• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.109-114
• /
• 2019

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that manifests as joint damage or athletic disability via sustained inflammation of the synovial membrane. The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is higher in RA patients. This study aimed at evaluating the association between CVD comorbidities and RA by comparing a pharmacotherapy group with a non-pharmacotherapy group. Methods: Patient sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-NPS-2016) were used. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using the propensity score was used to minimize the differences in patient characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk of CVD comorbidities. Results: The analyses included 1,207,213 patients, of which 33,122 (2.8%) had RA. The odds ratios (OR) of CVD comorbidities were increased in RA patients; ischemic heart disease (IHD: OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.73, 1.77), cerebral infarction (CERI: OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.26, 1.30), hypertension (HTN: OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.43, 1.45), diabetes mellitus (DM: OR 2.04; 95% CI 2.03, 2.06), and dyslipidemia (DL: OR 3.49; 95% CI 3.47, 3.51). The ORs of IHD, CERI, HTN, and DM in the traditional DMARD and biologic treatment groups were decreased, compared with those in the non-pharmacotherapy group. Conclusions: Thus, CVD risk was higher in RA patients, considering age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Appropriate pharmacotherapy could decrease the risk of CVD comorbidities in RA patients.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.115-125
• /
• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to observe the inhibitory effects of $Chrthami$ semen oil pharmacopuncture(CSOP) on CIA (collagen-induced arthritis) mice. Materials and Methods : Two types of experiments were conducted: $in$ $vitro$ assay, inhibition of MIF mRNA and TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA expressions in synovial membranes was observed, and $in$ $vivo$ assay, $1{\mu}{\ell}/kg$ CSOP was injected every day to the left $Weizhong$ ($BL_{40}$) from day 3 to 21 after induction of CIA, and changes in paw edema, apical surface morphology, neovascularization in synovial membranes, fibrosis, pro-inflammatory cytokines production, Th-1 differentiation, and anti-inflammatory effect were investigated. Results : 1. In synoviocytes of the CIA mice treated with CSOP, MIF mRNA and TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA expressions were down-regulated in a dose-dependent manner. 2. Paw edema of the CIA mice treated with CSOP was diminished. 3. Tissue injury in the synovial membranes, capillary distribution and fibrosis were reduced in CSOP-treated mice. 4. MIF, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, MMP-9 expressions were repressed in CSOP-treated mice during the experiment to observe the inhibitory effect on cytokines production in early stage RA. 5. IL-12 and CD28 were reduced in CSOP-treated mice during the observation of inhibitory effect on Th 1 differentiation. 6. PPAR-${\gamma}$ was increased during the experiment to observe the anti-inflammatory effect of CSOP. Conclusions : The results may suggest that administration treatment using $Chrthami$ semen oil pharmacopuncture decreases the inflammatory response on an Animal Model with CIA.