INFLAMMATION-LOWERING EFFECTS OF ORAL ANTIDIABETIC DRUGS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Objective. The primary aim of this study is to underline the inflammation-lowering effect of oral antidiabetic drugs, namely the CRP, ESR and DAS28 levels. The secondary aim was to show that these effects are dependent on the dose of the antidiabetic drug. Methods. The study has an observational, case-control design. The information was gathered from the case reports of the patients that were admitted in Sf. Maria Clinical Hospital in Bucharest, beginning with 2010 and until May 2016. It included a case group of 20 subjects and a control group of 20 subjects who were followed approximately 3 years from the diagnosis of RA. Results. There were no significant group differences at baseline. During the follow-up, the medians of DAS28, CRP and ESR were significantly lower in the group treated with oral glucose lowering agents (p<0.005). Secondly, the presence of metformin both as monotherapy and in combination with other antidiabetic drugs was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the medians of the three mentioned variables (p<0.05). The metformin dose can predict the value of CRP (p=0.005), accounting for 18.9% of the variation of CRP. Moreover, there is a nega