@article {Kiani1502, author = {Adnan N Kiani and James A Mahoney and Michelle Petri}, title = {Asymmetric dimethylarginine is a marker of poor prognosis and coronary calcium in systemic lupus erythematosus.}, volume = {34}, number = {7}, pages = {1502--1505}, year = {2007}, publisher = {The Journal of Rheumatology}, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) with clinical features, laboratory tests, treatment, cardiovascular risk factors, and subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Serum ADMA concentrations were determined by ELISA, using purified ADMA as a standard. Coronary calcium was measured by helical computerized tomography. RESULTS: Two hundred patients with SLE participated. Patients had a mean age of 44.3 +/- 11.4 years and were 92\% female, 61\% Caucasian, 34\% African American, 2\% Asian, and 2\% Hispanic; 18\% had elevated ADMA levels. The mean ADMA was 0.31. Significantly higher ADMA levels were found in African Americans (p \< 0.001), and were correlated with anti-dsDNA (p \< 0.001), anti-Sm (p = 0.005), anti-ribonucleoprotein (p = 0.002), low C4 (p = 0.004), and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p \< 0.001). ADMA was negatively associated with total cholesterol (p = 0.004). Elevated ADMA was associated with the presence of coronary calcium (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Elevated ADMA is strongly associated with African American ethnicity, anti-dsDNA, low complement, and prednisone use, all markers of poor prognosis in SLE. It is negatively associated with hyperlipidemia, but positively associated with coronary calcium. Thus, it identifies a subset of SLE patients with normal lipid levels who are at risk for atherosclerosis.}, issn = {0315-162X}, URL = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/34/7/1502}, eprint = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/34/7/1502.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Rheumatology} }