EDITORIAL - Rheumatologists, take heart! We may be doing something right

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Arthritis Research & Therapy 2008, 10:105doi:10.1186/ar2364

Editorial

Rheumatologists, take heart! We may be doing something right

F van Vollenhoven

Rheumatology Unit, the Karolinska Institute, Department of

Rheumatology, The Karolinska University Hospital, Reumatologen D2-1,

17176 Stockholm, Sweden

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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Read the rest of the editorial here:

http://arthritis-research.com/content/10/2/105

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Not an MD