RESEARCH - Plasma adiponectin in patients with active, early, and chronic RA who are steroid- and DMARD-naive compared with patients with OA and controls

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J Rheumatol. 2009 Aug 14.

Plasma Adiponectin in Patients with Active, Early, and Chronic

Rheumatoid Arthritis Who Are Steroid- and Disease -Modifying

Antirheumatic Drug-Naive Compared with Patients with Osteoarthritis

and Controls.

Laurberg TB, Frystyk J, Ellingsen T, Hansen IT, Jørgensen A, Tarp U,

Hetland ML, Hørslev-sen K, Hornung N, Poulsen JH, Flyvbjerg A,

Stengaard-Pedersen K.

From the Department of Rheumatology, and Medical Research

Laboratories, Clinical Institute and Medical Department M (Diabetes

and Endocrinology), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus; Department of

Rheumatology and Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen

University Hospital at Hvidovre, Hvidovre; King Christian X Hospital

for Rheumatic Disease, University of Southern Denmark, Graasten; and

Department of Quality of Research, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers,

Denmark.

OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic chronic

inflammatory joint disease, whereas osteoarthritis (OA) is a local

joint disease with low-level inflammatory activity. The pathogenic

role of the adipocytokine adiponectin is largely unknown in these

diseases. We hypothesized (1) that plasma adiponectin concentrations

differ in healthy controls and patients with early disease-modifying

antirheumatic drug (DMARD)-naive RA, chronic RA, and OA; (2) that

changes in adiponectin are observed during methotrexate (MTX)

treatment of chronic RA; and (3) that adiponectin correlates to

disease activity measures in RA.

METHODS: Plasma adiponectin was analyzed with a validated in-house

immunoassay. We measured adiponectin in healthy controls (n = 45) and

patients with early DMARD-naive RA (n = 40), chronic RA (n = 74), and

OA (n = 35). In a subgroup of patients with chronic RA (n = 31), the

longitudinal effect of MTX treatment on adiponectin (Week 0 vs Week

28) was investigated.

RESULTS: Adiponectin differed significantly between healthy controls

(mean 4.8 +/- SD 2.7 mg/l) and the 3 groups, with 8.9 +/- 4.8 mg/l in

early RA, 11.6 +/- 5.6 mg/l in chronic RA, and 14.1 +/- 6.4 mg/l in

OA. Longitudinally, MTX treatment increased adiponectin significantly

from 9.7 +/- 4.5 mg/l at Week 0 to 11.0 +/- 4.5 mg/l atWeek 28 in

chronic RA. No correlations to disease activity measures were found.

CONCLUSION: Both early DMARD-naive and chronic RA were associated with

higher plasma adiponectin compared to healthy controls, but lower

plasma adiponectin than OA. Adiponectin increased 13% during MTX

treatment. In patients with RA and OA body mass index, age, sex, and

disease activity measures failed to explain the findings.

PMID: 19684150

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19684150

Not an MD