EFFECT OF COMBINED THERAPY ON LIPID METABOLISM IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS WITH AND NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE

The article presents and analyzes the effect of combined therapy of atorvastatin and essential phospholipids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lipid metabolism indicators in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We examined and treated 77 RA patients with NAFLD (64 women (83.1%) and 13 men (16.9%)), under the age of 55 years old. The patients were divided into 3 groups. Additionally to RA antirheumatic therapy, the first group (n=25) received atorvastatin, the second group (n=26) - essential phospholipids, and the third group (n=26) - a combination of atorvastatin and essential phospholipids for 6 months. Assessment of the state of lipid metabolism was carried out by studying the laboratory indices of a lipid profile. A hypolipidemic effect was revealed when using both atorvastatin and essential phospholipids in patients with RA NAFLD, which increases with their combined use. Whereas the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels in the blood serum significantly decrease with a simultaneous increase in the content of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol. We revealed pronounced hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects in RA patients with NAFLD due to combined use of atorvastatin and essential phospholipids.