find any correlation between SF-A levels and carotid IMT (r=0.074, p=0.565). Conclusion: Our study showed that SF-A levels were not changed in patients with AA amyloidosis. Also, SF-A levels and carotid IMT were not associated in patients with AA amyloidosis.