Objective: Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a congenital or acquired anomaly characterized with localized or diffuse dilatations of coronary arteries. Paraoxonase (PON-1) is a high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLC) associated antioxidant enzyme that prevents atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate serum paraoxonase-1 enzyme activity (SPA) in patients with CAE in comparison patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and normal coronary arteries.
Methods: We have evaluated 44 patients with isolated IKAE, 40 cases with normal coronary arteries (NCA), 40 cases with critical CAD (CAD) and 40 cases with minimal CAD (MCAD) in this cross-sectional observational study. Demographic and biochemical data of patients were collected. SPA was determined spectrophotometrically. Among-group comparisons, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests were used; Bonferroni test was used for post-hoc analysis, Pearson's correlation analysis to determine the parameters associated with the SPA.
Results: There were no differences among groups with regard to age, sex, presence of diabetes, hypertension and smoking (p>0.05 for all). The highest HDLC was detected in patients with NCA and lowest HDLC was detected in patients with CAD (respectively 52±15 mg/dL; 41±16 mg/d L, p=0.021). CAD and CAE groups were similar with respect to HDLC levels (p>0.05). The highest SPA level was detected in patients with NKA and the lowest SPA level was detected in patients with CAD (respectively 250.78±59.37U/L; 163.39±49.28 U/L, p=0.005). CAD and CAE groups were similar with respect to SPA levels (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Both decreased SPA and decreased HDLC levels are closely related to the development of the CAE similar to CAD.