Evaluation of calprotectin and ischemia-modified albumin serum levels as biomarkers to measure disease activity in Behçet’s disease

Abstract Background Although several cytokines and markers have been recognized to assess disease activity in Behçet’s disease (BD), they are not routinely utilized in daily practice. This study aimed at assessing the usefulness of calprotectin and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) serum concentrations to measure disease activity in BD. Results The active BD cases had significantly greater IMA serum levels than inactive BD cases ( p = 0.013) and controls ( p < 0.001). In addition, the inactive BD group had significantly higher IMA serum levels than controls ( p < 0.001). The serum calprotectin levels in active and inactive BD groups were significantly greater compared to those measured in controls ( p < 0.001). On the other hand, the difference in serum calprotectin concentration was insignificant between the active and inactive BD patients. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that hs-CRP and IMA serum levels are the strongest predictors for the activity of the active BD ( p = 0.011 and 0.005, respectively). ROC curve analysis for the ability of IMA serum level to discriminate between active and inactive BD groups revealed an AUC = 0.738. Conclusion Serum calprotectin and IMA concentrations were significantly elevated in BD. IMA was significantly greater among active BD cases in comparison to inactive BD cases indicating its potential importance as a new marker of activity in BD. Trial registration Trial registration on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05868538.