Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the present study, we evaluated the inflammatory activity of the ascending aorta in RA patients who received biological treatment. We assessed the aortic wall inflammation of RA patients using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography before and after 6 months of biologic therapies. We also compared the inflammatory activity at the aortic wall in RA patients with remission or low disease activity (RLDA) and those with moderate or high disease activity (MHDA). The aortic uptake was measured by the standardized uptake value (SUV) and the target-to-background ratio (TBR). A total of 64 patients were included in the analysis (mean age, 58.4 ± 13.8 years old; female, 77%). The Disease Activity Score for 28 joints (DAS28) erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) had significantly decreased after 6 months: from 5.0 ± 1.2 to 3.3 ± 1.2 (p < 0.001). The FDG uptake in the ascending aorta changed from baseline to 6 months, showing a maximum SUV (SUVmax) of 1.83 ± 0.34 to 1.90 ± 0.34 (p = 0.059) and TBR of 1.71 ± 0.23 to 1.75 ± 0.24 (p = 0.222). The SUVmax and TBR after 6 months were significantly higher in the RLDA group than in the MHDA group (2.05 ± 0.32 vs. 1.79 ± 0.33 (p = 0.002) and 1.89 ± 0.33 vs. 1.65 ± 0.20 (p = 0.001), respectively). The percentage of monocytes also significantly increased from baseline to 6 months: from 5.9 ± 1.6 to 6.9 ± 2.6 (p = 0.032). The inflammation activity at the ascending aorta in RA patients did not change significantly after 6 months of biological treatment. RA patients with a low disease activity or in clinical remission after 6 months of biological treatment still had an increased inflammatory activity at the aortic wall.

中文翻译：

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生物疗法能减少类风湿性关节炎患者的主动脉炎症吗？

类风湿性关节炎 (RA) 患者患心血管疾病 (CVD) 的风险增加。在本研究中，我们评估了接受生物治疗的 RA 患者升主动脉的炎症活动。我们在 6 个月的生物治疗前后使用 18F-氟脱氧葡萄糖 (FDG) 正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描评估了 RA 患者的主动脉壁炎症。我们还比较了缓解或低疾病活动度 (RLDA) 和中度或高度疾病活动度 (MHDA) 的 RA 患者主动脉壁的炎症活动。主动脉摄取通过标准化摄取值 (SUV) 和目标与背景比 (TBR) 来衡量。共有 64 名患者被纳入分析（平均年龄，58.4 ± 13.8 岁；女性，77%）。6 个月后，28 个关节的疾病活动评分 (DAS28) 红细胞沉降率 (ESR) 显着降低：从 5.0 ± 1.2 降至 3.3 ± 1.2 (p < 0.001)。升主动脉的 FDG 摄取从基线到 6 个月发生变化，显示最大 SUV (SUVmax) 为 1.83 ± 0.34 至 1.90 ± 0.34 (p = 0.059)，TBR 为 1.71 ± 0.23 至 1.75 ± 0.24 (p = 0.2)。RLDA 组 6 个月后的 SUVmax 和 TBR 显着高于 MHDA 组（分别为 2.05±0.32 对 1.79±0.33（p = 0.002）和 1.89±0.33 对 1.65±0.20（p = 0.001）） . 单核细胞的百分比也从基线到 6 个月显着增加：从 5.9 ± 1.6 到 6.9 ± 2.6 (p = 0.032)。RA患者升主动脉的炎症活动在经过6个月的生物治疗后没有显着变化。