Endocrine Abstracts

Background

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is known to be associated with cardiac and metabolic morbidities. Chronic hypercalcemia in PHPT patients has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of mortality, particularly due to cardiovascular disease, during long-term follow-up. Endocan is secreted by vascular endothelial cells and is involved in the regulation of important endothelial functions. Endocan secretion increases in a variety of endothelium-related pathological conditions such as atherosclerosis, inflammation, infections, and tumor progression. Nesfatin-1 was found to be expressed in the hypothalamus and involved in regulating food intake. Nesfatin-1 has also been found to have some cardiovascular effects such as regulation of blood pressure and heart rate, role in cardiomyocyte metabolism, and protection against ischemia / reperfusion injury.

Objective

The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of serum endocan and nesfatin-1 levels, EAT thickness and CIMT as markers of increased CVD risk in patients with PHPT.

Materıals and methods

In this case-control study, 44 patients with clinical evidence of PHPT, and 40 healthy control subjects were enrolled from October 2019 to October 2020. Serum concentrations of endocan and nesfatin-1 were measured by ELISA.

Results

CIMT values were statistically significantly higher in the PHPT group compared to the control group (P = 0.001). EAT thickness values were higher in the control group compared to the PHPT group, but there was no statistically significant difference (0.454). Serum endocan level was measured as 824.8±351 pg/ml and 826.68±373.65 pg/ml in PHPT patients and control group, respectively. Serum nesfatin-1 level was measured as 148.8±4.5 pg/ml and 149.14±5.66 pg/ml in PHPT patients and control group, respectively. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of serum endocan and nesfatin-1 levels (P = 0.963 and P = 0.510, respectively). In correlation analysis, a negative correlation was found between PTH and LDL cholesterol levels (P = 0.001). No significant relationship was found between other parameters.

Conclusions

No significant difference was found between PHPT patients and healthy controls in terms of serum endocan and nesfatin-1 levels. CIMT, which is a marker of CVD risk, was found to be increased in mild PHPT patients and consequently, CVD risk is high in these patients, but no relationship was found in terms of serum endocan and/or nesfatin-1 levels.

Keywords: primary hyperparathyroidism, carotid intima media thickness, epicardial adipose tissue thickness, endocan, nesfatin-1, cardiovascular disease risk.