Newer biological therapies can reduce heart disease risk in rheumatoid arthritis – findings from a new small study

The use of newer biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can help lower heart disease risk factors in people with rheumatoid arthritis, a team reports in PLOS ONE.
A total of 24 people on rituximab, seven on tocilizumab and five on abatacept were included, with people assigned to receive the different drugs by an independent rheumatologist. They were assessed at the start of the study and then at intervals of three, six and 12 months.
Disease activity score and ultrasonography was recorded; heart disease risk was assessed by total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure and arterial stiffness measurements.
Some of the therapies were shown to have a positive impact on pulse wave velocity (PWV), which measures arterial stiffness. At three months, PWV was lower in the tocilizumab group only, but after 12 months people on rituximab also demonstrated a reduction in PWV. And reduced inflammation at three months was associated with increased cholesterol levels in all groups.
The team concludes that this shows the positive impact rituximab and tocilizumab can have on heart disease risk in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
“Although the numbers of patients in this study were small, the results confirm earlier findings showing that biological therapies can help to reduce the cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and provide further evidence of their effectiveness in reducing inflammation,” says a spokeswoman from Arthritis Research UK.

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