arthritis rheumatoid arthritis
Conditions
Interventions
Atorvastatin 40 mg or placebo OD will be given to 110 seropositive arthralgia
patients in each arm during three years.
Sponsors
Reade
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1) Age >3x cut-off) 3) With or without current joint pain, but without current clinical synovitis (ultrasound exam should not be performed in case of doubt, since US was shown to be often false-positive in this patient group) 4) Written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1) Patients with synovitis during clinical examination (any of 44 joints of DAS) at inclusion or synovitis in the past during clinical examination by a rheumatologist. 2) Patients with typical RA erosions on X-rays of hand and feet. 3) In case of inclusion depending on the presence of RF, the presence of situations with possible false-positive RF:known active infection with hepatitis C or Ebstein-Barr virus or recent radiotherapy. 4) Use of statins or other lipid-lowering agents within the last three months. 5) A history of previous use of statins discontinued due to side effects. 6) Patients with an indication for statin therapy according to local guidelines. All patients will be screened pior to randomisation 7) Previous use of DMARDs other than hydroxychloroquine, or use of hydroxychloroquine within the last three months. 8) A history of oral or parenteral use of corticosteroids within the last 12 weeks used to treat the current episode of musculoskeletal symptoms. 9) Subjects with current severe, progressive, or uncontrolled, hematologic disease, gastrointestinal disease, (diabetes with a serum glucose >7.0 mmol/L), pulmonary, cardiac, neurologic, or cerebral disease. 10) Subjects who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding or wish to become pregnant. 11) Subjects who currently abuse recreational drugs 12) Subjects who have a limited life expectancy. 13) Subjects who are unable to fill out the questionnaires. 14) Subjects who are using ciclosporin (which interacts with statins).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The development of arthritis (*1 swollen joint) is the primary outcome measure. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Serum lipids, calculated 10-year risk of cardiovascular events (in participants aged 40 years and over), changes in cIMT and arterial stiffness are secondary outcome measures. | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed