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Editorial
. 2008;10(2):105.
doi: 10.1186/ar2364. Epub 2008 Mar 7.

Rheumatologists, take heart! We may be doing something right

Ronald F van Vollenhoven
Editorial

Rheumatologists, take heart! We may be doing something right

Ronald F van Vollenhoven. Arthritis Res Ther. 2008.

Abstract

In the present issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy data are presented suggesting that antirheumatic therapies decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The QUEST-RA group, a large international collaboration, analyzed data on 4,363 patients in a cross-sectional manner. Traditional risk factors were all significantly associated with cardiovascular events, and the presence of extraarticular disease significantly increased the risk, confirming a previous publication. The most interesting analysis in this study suggests that effective antirheumatic treatment, with traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), glucocorticoids, or anti-TNF biologics, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis. Some methodological issues are discussed, however, and confirmatory studies are suggested.

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Comment on

  • Cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the QUEST-RA study.
    Naranjo A, Sokka T, Descalzo MA, Calvo-Alén J, Hørslev-Petersen K, Luukkainen RK, Combe B, Burmester GR, Devlin J, Ferraccioli G, Morelli A, Hoekstra M, Majdan M, Sadkiewicz S, Belmonte M, Holmqvist AC, Choy E, Tunc R, Dimic A, Bergman M, Toloza S, Pincus T; QUEST-RA Group. Naranjo A, et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2008;10(2):R30. doi: 10.1186/ar2383. Epub 2008 Mar 6. Arthritis Res Ther. 2008. PMID: 18325087 Free PMC article.

References

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