@article {HJELTNES1341, author = {GUNNBJ{\O}RG HJELTNES and IVANA HOLLAN and {\O}YSTEIN F{\O}RRE and ALLAN WIIK and TORSTEIN LYBERG and KNUT MIKKELSEN and STEFAN AGEWALL}, title = {Relations of Serum COMP to Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Endothelial Function in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Methotrexate and TNF-α Inhibitors}, volume = {39}, number = {7}, pages = {1341--1347}, year = {2012}, doi = {10.3899/jrheum.111401}, publisher = {The Journal of Rheumatology}, abstract = {Objective. To examine whether serum level of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (S-COMP) is related to methotrexate (MTX) or to MTX and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) combination treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA); and to investigate whether S-COMP is related to cardiovascular risk factors including endothelial dysfunction and level of anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) in patients with RA. Methods. Clinical and laboratory measures, including S-COMP and reactive hyperemic index (RHI), were examined in 55 consecutive patients with RA starting with either MTX (n = 34) or MTX and anti-TNF-α treatment (n = 21) at baseline, and after 6 weeks and 6 months. Results. S-COMP was similar in the 2 treatment regimens during followup. We found a positive relationship between S-COMP at baseline and the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs the last year preceding the study (p = 0.001), and a negative relation to current use of systemic glucocorticosteroids (p = 0.044). The nonsignificant change in S-COMP between baseline and the 6-month followup was positively and independently related to change in ACPA level (p = 0.009). There was no significant association between RHI and level of S-COMP at baseline. Conclusion. The cartilage turnover marker S-COMP did not change significantly after 6 months{\textquoteright} treatment with MTX with or without a TNF-α inhibitor in patients with RA. The positive association between S-COMP and ACPA suggests that these factors might interact, and could both be contributors to an unknown link between inflammation and cartilage destruction in patients with RA. S-COMP was not related to endothelial function in patients with RA, or to other cardiovascular risk factors studied. Clinical Trials registration number NCT00902005.}, issn = {0315-162X}, URL = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/39/7/1341}, eprint = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/39/7/1341.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Rheumatology} }