Lupus and Vascular Disease: Updates From ACR 2018

October 19, 2018

Gregory M. Weiss, MD

Conferences | American College of Rheumatology Convergence (ACR)

Recent studies explore the vascular underpinnings of neuropsychiatric damage as well as the risk of resistant hypertension in patients with SLE.

References1. Mikdashi JA. Determinants of Major Neurocognitive Disorder (Vascular Dementia) in SLE: The Importance of Treatment Adherence of SLE Disease Activity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Abstract 754. Accessed October 21, 2018.2. Gandelman JS, Khan OA, Shuey M, et al. Increased Incidence and Prevalence of Resistant Hypertension in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Retrospective Cohort Study [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Abstract 706. Accessed October 21, 2018.This information is brought to you by Rheumatology Network and is not sponsored by, nor a part of, the American College of Rheumatology.

Two studies being showcased at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR 2018) annual meeting in Chicago, IL, explore the vascular underpinnings of neuropsychiatric damage as well as the risk of resistant hypertension in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In the first study, Mikdashi at the University of Maryland in Baltimore found that the risk of major neurocognitive disorder-vascular dementia (MCD) is increased in patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) who do not adhere to their medication regimens for SLE and cardiovascular disease.¹ In the second study, Gandelman and fellow researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, discovered that patients with SLE are almost twice as likely to develop resistant hypertension compared with control subjects and experience nearly three times the mortality as a result.² Scroll through the slides for details on the two studies and take-home points for clinicians.