Table 2.

Factors influencing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in SLE patients

SLE-related factors	Effects
TNF-alpha, MCP-1, IL-6, kidney disease	Dyslipidemia worsening, dysfunctional piHDL production
ICAM, VEGF, vWF, VCAM overexpression	Pro-aggregation/pro-thrombotic behaviour
Acute phase reactants elevation	Tissue damage
INF-alpha elevation	Endothelial damage, pro-thrombotic behaviour
Neutrophil extra-cellular traps	Vascular damage/pro-thrombotic behaviour
IL-17, IL-12, IL-18 elevation, IgG overexpression	Pro-inflammatory
Cystatin C	Early kidney damage marker, pro-inflammatory
SS-A/SS-B positivity profile, photosensibility	Higher risk of CVD
Medications	Effects
Corticosteroids	Higher risk of CVD
Antimalarial (OH-chloroquine)	Anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-dyslipidemic
Mycophenolate mofetil	Lower immune activity in carotid plaque, protective
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (atorvastatin)	Fewer autoantibodies and improvement of kidney function in animal models, to be confirmed in humans
NSAIDs	Higher risk of CVD (less with naproxene)