PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Matteo Nicola Dario  Di Minno
AU  - Salvatore Iervolino
AU  - Rosario Peluso
AU  - Alessandro   Di Minno
AU  - Pasquale Ambrosino
AU  - Raffaele Scarpa
TI  - Hemostatic and Fibrinolytic Changes Are Related to Inflammatory Conditions in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis — Effect of Different Treatments
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.130850
DP  - 2014 Feb 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.130850
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2014/02/12/jrheum.130850.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2014/02/12/jrheum.130850.full
AB  - Objective To prospectively evaluate the effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors on hemostatic and fibrinolytic variables in subjects with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods Among subjects with PsA who were taking traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD), 98 patients with active disease who switched to treatment with TNF-α inhibitors were enrolled in this study (Group 1). In parallel, 98 matched subjects with minimal disease activity (MDA) and treated with DMARD were enrolled (Group 2). In all patients, hemostatic and fibrinolytic variables were evaluated at enrollment and after a 6-month followup. Results were stratified according to treatment and to MDA achievement. Results Seventy-six Group 1 and 80 Group 2 subjects completed the 6-month followup. During the followup, significant changes in hemostatic and fibrinolytic variables were found in Group 1, but not in Group 2 subjects. At the end of the followup, patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors showed significantly lower levels of hemostatic and fibrinolytic variables as compared to those treated with traditional DMARD. Among Group 1 subjects, changes in hemostatic and fibrinolytic variable levels were significantly higher in those who achieved MDA versus in those who did not. Multivariate analyses showed that a treatment with TNF-α blockers affected fibrinolytic variables [plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)] and some acute-phase proteins (D-dimer, coagulation factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor). In contrast, the MDA achievement during treatment with TNF-α blockers maximally affected fibrinolytic variables (PAI-1 and t-PA). Conclusion TNF-α inhibitors brought about a significant improvement of hemostatic and fibrinolytic balance in subjects with PsA. Maximal changes were found in patients achieving MDA.