Background and Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an inflammatory multi-system disease with an unknown origin. In patients with lupus disease cardiovascular events is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. This study carried out to measurement of high sensitivity C –reactive protein (HsCRP) and homocysteine in patients with SLE and their relation with diseases activity and cardiovascular risk factors.

Materials and Methods: This case control study carried out on 60 patients (55 females and 5 males) with lupus disease which referred to Clinical Research Center of Rheumatology, Mashhad, Iran and 30 controls (26 females and 4 males) during 2007-08. Information of subjects were gathered using SLEDAI questionare. HsCRP and homocysteine of subjects were measured. The level of low density lipoprotein (LDL), Triglycerid, hypertension and Body mass index (BMI) was assessed. Systemic lupus erythematosus activity was assessed by using SLEDAI so that if the score was higher than 10, lupus was called as active disease.

Results: Mean age was 28.8±10.3 and 33.8±9.13 years in SLE and control groups respectively. The mean of HsCRP in SLE patients were 3±2.42 mg/dl versus in controls were 1.58±2.1. The serum level of homocysteine were 12.3±1.93 µmol/L and 24±8.13 µmol/L in SLE patients and controls (P<0.001). Mean disease activity was 15.37. There was no any associtation between homocysteine and HsCRP and disease activity. LDL, Triglycerid, hypertension had significant association with homocystein (P<0.05). BMI and Triglycerid had significant association with HsCRP (P<0.05).

Conclusion: This study showed that there is no linear significant corrolation between homocysteine, HsCRP and disease activity, but there is significant corrolation between increase of homocysteine and HsCRP and cardiovascular risk factors.

Background and Objective: Periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis are two chronic inflammatory diseases that are interrelated. Given the similarities between these conditions, the medications used by patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may affect their periodontal indices. This study aimed to evaluate the periodontal index status in patients with RA undergoing immunosuppressive therapy.
Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 68 patients with RA in three treatment groups (20 on monotherapy, 24 on dual therapy, and 24 on triple treatment) and 20 healthy individuals with a plaque index (PI) below 35% in Ardabil, Iran during the second half of 2021. The monotherapy group included methotrexate or hydroxychloroquine; the dual therapy group included combinations of methotrexate with hydroxychloroquine, adalimumab, or infliximab; and the triple therapy group included combinations of methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine with adalimumab, etanercept, sulfasalazine, or leflunomide. Periodontal indices, including Plaque Index (PI), Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL), Gingival Index (GI), and Bleeding on Probing (BOP), were assessed.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences in periodontal indices among the three treatment groups (monotherapy, dual therapy, and triple therapy). The mean BOP index in the control group was significantly higher compared to the three medication groups (P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the mean CAL and GI indices between the control group and the medication groups. The median PI in the control group was 29.6, and in the dual therapy group, it was 42.3, which was statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The use of immunosuppressive drugs did not have a significant effect on the periodontal indices of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.