Serum galectin-3 level and İTS relationship with disease activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis

Aim: In this study, it is aimed to investigate the comparison of levels of serum galectin-3 between patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and control group; to be investigated serum galectin-3 levels in patients compared to disease activity and some clinical parameters. Material and Metod: The study included 55 patients who were diagnosed with PsA by meeting the classification criteria defined by the CASPAR (Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis) and 30 healthy controls between the ages of 18-65, among the patients who applied to Düzce University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Polyclinic between July 2021 and October 2021. Demographic data such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), education level, occupation of the patient and control groups were recorded. In order to determine disease activity in the patient group, DAPSA (Disease Activity for Psoriatic Arthritis) score, visual pain scale (VAS) score, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) values were measured and recorded. Serum galectin-3 levels of the patient and control groups were studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Findings: The median serum galectin-3 level of the PsA group was 7.4 ng/ml, and the median serum galectin-3 level of the control group was 4.9. The galectin-3 level measured in patients with PsA was significantly higher than in healthy controls, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). The median ESR value of the PsA group was 12 mm/h, the CRP value was 0.4 mg/dl, the median ESR value of the control group was 8 mm/h, and the CRP value was 0.1. CRP and ESR values measured in patients with PsA were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p<0.05). In addition, a statistically significant positive correlation was observed between galectin-3 and the number of swollen joints in patients (p<0.05). However, no statistically significant correlation was found between ESR (p=0.137), CRP (p=0.698) and DAPSA (p=0.251) scores and galectin-3 levels, which are parameters related to disease activity. Conclusion: The higher galectin-3 levels in PsA patients compared to the control group suggests that galectin-3 may play a role in the pathogenesis of PsA. However, since there is no correlation between disease activity parameters and galectin-3 levels, it is believed that it cannot play a role in determining disease activity and cannot be used in disease follow-up. Keywords: Psoriatic arthritis, Galectin-3, Disease activity, CRP, ESR