Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease causing cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Measurement of retinal vascular calibre is a non-invasive means of evaluating the microcirculation for pathophysiological changes that may predict the development of CV events. This article includes a study that investigated the effect of suppressing inflammation on retinal microvascular health in patients with RA. Material and Methods: Study participants: Two groups of patients with RA were recruited and studied concurrently as defined by the 1987 ACR criteria.
Group A included 26 patients with moderate to high disease activity and who required initiation or escalation of immunosuppression as the standard of care. Group B included 27 patients with stable low disease activity who didn’t require immunosuppression and served as a comparison group. Clinical assessment…
