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Heart Rate Variability to Predict Treatment Response in Patients with RA

Kathy Holliman  |  Issue: August 2015  |  August 17, 2015

“I think this measures something that is consistent and meaningful. Whether it is that thing that can identify patients that have potential for no or lower responsiveness remains to be seen. There is some inferential evidence to suggest that that might be true, and it’s worth testing it out to see if it is indeed true. There is little to no risk involved,” Dr. Simon says.

“I haven’t seen anything yet that convinces me that it absolutely is right, and that is the whole point of doing a clinical trial. I wouldn’t say at this point that it is true, but it might be.”

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Kathy L. Holliman, MEd, is a medical writer based in Beverly, Mass.

References

  1. Elenkov IJ, Wiider RL, Chrousos GP, Vizi ES. The sympathetic nerve—an integrative interface between two supersystems: the brain and the immune system. Pharmacol Rev. 2000 Dec;52(4):595–638.
  2. Tracey KJ. The inflammatory reflex. Nature. 2002 Dec 19–26;420(6917):853–859.
  3. Holman AJ, NG E. Heart rate variability predicts anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy response for inflammatory arthritis. Auton Neurosci. 2008 Dec 5;143(1–2):58–67.
  4. Tracey KJ. Shock medicine: Stimulation of the nervous system could replace drugs for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Scientific American. 2015 March 1;312(3):28–35.
  5. Koopman FA, Miljko S, Grazio S, et al. Pilot study of stimulation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with an implantable vagus nerve stimulation device in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. 2012 ACR/ARHP. Abstract 451.
  6. Adlan AM, Lip GYH, Paton JFR, et al. Autonomic function and rheumatoid arthritis—a systematic review. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2014 Dec;44(3):283–304.
  7. Shimizu M, Tachibana N, Nagasaka Y, Goto M. Obstructive sleep apnea in RA patients and effect of CPAP on RA activity. 2003ACR/ARHP. Abstract 187.
  8. Stavrakis S, Dyer J, Kamp S, et al. Heart rate variability: An inflammatory biomarker in systemic lupus erythematosus. 2014 ACR/ARHP. Abstract 866.

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Filed under:ConditionsRheumatoid Arthritis Tagged with:autonomic nervous systempatient carepredictRheumatoid arthritisTreatment

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