TNF and rheumatoid arthritis: Looking for the relationship between systemic inflammatory markers (ESR, hsCRP, TNF-α, and IL-6) and biochemical measures of endothelial activation (vWf, MCP-1, ADMA, sVCAM-1, sE-selectin, OPG, a and PTX3), we found positive correlations between ESR and vWf (r = 0.4; P < 0.05) and between hsCRP and sE-selectin (r = 0.42; P < 0.05) in RA patients but not in the control group.