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. 2004 Dec;63(12):1535–1537. doi: 10.1136/ard.2004.022061

Do statins offer therapeutic potential in inflammatory arthritis?

I McInnes 1, D McCarey 1, N Sattar 1
PMCID: PMC1754853  PMID: 15547075

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Figure 1.

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 Potential mechanisms by which statins could reduce the risk of CHD in patients with RA. Statins may have a dual benefit in patients with RA. Firstly, their lipid lowering effects should directly reduce the CHD risk. Secondly, their anti-inflammatory effects, manifest within the synovial joint and thus acting to reduce systemic cytokine spill, will lead to downstream improvements in new risk factors, as indicated. Of course, statins may also convey direct anti-inflammatory effects at the vasculature. DMARD treatment clearly has a greater effect than statins in reducing synovial inflammation and there is emerging evidence that such treatments also improve new risk factor status (reviewed by Sattar et al19), and consequently reduce CHD risk.

Selected References

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