Drugs for arthritis may help hearts

Two new genetic studies have found a clear causal link between a specific inflammation signalling pathway and the development of coronary heart disease (CHD).

The evidence indicates that heart disease can be tackled using certain anti-inflammatory drugs.

One such drug, tocilizumab, is already commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, an auto-immune disease.

Inflammation is a basic immune response to infection or injury which can become too strong and end up damaging body tissue.

Experts have long suspected that it plays a role in heart disease by contributing to artherosclerosis, the build-up of hard deposits on artery walls, but until now no causal link involving a specific inflammatory pathway has been found.

The research, published online in The Lancet medical journal, combined data from more than 2,000 people taking part in 82 studies.