News: Remicade Doesn't Change Cholesterol Ratio

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Feb 17, 2005 ‹ NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The arthritis drug Remicade is

known to lower the risk of heart disease, but apparently it doesn't do so by

improving cholesterol profiles.

Researchers from the Netherlands report that people with rheumatoid

arthritis who are treated with Remicade (infliximab) show not only an

improvement in arthritis but also significant increases in both HDL ( " good " )

cholesterol and total cholesterol.

However, " contrary to expectations, " these changes do not favorably alter

the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol ‹ the so-called

'atherogenic index' ‹ Dr. T. Nurmohamed told Reuters Health.

" Hence, the favorable effect of infliximab on the cardiovascular risk in

patients with rheumatoid arthritis is not mediated through modification of

the lipid profile, " he said.

In a study reported in the February issue of the Journal of Rheumatology,

Dr. Nurmohamed, at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, and colleagues

examined the short-term effects of infliximab on cholesterol profiles of 69

patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Total cholesterol increased from 5.2 to 5.6 units after 6 weeks, while HDL

cholesterol rose from 1.4 to 1.6. As mentioned, these changes did not alter

the atherogenic index.

" We observed a stable, instead of a decreasing, atherogenic index, which is

an important predictor for future cardiovascular disease, " Dr. Nurmohamed

said.

Whether longer treatment has a more beneficial effect on cholesterol levels

" remains to be established, " he and his colleagues say.

SOURCE: Journal of Rheumatology, February 2005.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=508885