Cholesterol drugs could help treat arthritis
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Monday, 30, Jan 2006 12:57
Drugs which are used to lower cholesterol could also help people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, new research has suggested.
In tests, scientists from Japan's Jichi Medical School found that the drugs, known as statins, could help kill off the extra tissue which causes rheumatoid arthritis.
The condition is caused when cells produce too much of synovial tissue which lines the joints.
Statins are normally used to help lower cholesterol which can lead to heart disease. They have also been shown to induce cell death in both normal and tumour cells.
The team found the statin known as fluvastatin could induce cell death of the synovial cells in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
However, they found that the statin had no effect on another form of arthritis known as osteoarthropathy.
The scientists, who reported their findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, said the findings warranted further investigation into the role of statins in arthritis treatment.
They wrote: "'The induction of apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis synovial cells by fluvastatin and the biologic antiatherosclerotic properties of the statins suggest that they may turn out to be ideal therapeutic agents in rheumatoid arthritis.
"Based on these results, we propose that the statins warrant clinical trials as potential modifiers of rheumatoid arthritis."
The Arthritis Research Campaign and the British Heart Foundation say rheumatoid arthritis patients have an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to the general population.
The charities are currently funding a major clinical trial involving 3,500 people to see if statins can protect sufferers from arthritis-related heart attacks and strokes.
Dr George Kitas, trial chief investigator and a consultant rheumatologist at Russell's Hall Hospital, said: "It has been known for some time that there is a link between rheumatoid arthritis and cardio-vascular mortality.
"This may be in large part due to early and more advanced blood vessel damage due to high levels of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. Statins lead to a reduction of cardiovascular death rates by reducing cholesterol and possibly inflammation.
"If this trial works as expected, we could be looking at a reduction of the absolute risk of cardiovascular death rate in rheumatoid arthritis patients by ten to 15 per cent, or the relative risk by 35 to 40 per cent, which is significant."