RESEARCH ARTICLE
Familial Mediterranean Fever as an Emerging Clinical Model of Atherogenesis Associated with Low-Grade Inflammation
Şahru Yüksel1, *, Lilit Ayvazyan2, Armen Yuri Gasparyan3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 51
Last Page: 56
Publisher ID: TOCMJ-4-51
DOI: 10.2174/1874192401004010051
Article History:
Received Date: 6/11/2009Revision Received Date: 20/11/2009
Acceptance Date: 12/12/2009
Electronic publication date: 23/2/2010

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Numerous inflammatory and innate immune pathways are involved in atherogenesis. Elaboration of clinical models of inflammation-induced atherogenesis may further advance our knowledge of multiple inflammatory pathways implicated in atherogenesis and provide a useful tool for cardiovascular prevention. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a chronic inflammatory disorder with profiles of inflammatory markers close to that seen in the general population. In a few recent studies, it has been shown that endothelial dysfunction, increased atherosclerotic burden and activation of platelets accompany attack-free periods of FMF. Colchicine is proved to be useful in suppression of inflammation in FMF. Preliminary basic and clinical studies suggest that this relatively safe drug may be useful for cardiovascular protection in patients with FMF and in the general population. Multinational prospective studies are warranted to further elaborate clinical model of inflammation-induced atherosclerosis associated with FMF.