A protective effect of obesity showing that increased adiposity protects against radiographic joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported.1 2 Recently, adipokines were suggested as a molecular link explaining this paradoxical association.3,–,5 The levels of serum adiponectin and visfatin have been shown to be associated with increased, radiographic joint damage in RA, while leptin is associated with reduced radiographic joint damage.4 5 Therefore, we tested whether tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) inhibitor therapy, which prevents joint damage in majority of patients with RA, may be associated with a change in the local production of adipokines in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT).

SAT samples were obtained from the same abdominal region by aspiration with a bioptic needle in nine patients with RA prior to and 6 months after the treatment with etanercept. Adipose tissue samples were …