Objectives: To investigate whether the pituitary-adrenal axis may be altered under long-term inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the effect of steroid administration. Subjects and methods: Concentration of blood adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol were measured in 140 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 60 people used as control group. | Journal of military pharmaco-medicine n08-2018 ALTERATION OF BLOOD ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE AND CORTISOL LEVEL IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS Truong Quang Pho1; Le Anh Thu2 SUMMARY Objectives: To investigate whether the pituitary-adrenal axis may be altered under long-term inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the effect of steroid administration. Subjects and methods: Concentration of blood adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol were measured in 140 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 60 people used as control group. Results: Concentration of blood adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol in rheumatoid arthritis patients at 8 am and 11 pm were significantly lower than those in control group. Among rheumatoid arthritis patients, concentration of blood adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol in steroid users were significantly lower than those in non-steroid users. Conclusion: These results have provided evidence that the impairment of the pituitary-adrenal axis in rheumatoid arthritis patients was due to not only chronic inflammation but also steroid using. * Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis; Adrenocorticotropic hormone; Cortisol. INTRODUCTION Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common arthritis that affects 1% population [1]. RA is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints by chronic inflammation. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest, especially in the early morning. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involved, with the same joints typically involved on both sides of the body [2]. The disease may result in a low red blood cell count, inflammation around the lungs, and inflammation around the heart. Fever and low energy may also be present often, symptoms come on gradually over weeks to months [2]. While the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not clear, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors [1]. The underlying .
