Study of some angiogenic stimulators in rheumatoid arthritis: impact of therapy with gold and methotrexate

The angiogenic stimulators; basic fibroblast growth factor [b-FGF], intercellular adhesion molecule [ICAM-I], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha], interleukin-1 beta [IL-1 beta], cathepsins B and L and hyaluronan [HYA] were investigated to evaluate indirectly the angiogenic process in rheumatoid arthritis [X4]. Forty-four patients with active seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and fifteen healthy age and sex matched subjects were enrolled in this study. Significantly higher mean levels of b-FGF, ICAM-I, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, cathepsins R and D and HYA were found in sera of the patients compared with controls. These indices showed significant correlations with each other and with the clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity. After 12 weeks of treatment with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs [DMARDs], gold or methotrexate, the mean levels of the studied angiogenic stimulators decreased significantly