Effects of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on lipid profile in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives: Analyse the effects of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on serum levels of lipid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Twenty-nine patients (26 females, 3 males) with established RA undergoing anti-TNF therapy (n = 12, adalimumab; n = 11, infliximab; n = 6, etanercept) were recruited. Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and apolipoproteins (apo b and apo a) were assessed at baseline and after 14 weeks of treatment. Results: The disease activity index score (DAS(28)) was 5.19 +/- 0.90 and decreased to 3.46 +/- 0.97 at 16 weeks (p < 0.001). There was no change neither in the levels of TC (5.65 +/- 0.98 mmol/l vs 5.78 +/- 1.06 mmol/l; p = 0.43), TG (1.40 +/- 0.79 mmol/l vs 1.45 +/- 0.67 mmol/l; p = 0.59), HDL-C (1.92 +/- 0.49 mmol/l vs 1.97 +/- 0.49 mmol/l; p = 0.36), apo at (1.92 +/- 0.28 g/l vs 1.99 +/- 0.29 g/l; p = 0.06), and LDL-C (3.41 +/- 0.91 mmol/l vs 3.47 +/- 0.96 mmol/l; p = 0.66), nor in apo b (126 +/- 0.302 g/l vs 1. 13 +/- 0.28 g/l; p = 0.89), atherogenic index (3.13 +/- 1.05 vs 3.09 +/- 0.89; p = 0.69) or the apo b/apo al ratio (0.58 +/- 0.25 vs 0.56 +/- 0.22; p = 0.33). Conclusion: The favourable effect of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on cardiovascular morbidity is not related to effects on lipid metabolism. (c) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.