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High levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine associated with RA, not endothelial dysfunction
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Study results showed high levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but no association with in vivo assessments of endothelial dysfunction.
Researchers investigated asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) as a biomarker of endothelial dysfunction in 67 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Eligible participants (average age 56 years) had no history of acute coronary syndrome, established cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, renal dysfunction, or serious psychiatric disorder.
The RA patients, along with a control group of 29 healthy individuals (average age 42 years), had their microvascular and macrovascular endothelial functions, as well as arterial stiffness levels, tested using laser Doppler imaging, flow-mediated dilatation, and pulse wave analysis, respectively. Researchers used an immunoassay ELISA kit to measure ADMA levels in the patients’ serum samples.
Study results showed significantly higher levels of ADMA in the RA population (P=.004) compared with the control group, taking into account age adjustments (difference=0.088; 95% CI, 0.029-0.147). ADMA was not associated with the test results from microvascular and macrovascular endothelial functions and arterial stiffness.
“ADMA levels are significantly higher in patients with RA compared to healthy controls,” researchers concluded, “but do not appear to correlate either with disease activity or with in vivo assessments of endothelial function in RA.”
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