Joint and Bone Research Unit, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2010 Jun;18 Suppl 1:S12-6. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2010.01.014. Epub 2010 Apr 24.
The rheumatic diseases have been associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by persistent synovial inflammation which leads to disability and structural changes in joints. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an increased cardiovascular mortality in patients with RA. In these patients, atherosclerotic plaque occurs earlier, and it has a faster evolution than in general population. Atherosclerosis (AT) is also an inflammatory disease partly mediated by cytokines, many of them involved on chronic synovitis. Our group has developed a rabbit experimental model of AT aggravated by chronic arthritis to study inflammatory mechanisms involved on the progression of vascular lesions and their response to drugs. A preliminary study using this model suggests a beneficial effect of chondroitin sulphate (CS), a drug recommended for the treatment of osteoarthritis, in controlling AT lesions. Yet clinical trials should be conducted with this compound to address the same hypothesis in human studies.
风湿性疾病与动脉粥样硬化加速有关。类风湿关节炎（RA）是一种全身性炎症性疾病，其特征为持续的滑膜炎症，导致关节残疾和结构改变。流行病学研究表明，RA 患者的心血管死亡率增加。在这些患者中，动脉粥样硬化斑块出现得更早，且其进展速度比普通人群更快。动脉粥样硬化（AT）也是一种炎症性疾病，部分由细胞因子介导，其中许多细胞因子参与慢性滑膜炎。我们的研究小组建立了一种由慢性关节炎加重的动脉粥样硬化的兔实验模型，以研究参与血管病变进展的炎症机制及其对药物的反应。使用该模型进行的一项初步研究表明，硫酸软骨素（CS），一种推荐用于治疗骨关节炎的药物，在控制动脉粥样硬化病变方面具有有益作用。然而，应该在临床试验中使用这种化合物来在人类研究中验证同样的假设。
