Effects of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, interleukin-6 gene polymorphisms and asymmetric dimethylarginine levels on risk factors and lesion sites in peripheral artery disease.

This study investigated risk factors for atherosclerosis and their relationship with lesion sites. Patients (n = 160) with peripheral artery disease (PAD) completed a questionnaire regarding risk factors for PAD. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and interleukin (IL)-6 gene polymorphisms and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels were measured. Patients with coronary artery disease had significantly higher ratios of eNOS T/C and C/C genotypes, which include the C allele, than the T/T genotype. The IL-6 gene polymorphism distribution ratios for patients with over four risk factors were significantly different compared with other patients, with a higher rate of the C/C genotype. ADMA levels did not show any significant relationship to risk factors or polymorphism. Levels were, however, slightly higher in femoral lesion sites. The results support a model in which the C/C genotype of eNOS and IL-6 gene polymorphisms promote PAD development. The eNOS C/C genotype may have an independent effect, whereas the effects of the IL-6 C/C genotype are seen in conjunction with other risk factors.

Validity and reliability of VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire in chronic venous disorders.

AIM: The aim of this study was to translate the VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire into Turkish, which is used mainly in Western European countries, and to study its reliability and validity. METHODS: Standard "forward-backward" translation method was used to translate the questionnaire. The internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's α, test-retest reliability was assessed with the intraclass correlation and Spearman-Brown coefficients. Validity was examined by correlation of VEINES-QOL/Sym with SF-36, Venous Clinical Severity (VCSS), and Venous Disability Scores (VDS). RESULTS: Out of 100 patients included (mean age 41.9 ± 12.5 years; 32% male, 68% female), 30 were given the questionnaire twice with 24-hour intervals for test-retest; a final completion rate of 99.2% was achieved. The Cronbach's α was 0.914. The Spearman-Brown coefficients and the intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.994, 0.988 and 0.966, 0.933 for VQOL and VSym scores, respectively. For the total quality of life and for several domains the correlations between VEINES-QOL/Sym and SF-36 were high, and significant. Inverse and significant correlations were observed with VCSS. CONCLUSION: Conclusively, the Turkish version of VEINSES-QOL/Sym questionnaire is reliable and valid; thus, it is highly recommended to use Turkish version of VEINSES-QOL/Sym to evaluate the quality of life and symptoms of patients with venous insufficiency in Turkey.