Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, with interleukin 6 (IL-6) as a major player in inflammation cascade. IL-6 blockade may reduce cardiovascular risk, but current treatments to block IL-6 also induce dyslipidemia, a finding with an uncertain prognosis.
We aimed to determine the endothelial function responses to the IL-6-blocking agent tocilizumab, anti-tumor necrosis factor α, and synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a 16-week prospective study. Sixty consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled. Tocilizumab and anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy were started in 18 patients each while 24 patients were treated with synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Forty patients completed the 16-week follow-up period. The main outcome was flow-mediated dilation percentage variation before and after therapy. In the tocilizumab group, flow-mediated dilation percentage variation increased statistically significantly from a pre-treatment mean of (3.43% [95% CI, 1.28-5.58] to 5.96% [95% CI, 3.95-7.97]; 
Endothelial function is improved by tocilizumab in a high-risk population, even as it increases total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels.