BARCELONA -- Six months of treatment with the tumor necrosis factor blocking agent etanercept resulted in favorable changes in the lipid profile of patients with ankylosing spondylitis, Dr. Izhar van Eijk reported at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.

Cardiovascular mortality appears to be elevated in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), which may relate to the negative effects of inflammation on the lipid profile and a resulting heightened risk for atherosclerosis, Dr. van Eijk explained.

In order to investigate whether inflammatory suppression with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockade would improve lipid levels over time, 63 consecutive AS patients ...