Background: Aneurysm and ectasia have similar pathological pathways. TH(2)-associated cytokines are stimulated by aneurismal tissue and correspondingly lack mediators associated with TH(1) response. In this study, we measured serum TNF-alpha and IL-18 levels which are strong TH(1) stimulating cytokines and also investigated the expression of CD11a, CD11b, CD18 adhesion molecules and CD45 on leukocytes in patients with coronary artery ectasia (CAE) and controls with normal coronary arteries (NCA).