MMP9 and rheumatoid arthritis: Isik et al. [34] examined the implications of MMP-9 in the development of accelerated atherosclerosis, but found no correlation between MMP-9 serum levels and cIMT or active inflammation, and concluded that MMP-9 is not a reliable predictor of disease severity or accelerated atherosclerosis in RA patients, possibly because of the effect of immunomodulatory therapy on MMP expression.