Association between disease activity and ischaemia-modified albumin in patients with ulcerative colitis

Introduction
An increased level of ischaemia-modified albumin (IMA) is not specific for cardiac ischaemia and has been shown to be elevated in many other conditions causing oxidative stress.
Aim: To assess the association between IMA and the disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC), in which oxidative stress is thought to play a role in its pathogenesis.

Material and methods
A total of 57 patients with ulcerative colitis (30 with active disease and 27 in remission) and 29 healthy controls were included in the study. IMA levels in those with active disease, those in remission, and healthy controls were compared. The correlations between IMA and other acute phase reactants were also assessed in the patient group.

Results
Significantly higher levels of IMA were found in patients with active UC as compared to those in remission and controls (p < 0.001). Patients in remission and control subjects did not differ significantly in terms of IMA levels. Also, IMA correlated with C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, while it did not correlate with white blood cell count and platelet count.

Conclusions
Our results suggest that IMA, a marker of oxidative stress, may be a useful parameter for assessing the disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis.