title: Normal arterial stiffness in familial Mediterranean fever. Evidence for a possible cardiovascular protective role of colchicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoinflammatory disorder with episodic and persistent inflammation, which is only partially suppressed by continuous colchicine treatment. While chronic inflammation is considered an important cardiovascular risk factor in many inflammatory disorders, its impact in FMF is still disputed. We measured arterial stiffness, a marker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, in a group of FMF patients, in order to evaluate the cardiovascular consequences of inflammation in FMF and the role of colchicine in their development.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty colchicine treated FMF patients, without known traditional cardiovascular risk factors, were randomly enrolled in the study. Demographic, genetic, clinical and laboratory data were retrieved from patient files and examinations. Arterial stiffness was measured using pulse wave velocity (PWV). The recorded values of PWV were compared with those of an age and blood pressure adjusted normal population, using internationally endorsed values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FMF patients displayed normal PWV values, with an even smaller than expected proportion of patients deviating from the 90th percentile of the reference population (5% vs. 10%, p=0.02). The lowest PWV values were recorded in patients receiving the highest dose of colchicine (≥2 mg vs. 0-1 mg, p=0.038), and in patients of North African Jewish origin, whose disease was typically more severe than that of patients of other ethnicities; both observations supporting an ameliorating colchicine effect (p=0.043).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Though subjected to chronic inflammation, colchicine treated FMF patients have normal PWV. Our findings provide direct evidence for a cardiovascular protective role of colchicine in FMF.
authors.affiliation: Heller Institute of Medical Research; and Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kukuy
authors.affiliation: Heller Institute of Medical Research; Rheumatology Unit; and Department of Medicine F, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. alivneh@post.tau.ac.il.
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Livneh
authors.affiliation: Omnistat Statistical Counseling, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Liran
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mendel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benor
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Eitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giat
authors.affiliation: Heller Institute of Medical Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Perski
authors.affiliation: Heller Institute of Medical Research; and Department of Medicine F, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Feld
authors.affiliation: Heller Institute of Medical Research; and Department of Medicine F, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Yonatan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kassel
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University; Rheumatology Unit; and Department of Medicine F, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Ilan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ben-Zvi
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University; and Rheumatology Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Merav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lidar
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Eliezer J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Holtzman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leiba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003078:Colchicine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010505:Familial Mediterranean Fever / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003078:Colchicine