Changes of Autonomic Nervous System in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic rheumatic disease of unknown aetiology and variable severity. It is now well known that several risk factors are involved in its pathogenesis, e. g., genetic as well as environmental factors, including a distortion of the neuro-immune interaction. A modulation of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function is suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA. Many studies have clearly shown that ANS dysregulation is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease leading to an increased mortality in RA. Disturbed function of ANS in RA patients is characterised by an increased heart rate and a prevalence of sympathetic over parasympathetic activity. However, more studies are warranted to further explore the pathophysiological implications of ANS function on onset and activity of chronic autoimmune diseases.