Modern rheumatology
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Modern rheumatology · Nov 2020
Plasma pentraxin 3 is associated with progression of radiographic joint damage, but not carotid atherosclerosis, in female rheumatoid arthritis patients: 3-year prospective study.
Background: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) has an important role in inflammation, immunity, and atherosclerosis. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease featuring both joint damage and atherosclerosis. We investigated whether the plasma PTX3 level was associated with progression of joint destruction and subclinical atherosclerosis in RA patients. ⋯ On the other hands, pentraxin 3 was not associated with an increase of carotid intima-media thickness in RA patients. Conclusion: Female RA patients had elevated plasma PTX3 levels compared with control female subjects. PTX3 was independently associated with radiographic progression of joint damage in the RA patients, but not with carotid atherosclerosis.