Good news for a change on the drug front.  Thanks Rose...
Harv

the thing that got me about this was how the data was acquired.
questionnaires, even quantitative (measured by quantity, rather than
quality) questionnaires, are notoriously unreliable for hard science
analysis--after all, even as "dr. house" says (and it is a prevalent belief
among doctors; so much so that it is taught in med schools), "patients lie".
however, these results from the questionnaires might just give rise to some
hard science being done concerning this idea.  i hope they do the work on
it.

kate

Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs May Lower Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- People taking medications for
rheumatoid arthritis may also be reducing their risk of heart attack
and stroke, a new study suggests.

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes pain, swelling,
stiffness and loss of function in the joints, face a greater risk of
cardiovascular disease, because it can lead to hardening of the
arteries. Heart attack and stroke can occur 10 years earlier than in
people without the condition, the researchers said.

By taking medications that reduce the inflammation caused by
rheumatoid arthritis, the risk of heart attack and stroke may be
significantly reduced, the study authors said.

"Our study demonstrated that the time of exposure both to
disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and biological agents is
associated with a reduction of the risk of cardiovascular events,"
said lead researcher Dr. Antonio Naranjo, of the Universidad de Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria, in Spain.

Those drugs include common RA medications such as methotrexate,
sulfasalazine, glucocorticoids, leflunomide and biological agents such
as TNF-alpha blockers, the researchers noted.

Naranjo said doctors know that by controlling the chronic inflammation
caused by rheumatoid arthritis, it's possible to reduce cardiovascular
risk. "The practical consequence of our work is that in patients with
RA, especially in the most severe cases, both the classic
cardiovascular risk factors and the inflammatory activity of the
disease need to be controlled," he said.

For the study, Naranjo's team analyzed data on 4,363 patients who took
part in the Quantitative Patient Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring
of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis study. The researchers found
that taking drugs such as methotrexate lowered the risk of a heart
attack or stroke. For example, RA patients taking methotrexate for one
year can reduce their risk of heart attack by 18 percent and stroke by
11 percent, the investigators reported.

"Methotrexate, other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and
biologic agents could reduce the extra risk of myocardial infarction
[heart attack] and stroke that patients with rheumatoid arthritis have
by controlling inflammation," Naranjo said.

The findings were published in the March 5 issue of Arthritis Research
& Therapy.

One heart expert thinks this retrospective study is intriguing, but it
didn't really determine if the medications for controlling
inflammation actually lowered the risk of heart attack and stroke.

"While certain associations are shown between the use of
anti-inflammatory agents and prior cardiovascular events in patients
with rheumatoid arthritis, a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be
demonstrated in this type of study," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a
professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Prospective data and, ultimately, prospective randomized clinical
trials are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn about
whether these drugs really lower the risk of heart attack and stroke,
he said.

SOURCES: Antonio Naranjo, M.D., Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria, Spain; Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., professor, cardiology,
University of California, Los Angeles; March 5, 2008, Arthritis
Research & Therapy

Publish Date: March 06, 200
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