Atherosclerosis in Rheumatic Diseases

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) constitute a majority of the inflammatory immune-mediated disorders. This group of diseases is characterized by systemic inflammation sustained by cellular activation and production of inflammatory mediators. The diseases lead a relapsing and remitting course with increasing disability and destruction of joints and vital organs as a result. RA, being the largest disease entity within this group, has become a prototype disease for defining the molecular and pathological basis of chronic inflammatory syndromes in general and autoimmune rheumatic disease in particular [1, 2].