Low vaspin levels are related to endothelial dysfunction in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Vaspin is a novel adipocytokine associated with glucose tolerance and chronic inflammation. Some studies reveal that vaspin may be involved in cardiovascular diseases. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between serum vaspin levels and endothelial function in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. One hundred and twenty patients with newly diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis and 100 healthy subjects were studied. Serum vaspin levels were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. High resolution ultrasound was used to measure brachial artery diameter at rest, after reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated dilation, FMD) and after sublingual glyceryltrinitrate. Serum vaspin level in patients was 1.92±1.03 ng/mL, which was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects (2.88±0.81 ng/mL). By dividing the distribution of serum vaspin levels into quartiles, FMD levels increased gradually with the increase of serum vaspin levels in patients (P