Identification of the Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Scavenger Receptor CD36 in Plasma

Abstract

Background— Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, which is not explained by traditional cardiovascular risk factors but may be due in part to increased aortic stiffness, an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. In the present study, our aim was to establish whether aortic stiffness is increased in RA and to investigate the relationship between inflammation and aortic stiffness. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that aortic stiffness could be reduced with anti–tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) therapy.