During the 2020 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, Zoltán Szekanecz, MD, PhD, addressed the risks of vascular disease and how to manage them in patients with rheumatic diseases.
Age-Related Blood Pressue Patterns in Lupus
Rheumatologists should not be falsely reassured by a normal mean blood pressure in lupus patients, according to a study from Johns Hopkins University that found age-related blood pressure patterns in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) differ from the general population and that increased diastolic blood pressure variability (BPV) is highly associated with cardiovascular events in SLE.1…
Antibodies Against Oxidized Phospholipids Protect Against Osteoporosis
It has long been known that hyperlipidemia adversely affects bone, but the exact pathologic mechanism(s) underlying hyperlipidemia-induced bone loss has not been fully understood. Until now. Pathogenesis of Osteoporosis New research by Ambrogini and colleagues shows that oxidation-specific epitopes derived from lipid peroxidation contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.1 Importantly, the research shows that innate…
Depression May Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Disease for RA Patients
(Reuters Health)—Mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, may partly explain why people with rheumatoid arthritis have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. Researchers linked anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, job stress and low social support to increasing risk of hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, for people with rheumatoid arthritis…
Atherosclerosis Insights May Shed Light on Lupus
New research compares pathogenic immune response in SLE with immune response that contributes to atherosclerotic plaque
Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular Disease More Common in Patients with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome
Study adds to research linking increased risk of morbidity, early mortality from CV events among patients with systemic autoimmune diseases
Therapies Aimed at Immune Cell Progenitors May Be Key to Reducing Post Myocardial Infarction Risk
Researchers have identified hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells that are liberated from bone marrow niches by a myocardial infarction.
Letters to the Editor
Readers Say Yea or Nay to Steroids
A Heart In Danger
Rheumatologists should monitor and aggressively treat cardiac risk factors in patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis