Session Information
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2015
Title: Sjögren's Syndrome Poster I: Clinical Insights into Sjögren's Syndrome
Session Type: ACR Poster Session A
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose:
Different studies showed that systemic inflammation, elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines and immune dysregulation, typical of the inflammatory autoimmune disease, play a role in accelerated atherosclerosis. However, only few studies focused on sub-clinical cardiovascular (CV) involvement in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) are available (1). Aim of our study was to investigate sub-clinical CV involvement in pSS patients by means of carotid stiffness, asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) plasma levels, intima-media thickness (cIMT) and coronary flow reserve (CFR).
Methods:
Fifty-three consecutive outpatients with pSS (7 M, 46 F; mean age 59.8 yrs, range 43-80 yrs; mean disease duration of 59.5 months, range 6-156 months) without classical CV risk factors and/or known CV diseases, and 22 matched healthy controls were enrolled. MyLab 60 machine (Esaote,Italy) with radio frequency technology for evaluating quality intima media thickness (RF-QIMT) and quality arterial stiffness (RF-QAS) was used to assess cIMT and pulse wave velocity (PWV), respectively. Dipyridamole transthoracic stress echocardiography was performed by IE33 (Philips Medical Systems, USA) in order to obtain CFR values. Plasma ADMA levels, inflammatory markers and autoantibodies were also evaluated.
Results:
pSS group was matched with control in terms of age (59.8±8.5 vs 59.25±2.08 yrs, p=0.14), sex (46F, 7M vs 16F, 6M, p=0.8), BMI (25.5±3.3 vs 23.69±1.12. p=0.17) and blood pressure values (126.66±13.4 vs 125.61±12.48, p=0.59 and 79.4±4.6 vs 80.45±8.25. p=0.32). Serum levels of CRP (3.72±2.89 Vs 0.41±0.09 mg/L, p<0.0001), ESR (30.25±20.2 Vs 4.8±0.24, p<0.0001) and, although within the normal range, total cholesterol (182.77±7.12 Vs 163.33±5.59, p<0.001) were significantly lower in the control group. PWV and ADMA plasma levels, as markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction respectively, were significantly higher (9.2±1.8m/s vs 6.8±0.9m/s. p<0.0001 and 0.76±0.07 vs 0.54±0.05 μM, p<0.0001) in pSS group. QIMT values were similar in the two groups; however, the percentage of pSS patients with abnormal value was higher compared with controls (47/53 vs 12/22, p=0.001). Although within the normal range, CFR values in pSS patients were lower than in controls (2.6±0.23 vs 3.2±0.32 p<0.0001).
Conclusion:
Higher ADMA levels, higher PWV values, higher percentage of patients with pathological Q-IMT and normal CFR values, suggested that pSS patients compared to healthy controls suffer from early endothelial dysfunction and sub-clinical atherosclerosis.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Batticciotto A, Rigamonti F, Atzeni F, Antivalle M, Talotta R, Boccassini L, Gianturco L, Turiel M, Doria A, Sarzi-Puttini P. Subclinical Cardiovascular Involvement in Patients with Primary Sjögren Syndrome [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/subclinical-cardiovascular-involvement-in-patients-with-primary-sjogren-syndrome/. Accessed .« Back to 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/subclinical-cardiovascular-involvement-in-patients-with-primary-sjogren-syndrome/