Plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) antigen levels in acromegaly patients in remission

BACKGROUND/AIM: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, mostly due to cardiovascular complications. Plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) antigen levels are associated with coagulation/fibrinolysis and inflammation. Plasma TAFI may play a role in arterial thrombosis in cardiovascular diseases. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) antigen and homocysteine levels in patients with acromegaly and healthy control subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plasma TAFI antigen and homocysteine levels in 29 consecutive patients with acromegaly and 26 age-matched healthy control subjects were measured. All patients included in the study were in remission. The TAFIa/ai antigen in the plasma samples was measured using a commercially available ELISA kit. RESULTS: Routine biochemical parameters, fasting blood glucose, prolactin, thyroid stimulating hormone, total-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, and homocysteine levels were similar in the 2 groups (P > 0.05), whereas the plasma TAFI antigen levels were significantly elevated in the acromegalic patients (154.7 ± 94.0%) when compared with the control subjects (107.2 ± 61.6%) (P = 0.033). No significant correlation was identified by Pearson’s correlation test between the plasma TAFI antigen and homocysteine levels (r = 0.320, P = 0.250). CONCLUSION: A significant alteration in the plasma TAFI antigen levels was detected in acromegaly. Increased plasma TAFI antigen levels might aggravate prothrombotic and thrombotic events in patients with acromegaly.