[The condition of peripheral arteries in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus]

To evaluate the condition of peripheral arteries and its correlations with blood lipid spectrum and intake of glucocorticoids (GC), 53 female patients with SLE entered the study. Of them, 20 patients were GC untreated (group 1) while 33 ones took GC for a long time (group 2). Nine of 20 (45%) patients and 9 of 33 (27%) patients of group 1 and 2, respectively, had antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Ultrasonography examined common carotid arteries (CCA), brachial arteries (BA), femoral arteries (FA) with measurement of the thickness of the intima-media complex (IMC). Lipid spectrum was examined with standard enzyme assay using kits by Boehringer Mannheim GmbH (Germany). Atherosclerotic plaques of carotid arteries were detected only in group 2. CCA IMC thickness reached 0.78 +/- 0.17 and 0.75 +/- 0.16 mm in groups 1 and 2, respectively. This thickness was significantly greater in SLE patients with APS than free of APS (0.89 +/- 0.18 and 0.87 +/- 0.18 mm in groups 1 and 2, respectively; 0.72 mm on the average in both groups, p = 0.02). Patients of group 1 with dyslipidemia showed a significant increase in CCA IMC (0.84 +/- 0.18 mm) vs patients with normolipidemia (0.70 +/- 0.13 mm, p = 0.042). Significantly increased levels of cholesterol, LDLP cholesterol and triglycerides were recorded in SLE patients of group 1 with CCA IMC > 0.8 mm. In group 1 there were significant positive correlations between CCA IMC and levels of total cholesterol, LDLP cholesterol, triglycerides (r = 0.78, 0.76 and 0.66 respectively, p < 0.05). Thus, atherosclerotic affection of the peripheral arteries in SLE is associated with long-term course of the disease, APS, dyslipidemia and intake of GC.