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Incidence of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis in children and adolescents in the UK and Republic of Ireland Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-22 Daphne Theresa Chia, Andoni Toms, Anish Sanghrajka, Athimalaipet Ramanan, Orla G Killeen, Cristina Ilea, Kamran Mahmood, Sandrine Compeyrot-Lacassagne, Kathryn Bailey, Neil Martin, Kate Armon, Chenqu Suo
Objectives Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO), also known as chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO), is a rare autoinflammatory condition affecting the bones in children and teenagers. The actual incidence of CRMO remains uncertain. The objective of this study is to identify the incidence of CRMO in children and young people under the age of 16 years in the United Kingdom (UK) and
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Glucocorticoid sparing effect of Janus Kinase inhibitors compared to biological Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs in rheumatoid arthritis, a single-center retrospective analysis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-22 Giovanni Adami, Riccardo Bixio, Giulia Virelli, Isotta Galvagni, Francesca Mastropaolo, Andrea Morciano, Francesca Ruzzon, Valeria Messina, Elena Fracassi, Davide Gatti, Ombretta Viapiana, Antonio Carletto, Maurizio Rossini
Background Glucocorticoid sparing in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment is crucial to minimizing adverse effects associated with long-term use. Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) could potentially offer a more potent glucocorticoid-sparing effect than biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (bDMARDs) Material and methods This is a single-center retrospective analysis of RA patients treated with
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Hepatitis B reactivation in PsA patients: an SLR and meta-analysis for IL-17, IL-23 and JAK inhibitors Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Theodoros Androutsakos, Konstantinos Dimitriadis, Maria-Loukia Koutsompina, Konstantinos D Vassilakis, Avraam Pouliakis, George E Fragoulis
Objectives Hepatitis B reactivation (HBVr) constitutes a side effect of the treatment of autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Even though HBVr risk of conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) and anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents has long been established, the risk of targeted synthetic (ts)DMARDs and anti-interleukin (anti-IL) agents remains largely unknown. Methods
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Factors associated with long-term opioid use among patients with axial spondyloarthritis or psoriatic arthritis who initiated opioids Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Yun-Ting Huang, David A Jenkins, Belay Birlie Yimer, Meghna Jani
Objective Up to one in five patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) newly initiated on opioids transition to long-term use within the first year. This study aimed to investigate individual factors associated with long-term opioid use among opioid new users with AxSpA/PsA. Methods Adult patients with AxSpA/PsA and without prior cancer who initiated opioids between
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Evaluation of changes in cardiac longitudinal strain rate in patients with systemic sclerosis undergoing iloprost treatment: an observational study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Ivan Isaia, Paola Aparo, Federica Castelletti, Matteo Regolo, Maria Letizia Aprile, Paolo Fiorenza, Gianluca Sambataro, Lorenzo Malatino, Michele Colaci
Objectives Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by widespread microangiopathy and fibrosis of skin and visceral organs. Left ventricle involvement is usually subclinical, characterized by systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction. The global longitudinal strain (GLS), a validated and reliable technique for the measurement of ventricular longitudinal deformation by means of echocardiography, may detect
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Subclinical psoriatic arthritis and disease interception—where are we in 2024? Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Clementina López-Medina, Dennis McGonagle, Laure Gossec
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic rheumatic disease that usually appears in patients with skin psoriasis, making it a model for detection of joint disease in the pre-clinical phases in a setting where therapy for cutaneous disease may ameliorate or prevent arthritis development. Such PsA prevention appears credible due to the increasingly recognized closely shared immunopathology between the skin
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Treatment of giant cell arteritis with ultra-short glucocorticoids and tocilizumab: results from the extension of the TOPAZIO study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Francesco Muratore, Chiara Marvisi, Giulia Cassone, Caterina Ricordi, Luigi Boiardi, Pamela Mancuso, Giulia Besutti, Lucia Spaggiari, Massimiliano Casali, Stefania Croci, Rexhep Durmo, Annibale Versari, Gabriella Di Tommaso, Mariagrazia Catanoso, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Carlo Salvarani
Objectives To assess the maintenance of efficacy of one year of tocilizumab (TCZ) monotherapy after its discontinuation in large vessel-GCA (LV-GCA). Methods 17 patients with active LV-GCA were previously treated with 3 boluses of intravenous methylprednisone and weekly subcutaneous TCZ in monotherapy for 52 weeks. Patients in relapse-free clinical remission at week 52 discontinued TCZ and entered
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The implication of anti-Ro60 with or without anti-Ro52 antibody in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-14 Katie Liao, Ning Li, Julie Bonin, Rachel Koelmeyer, Joanna Kent, Rebecca Pellicano, Thilinie De Silva, Kristy Yap, Vera Golder, A Richard Kitching, Eric F Morand, Alberta Hoi
Objectives Anti-Ro60 and anti-Ro52 autoantibodies are frequently used as diagnostic biomarkers for Sjogren’s disease, but their clinical significance in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not well characterised. Methods Patients fulfilling SLE classification criteria were studied according to their anti-Ro status. We defined Ro positivity (Ro+) as those who have either anti-Ro60 or anti-Ro52 positivity
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Longitudinal analysis of serum urate in prediabetic phase Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Javier Marrugo, Leah M Santacroce, Misti L Paudel, Sho Fukui, Sara K Tedeschi, Daniel H Solomon
Objectives Despite the well-established association between prediabetes and hyperuricaemia, knowledge about serum urate (SU) trends during the prediabetic phase is limited. Therefore, we aimed to assess the longitudinal changes of SU in individuals with prediabetes. Methods Individuals with prediabetes, defined by initial haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels between 5.7% and 6.4%, were identified using electronic
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Transiently increased circulating CD39+FoxP3+ Treg cells predict the clinical response to Methotrexate in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Alejandro Villalba, Laura Nuño, Marta Benito-Miguel, Beatriz Nieto-Carvalhal, Irene Monjo, Marta Novella-Navarro, Diana Peiteado, Sara García-Carazo, Alejandro Balsa, María-Eugenia Miranda-Carús
OBJECTIVES A subset of human circulating FoxP3+ regulatory T cells expresses CD39 (cTreg39+) and hydrolyses pro-inflammatory adenine nucleotides released at inflammatory foci, rendering the anti-inflammatory agent adenosine. Methotrexate (MTX), inhibiting ATIC, enhances the extrusion of adenine nucleotides and may help Treg39+ cells control inflammation. Therefore, we examined the relation of cTreg39+
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Muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis: high mortality not associated with nature of histological lesions Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Noémie Le Gouellec, Louai Zaidan, Benjamin Chaigne, Baptiste Periou, Emeline Cailliau, Robin Dhote, Sebastien Riviere, Yurdagul Uzunhan, Christian Agard, Bertrand Godeau, Pierre Wolkenstein, Eric Hachulla, Luc Mouthon, Jerome Authier
Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the association between different histological patterns and prognosis in patients with SSc and histologically proven muscle involvement. Methods A multicentre retrospective study was conducted of a cohort of scleroderma patients who had undergone muscle biopsy. The biopsies were reviewed in a coordinated manner to classify patients based on histological
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Systemic sclerosis and cancer in the UK: An epidemiological analysis using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 John D Pauling, Neil J McHugh, Anita McGrogan
Background Cancer can cause mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We investigated the association between cancer and SSc using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Methods A validated case-ascertainment strategy identified SSc patients in the CPRD. A cohort study design examined cancer occurrence following SSc, with SSc patients matched to six non-SSc comparators by age, sex and GP-practice
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Association of rare and common genetic variants in MOCOS with inadequate response to allopurinol Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-12 Niamh C Fanning, Murray Cadzow, Ruth K Topless, Chris Frampton, Nicola Dalbeth, Tony R Merriman, Lisa K Stamp
Objectives The minor allele of the common rs2231142 ABCG2 variant predicts inadequate response to allopurinol urate lowering therapy. We hypothesize that additional variants in genes encoding urate transporters and allopurinol-to-oxypurinol metabolic enzymes also predict allopurinol response. Methods This study included a subset of participants with gout from the Long-term Allopurinol Safety Study
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Definitions of and Instruments for Disease Activity, Remission, and Relapse in Polymyalgia Rheumatica: A Systematic Literature Review Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-12 Thomas E Bolhuis, Philipp Bosch, Louise Falzon, Claire E Owen, Max Yates, Sarah L Mackie, Aatke van der Maas, Christian Dejaco
OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic literature review on definitions and instruments used to measure remission, relapse, and disease activity in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), to inform an OMERACT project to endorse instruments for these outcomes. METHODS A search of Pubmed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Epistemonikos was performed May 2021 and updated August 2023. Qualitative and quantitative
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Short and Long-Term Outcomes of Patients with Pure Membranous Lupus Nephritis Compared to Patients with Proliferative Disease Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-10 Fadi Kharouf, Qixuan Li, Laura P Whittall Garcia, Arenn Jauhal, Dafna D Gladman, Zahi Touma
Objectives Membranous lupus nephritis (MLN) is thought to have a more benign course than proliferative lupus nephritis (PLN). We aimed to determine the differences in short and long-term outcomes between patients with MLN and PLN. Methods We included patients with first biopsy-proven MLN and PLN. Short-term outcomes included complete proteinuria recovery (CPR), complete renal response (CRR), and primary
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A secukinumab dose-escalation study in patients with ankylosing spondylitis not achieving inactive disease after 16 weeks of treatment Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-09 Atul Deodhar, Alan J Kivitz, Marina Magrey, Jessica A Walsh, Philip J Mease, Maria Greenwald, Farid Kianifard, Chelsea Elam, Gopi M Bommidi, Adam Winseck, Lianne S Gensler
Objective To investigate the clinical response at week 52 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who received secukinumab 300 vs 150 mg after inadequate response to 150 mg at week 16. Methods ASLeap (NCT03350815) was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, multicentre, phase 4 trial. After 16 weeks of open-label secukinumab 150 mg (Treatment Period 1), patients who did not achieve inactive
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A predictive model for progression to clinical arthritis in at-risk individuals with arthralgia based on lymphocyte subsets and ACPA Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-09 Klára Prajzlerová, Olga Kryštůfková, Nikola Kaspříková, Nora Růžičková, Hana Hulejová, Petra Hánová, Jiří Vencovský, Ladislav Šenolt, Mária Filková
Background The presence of ACPA significantly increases the risk of developing RA. Dysregulation of lymphocyte subpopulations was previously described in RA. Our objective was to propose the predictive model for progression to clinical arthritis based on peripheral lymphocyte subsets and ACPA in individuals who are at risk of RA. Methods Our study included 207 at-risk individuals defined by the presence
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Racial and ethnic associations with interstitial lung disease and healthcare utilization in patients with systemic sclerosis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-09 Ann-Marcia C Tukpah, Jonathan A Rose, Diane L Seger, Paul F Dellaripa, Gary Matthew Hunninghake, David W Bates
Objective Racial and ethnic differences in presentation and outcomes have been reported in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and SSc-interstitial lung disease (ILD). However, prior studies have limited diversity. We aim to evaluate if there are racial/ethnic differences associated with ILD, time intervals between SSc and ILD and with emergency department (ED) visit or hospitalization rates. Methods Clinical
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Epidemiology of ANCA vasculitis in Northern Spain Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Fabricio Benavides-Villanueva, Alba Herrero-Morant, Diana Prieto-Peña, Salma Al Fazazi, Vanesa Calvo-Río, Mónica Renuncio-García, Adrián Martín-Gutierrez, María del Amparo Sánchez-Lopez, Claudia Poo-Fernandez, Clara Escagedo-Cagigas, María Rodríguez-Vidriales, Ricardo Blanco
Objectives The incidence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) shows disparate results due to variable classification criteria and heterogeneous-population series. We aimed to estimate the incidence of AAV in a well-defined population with standardized classification criteria. Methods Population-based study of AAV patients diagnosed from January 2000 to December
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Tendon involvement and its association with pain and hand function in patients with osteoarthritis of the hand Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Irina Gessl, Anna Vinatzer, Gabriela Supp, Michael Zauner, Martina Durechova, Lisa Lechner, Valentin Ritschl, Josef Smolen, Tanja Stamm, Daniel Aletaha, Peter Mandl
Objective To characterise the frequency and influence of tenosynovitis and tendon damage on pain and hand function using clinical examination and ultrasound (US) in hand osteoarthritis (HOA). Methods We included 86 patients with HOA and 23 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Extensor and flexor tendons of both hands were assessed by clinical examination and US for tenosynovitis, tendon damage. Conventional
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Kidney whole-transcriptome profiling in primary antiphospholipid syndrome reveals complement, interferons and NETs-related gene expression Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Maria G Tektonidou, Kleio-Maria Verrou, Harikleia Gakiopoulou, Menelaos Manoloukos, Panagiotis Lembessis, Pantelis Hatzis, Petros P Sfikakis
Objective Pathogenesis of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) remains poorly elucidated. We aimed to evaluate for the first time kidney transcriptome profiles in primary APS vs systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and control subjects. Methods We performed RNA sequencing on archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded kidney biopsies from APS (n = 4), SLE (n = 5) and control (n = 3) individuals, differential
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Association of rare single nucleotide variant MUC5B rs35705950 with interstitial lung disease in Japanese rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Takashi Higuchi, Shomi Oka, Kota Shimada, Shinichiro Tsunoda, Satoshi Ito, Akira Okamoto, Misuzu Fujimori, Tadashi Nakamura, Masao Katayama, Michita Suzuki, Koichiro Saisho, Satoshi Shinohara, Toshihiro Matsui, Kiyoshi Migita, Shouhei Nagaoka, Shigeto Tohma, Hiroshi Furukawa
Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is sometimes complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD) with a poor prognosis. A single nucleotide variant (SNV) in MUC5B was associated with ILD in European RA patients. However, associations of this SNV were not found in Japanese RA patients, because its frequency in Japanese populations is very low. We investigated the associations of candidate SNVs including
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De novo manifestations during adalimumab treatment in Behçet’s syndrome Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Sinem Nihal Esatoglu, Ozge Sonmez, Didar Ucar, Elif Kaymaz, Yesim Ozguler, Serdal Ugurlu, Emire Seyahi, Melike Melikoglu, Izzet Fresko, Vedat Hamuryudan, Ugur Uygunoglu, Zekayi Kutlubay, Ali Ibrahim Hatemi, Aykut Ferhat Celik, Gulen Hatemi
Objectives Treatment response may be variable across organ manifestations of Behçet syndrome (BS). We aimed to determine the frequency of de novo manifestations during adalimumab treatment. Methods We conducted a chart review of all BS patients who received adalimumab in our center between 2008 and 2023. Demographic data, reasons for initiating adalimumab, concurrent medications, previous treatments
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Relapses and serious adverse events during rituximab maintenance therapy in ANCA-associated vasculitis: a multicentre retrospective study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Chrysoula G Gialouri, Aglaia Chalkia, Christos Koutsianas, Katerina Chavatza, Evangelia Argyriou, Alexandros Panagiotopoulos, Anastasios Karamanakos, Aikaterini Dimouli, Christina Tsalapaki, Konstantinos Thomas, Philippos Orfanos, Pagona Lagiou, George Katsikas, Kyriaki Boki, Dimitrios Boumpas, Dimitrios Petras, Dimitrios Vassilopoulos
Objectives There are limited real-life data regarding the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) as a remission-maintenance agent in microscopic-polyangiitis (ΜPA) and granulomatosis-with-polyangiitis (GPA). We aimed to estimate the incidence and risk factors for relapses, as well serious-adverse-events (SAEs) in MPA/GPA patients during RTX-maintenance. Methods Retrospective cohort of newly-diagnosed/relapsing
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CT-based comprehensive scoring system for assessing hip arthropathy in ankylosing spondylitis: feasibility study with clinical correlation Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-07 Flavio Duarte Silva, Alipio G Ormond Filho, Thauana L de Oliveira, Dhilip Andrew, Avneesh Chhabra, Marcelo M Pinheiro, Yin Xi, Artur da Rocha Correa Fernandes, Marcelo A C Nico, Andre Y Aihara
Objective To develop a CT-based scoring system for assessment of hip arthropathy in AS. Methods All AS patients were prospectively recruited, consented, and underwent whole-body stereoradiographs and pelvis CT, which were assessed by two independent radiologists. Stereoradiographs were assessed according to Kellgreen-Lawrence and BASRI-h. For the Hip arthropathy CT score in AS (HACTSAS), joints were
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Changes of cerebral structure and perfusion in subtypes of systemic sclerosis: a brain magnetic resonance imaging study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-05 Xinyu Tong, Huilin He, Shihan Xu, Rui Shen, Zihan Ning, Xiaofeng Zeng, Qian Wang, Zuo-Xiang He, Dong Xu, Xihai Zhao
Objectives The characteristics of brain impairment in different subtypes of systemic sclerosis (SSc) (dcSSc, diffuse cutaneous SSc; lcSSc, limited cutaneous SSc) remain unclear. This study aimed to characterize cerebral structure and perfusion changes in different subtype of SSc patients using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Methods Seventy SSc patients (46.0 ± 11.7 years, 62 females) and 30 healthy
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Severe haematological involvement in children with systemic lupus erythematosus and clinical associations Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-02 Hakan Kisaoglu, Seher Sener, Kaan Can Demirbas, Yasemin Demir Yigit, Pinar Garipcin, Serkan Coşkun, Hatice Melisa Kacmaz, Rabia Miray Kisla Ekinci, Kubra Ozturk, Oya Koker, Kubra Ucak, Serife Tuncez, Gulsah Kilbas, Nihal Karacayir, Gulcan Ozomay Baykal, Sema Nur Taskın, Burcu Bozkaya, Ozge Baba, Selcan Demir, Ozge Basaran, Sezgin Sahin, Esra Baglan, Nihal Sahin, Vildan Gungorer, Aysenur Pac Kısaarslan
Objectives To investigate the severe haematological involvement in children with SLE and assess its clinical associations, treatments, outcome and damage accrual. Methods The medical charts of children with SLE in whom haematological involvement was observed were reviewed. Severe haematological indices were defined as autoimmune haemolytic anaemia with a haemoglobin concentration < 8 g/dL, thrombocyte
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Positive and negative controls in rheumatology research Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-02 Adam Kelly, Kylie Carlson, Zach Wallace, Michael Putman
Observational research from large population databases may be affected by unmeasured confounding and time-related biases, such as immortal time bias. Modern causal inference practice applies propensity score-based methods, new-user designs, and other strategies to mitigate bias. The degree to which these methodologic approaches adequately address bias for any particular study may be difficult to measure
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ANA-arthritis: clinical and biomarker characterization of a population for basket trials Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-01 Jack Arnold, Lucy M Carter, Md Yuzaiful Md Yusof, Katie Dutton, Zoe Wigston, Shouvik Dass, Samuel Wood, Samuel Relton, Edward M Vital
Objectives ANA-associated RMDs (ANA-RMDs—SLE, pSS, scleroderma, inflammatory myositis, mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) and undifferentiated connective tissue disease) are a disease spectrum with overlapping clinical and immunological features. Musculoskeletal inflammation is common and impactful across ANA-RMDs. We evaluated musculoskeletal inflammation (ANA-arthritis) prevalence in a multi-disease
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Management and outcomes of interstitial lung disease associated with anti-synthetase syndrome: A systematic literature review Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-01 Koushan Kouranloo, Mrinalini Dey, Helen Elwell, Veronica Yioe, Lisa G Spencer, Caroline V Cotton
Background Anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS) is a chronic autoimmune condition, with interstitial lung disease (ILD) being a key feature. This systematic literature review (SLR; CRD42023416414) aimed to summarise treatments and outcomes of ILD associated with ASS (ASS-ILD). Methods Databases were searched for articles discussing ASS-ILD management and outcomes, published 1946-September 2023. Screening
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Autoantibodies to joint-related peptides as predictive markers in early rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-30 Monica Leu Agelii, Outi Sareila, Erik Lönnblom, Lei Cheng, Kristina Forslind, Ingiäld Hafström, Maria Andersson, Alf Kastbom, Christopher Sjöwall, Lennart T H Jacobsson, Jan Kihlberg, Rikard Holmdahl, Inger Gjertsson
Objective For better management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new biomarkers are needed to predict the development of different disease courses. This study aims to identify autoantibodies against epitopes on proteins in the joints and to predict disease outcome in patients with new onset RA. Methods Sera from new onset RA patients from the Swedish BARFOT and TIRA-2 cohorts (n = 1986) were screened
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Elicitation of expert prior opinion to design the BARJDM trial in juvenile dermatomyositis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-29 Charalampia Papadopoulou, Neil Martin, Nadia Rafiq, Liza McCann, Giulia Varner, Kerstin Nott, Sandrine Compeyrot-Lacassagne, Maria Leandro, Charlene Foley, Kishore Warrier, Nathan Green, Mandy Wan, Hakim-Moulay Dehbi, John Whitehead, Despina Eleftheriou, Paul Brogan
: Objectives To elicit and quantify expert opinion concerning the relative merits of two treatments for a rare inflammatory disease: Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). The formal expression of expert opinion reported in this paper will be used in a Bayesian analysis of a forthcoming randomised controlled trial known as BARJDM (baricitinib for juvenile dermatomyositis). Methods A Bayesian prior elicitation
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Improved diagnostic accuracy for polymyalgia rheumatica using FDG-PET/CT with clinical diagnosis or 2012 ACR/EULAR classification criteria Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-27 Andreas Wiggers Nielsen, Kornelis S M van der Geest, Ib Tønder Hansen, Berit Dalsgaard Nielsen, Søren Geill Kjær, Jesper Blegvad-Nissen, Pieter H Nienhuis, Maria Sandovici, Kate Rewers, Christian Møller Sørensen, Riemer H J A Slart, Lars Christian Gormsen, Elisabeth Brouwer, Ellen-Margrethe Hauge, Kresten Krarup Keller
Objective In routine care, clinicians may employ 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET/CT to validate their initial clinical diagnosis of PMR. Nevertheless, the diagnostic utility of combining FDG-PET/CT findings with clinical presentation has not been explored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether the diagnostic accuracy for PMR could be enhanced by combining FDG-PET/CT findings
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Submandibular gland tissue RNAseq and spatial transcriptome analyses in IgG4-related disease Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-26 Motohisa Yamamoto, Ryuta Kamekura, Masaaki Uehara, Yuta Ichii, Tomonao Tanaka, Satsuki Aochi, Ken-ichi Takano
Objective To identify genes that could provide clues leading to the discovery of drugs to treat IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). Methods Submandibular gland tissue bulk RNAseq analysis of 45 cases with a definite diagnosis of IgG4-RD was integrated with Visium spatial transcriptome analysis of 2 cases to identify pathogenic genes expressed in tertiary lymphoid tissues. Results Bulk RNAseq and pathway
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Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis With And Without Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies: A Case-Control Study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-26 Marta Casal Moura, Sam Falde, Sanjeev Sethi, Fernando C Fervenza, Ulrich Specks, Misbah Baqir
Background ANCA-negative GPA remains a diagnosis of exclusion. Clinical differences between patients with ANCA-negative vs ANCA-positive GPA have not been analyzed in sizable case-control studies, and the effects of ANCA-seroconversion from negative to positive are not well documented. Methods A single-center, sex, and age matched case-control study evaluated ANCA-negative vs ANCA-positive GPA from
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A novel inhibitory pathway of synovial inflammation exerted by glucocorticoids and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors via lymphocyte activation gene-3 up-regulation: an ex-vivo study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-25 Smadar Gertel, Ari Polachek, Tali Eviatar, Ori Elkayam, Victoria Furer
Objective To investigate the impact of glucocorticoids (GCs) and anti-rheumatic drugs on the lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) and on programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) expression on synovial and peripheral cells ex-vivo. Methods Synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) from psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 26) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 13) patients, SFCs from osteoarthritis (OA, n = 5) patients
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Distinctive clinical traits of lupus-related myocarditis: a multicentre retrospective study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-25 Giuseppe A Ramirez, Noora E A Holopainen, Maria Gerosa, Giacomo De Luca, Chiara Bellocchi, Daniel Arroyo-Sánchez, Simone Sala, Giovanni Peretto, Luca Moroni, Francesca Mastropaolo, Lorenza M Argolini, Giuseppe Pizzetti, Anna Palmisano, Antonio Esposito, Adriana Cariddi, Silvia Sartorelli, Corrado Campochiaro, Lorenzo Beretta, Enrica P Bozzolo, Roberto Caporali, Lorenzo Dagna
Objectives Cardiovascular involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is frequent but little is known about possible distinctive traits of SLE-related myocarditis (myoSLE) in comparison to patients with SLE (onlySLE) or myocarditis alone (onlyMyo). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed comparing patients with myoSLE (n = 25) from three centres with consecutive patients with onlySLE (n
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TNF-alpha blockade in Primary Chronic Non-Bacterial Osteomyelitis of the Mandible Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-24 Jeanne de La Rochefoucauld, Raphaël Lhote, Mourad-Azzedine Benassarou, Thomas Schouman, Chloé Bertolus, Zahir Amoura, Miguel Hié
Objectives Primary chronic Non-Bacterial Osteomyelitis of the jaw is a rare auto-inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology that bears pathophysiological resemblance to both the synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome in adults and chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) in children. Both SAPHO and CRMO respond to TNF-alpha blockade. Previously reported treatment
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Sex differences in patient-reported outcomes and the association with clinical factors in axial spondyloarthritis patients treated with tumour necrosis factor inhibitors Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-23 Pasoon Hellamand, Marleen G H van de Sande, Michael T Nurmohamed, Ronald F van Vollenhoven, Rosemary J Hollick, Ovidiu Rotariu, Ziga Rotar, Katja P Pirkmajer, Dan Nordström, Anna-Mari Hokkanen, Brigitte Michelsen, Tore K Kvien, Bente Glintborg, Merete L Hetland, Mikkel Østergaard, Anne G Loft, Karel Pavelka, Jakub Zavada, Isabel Castrejon, Lucia Otero-Varela, Bjorn Gudbjornsson, Olafur Palsson, Tor
Objectives To investigate sex differences in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) among axSpA patients initiating their first TNFi and identify factors contributing to these disparities over the follow-up. Methods Data were included from 15 EuroSpA registries and consisted of axSpA patients initiating their first TNFi, with ≥2 measurements for each analysed PROM (BASDAI and BASFI, scale 0–100)
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Immunosuppressives discontinuation after renal response in lupus nephritis: predictors of flares, time to withdrawal and long-term outcomes Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-20 Alexandros Panagiotopoulos, Eleni Kapsia, Ioannis El Michelakis, John Boletis, Smaragdi Marinaki, Petros P Sfikakis, Maria G Tektonidou
Objectives The optimal duration of immunosuppressive (IS) treatment for lupus nephritis (LN) remains uncertain. We assessed the prevalence and predictors of IS tapering and discontinuation (D/C) in LN patients. Methods Data from 137 inception cohort LN patients were analyzed. We examined determinants of flares during tapering and after IS D/C, D/C achievement and time to D/C, and adverse long-term
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Magnetic resonance imaging to monitor disease activity in giant cell arteritis treated with ultra-short glucocorticoids and tocilizumab Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-20 Lisa Christ, Harald M Bonel, Jennifer L Cullmann, Luca Seitz, Lukas Bütikofer, Franca Wagner, Peter M Villiger
Objectives MRI is well established for diagnosing GCA. Its role in monitoring disease activity has yet to be determined. We investigated vascular and musculoskeletal inflammation using MRI in the patients of the GUSTO trial to assess the utility of MRI in monitoring disease activity. Methods Eighteen patients with newly diagnosed GCA received 500 mg methylprednisolone intravenously for 3 consecutive
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Unveiling the dynamics of B lymphocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus patients treated with belimumab through longitudinal single-cell RNA sequencing Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-20 So-Young Bang, Christine Suh-Yun Joh, Takahiro Itamiya, Soyoung Jeong, Jung-Ho Lee, Haeyoon Kwon, Hyunjin Jin, Jaewon Jung, Hyeyeon Chung, Brian H Lee, Jeong-Ryul Gong, Kazuyoshi Ishigaki, Keishi Fujio, Sang-Cheol Bae, Hyun Je Kim, Hye-Soon Lee
Objectives Unraveling the mechanisms underlying treatment response for targeted therapeutics in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients is challenging due to the limited understanding of diverse responses of circulating immune cells, particularly B cells. We investigated B lymphocyte dynamics during anti-BAFF treatment, utilizing longitudinal single-cell transcriptome data. Methods We conducted
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Distinct phenotype and prognosis of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy based on clinical-serological-pathological classification Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-19 Hongxia Yang, Lining Zhang, Xiaolan Tian, Wenli Li, Qingyan Liu, Qinglin Peng, Wei Jiang, Guochun Wang, Xin Lu
Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of patients with immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) based on clinical, serological and pathological classification. Methods A total of 138 patients with IMNM who met the 2018 European Neuromuscular Center criteria for IMNM including 62 anti-SRP, 32 anti-HMGCR-positive and 44 myositis specific antibody-negative
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Development of a measuring app for systemic sclerosis-related digital ulceration (SALVE: Scleroderma App for Lesion VErification) Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-18 Adrian K Davison, Ashma Krishan, Robert P New, Andrea Murray, Graham Dinsdale, Joanne Manning, Frances Hall, John D Pauling, Andy Vail, Kathryn Kearney, Helen Patrick, Michael Hughes, William Dixon, Mark Dickinson, Chris Taylor, Ariane L Herrick
Objectives To test the hypothesis that photographs (in addition to self-reported data) can be collected daily by patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) using a smartphone app designed specifically for digital lesions, and could provide an objective outcome measure for use in clinical trials. Methods An app was developed to collect images and patient reported outcome measures (PROMS) including Pain
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Subclinical Aortic Inflammation in Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-18 Mahmut S Kaymakci, Gerald J Berry, Hannah E Langenfeld, Andrew C Hanson, Cynthia S Crowson, Melanie C Bois, Hartzell V Schaff, Yuki Sato, Kevin-Phu C Le, Matthew J Koster, Cornelia M Weyand, Kenneth J Warrington
Objectives To examine the clinicopathologic features of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) who had thoracic aorta repair surgery. Findings were compared with those of a cohort of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) requiring thoracic aorta repair. Methods All patients evaluated at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, with Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for thoracic aorta repair surgery
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Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis and serious infections in granulomatosis with polyangiitis treated with rituximab Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-18 Arielle Mendel, Hassan Behlouli, Évelyne Vinet, Jeffrey R Curtis, Sasha Bernatsky
Objective To assess the association of trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) prophylaxis with serious infections in rituximab-treated patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Methods This retrospective cohort study included adults with GPA (2011–2020) within the United States Merative™ Marketscan® Research Databases with ≥6 months enrolment prior to first (index) rituximab treatment
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Do functionality, strength, vascularization, inflammatory and biopsychosocial status improve by biopsychosocial model-based exercise in SSc? Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-17 Orkun Tüfekçi, Edibe Ünal, Batuhan Erhan Aktaş, Aziz Anıl Tan, İrem Hartuç Çevik, Erdem Karabulut, Aslı Pınar, Feza Korkusuz, Mehmet Ruhi Onur, Sedat Kiraz, Ali Akdoğan
Objectives This study aimed to investigation of the effects of the Cognitive Exercise Therapy Approach (Bilişsel Egzersiz Terapi Yaklaşımı-BETY), a supervised biopsychosocial model-based exercise intervention, on functionality, muscle strength, vascularization, anti-inflammatory and biopsychosocial status in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) patients. Methods Thirty-seven SSc patients were included. Twenty
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HLA-B5 prevalence in patients with spondyloarthritis and impact on disease phenotype: a multicentric case-control study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-16 Nelly Ziade, Sarah Bou Jaoude, Rhéa Nacouzi, Kamel Mroue’, Georges Merheb, Samira Klayme, Pierre Ghorra
Objective The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of HLA-B51 and HLA-B52 in Lebanese patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) compared to healthy controls (HC). We further aimed to evaluate the impact of HLA-B51 on phenotype and identify the distribution of the alleles in the HLA-B locus. Methods A case-control study enrolled consecutive SpA patients from three rheumatology clinics in Lebanon, including
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Long-term outcomes of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-13 A Mirguet, F A Aeschlimann, I Lemelle, R Jaussaud, P Decker, T Moulinet, S Mohamed, P Quartier, M Hofer, O Boyer, A Belot, A Hummel, N Costedoat-Chalumeau, B Bader-Meunier
Objective Data on the long-term outcome of patients with childhood-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (cSLE) are scarce. Aims of this study were to describe the long-term outcomes of cSLE and to identify factors associated with the development of damage and persistent disease activity. Methods We conducted a retrospective multicentre study using data from the PEDIALUP registry of the Juvenile Inflammatory
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A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized multiple dose phase 1b trial of a CDK4/6 inhibitor, TCK-276, in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-13 Daisuke Tasaki, Kazuoki Tsuruda, Shosho Sun, Yoshinori Tsumura, Satoshi Asano, Yuki Suzuki, Shunsuke Tsujimoto, Daishiro Miura, Hiroaki Sato
Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy (as an exploratory endpoint) of TCK-276, a novel CDK4/6 inhibitor, after multiple oral doses for 7 days in patients with active RA. Methods This multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ascending, double-blind, phase 1b, multiple-dose study included 32 patients with active RA in 4 cohorts
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The impact of periodontitis and periodontal treatment on rheumatoid arthritis outcomes: an exploratory clinical trial Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-13 Daniela S Silva, Charlotte De Vries, João Rovisco, Sara Serra, Marta Kaminska, Piotr Mydel, Karin Lundberg, José P Silva, Isabel P Baptista
Objective Studies suggest rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients could benefit from periodontal treatment. However, published data are inconsistent, and there is a need for better-controlled research. Our study aims to address these limitations. Methods In this exploratory randomised delayed-start study, 22 RA patients with moderate/severe periodontitis were subjected to full-mouth debridement. Periodontal
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Avacopan for anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies-associated vasculitis: a multicenter real-world study Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-13 Charlotte Gabilan, Julie Belliere, Olivier Moranne, Pierre Pfirmann, Maxime Samson, Vincent Delattre, Benjamin Thoreau, Victor Gueutin, Annabel Boyer, Amélie Leurs, Quentin Astouati, Charles Ronsin, Thomas Quemeneur, David Ribes, Alexandre Karras, Stanislas Faguer
Objectives Avacopan, a selective C5aR1 inhibitor, recently emerged as a glucocorticoid (GCs) sparing agent in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). We aim to evaluate the tolerance and efficacy of avacopan given outside randomized clinical trials or with severe kidney involvement. Methods In this multicentre retrospective study, we reviewed the clinical charts of patients with AAV and contraindication
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Impact of conventional and biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs on arterial lesions in Takayasu arteritis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-06 Diego Bletry, Louis Meyblum, Kristell Desseaux, Mathieu Vautier, Laurent Chiche, Alexandre Le Joncour, Alban Redheuil, Charles Roux, Patrice Cacoub, Julien Gaudric, Lucie Biard, David Saadoun
Background The definition of Takayasu arteritis (TAK) remission and disease activity is still unclear. Vascular imaging is an essential tool for following-up patients. Herein, we aimed to compare the evolution of vascular lesions (i.e. vessel wall thickening and stenosis) under conventional cDMARDs relatively to biological DMARDs (bDMARDs) in TAK patients followed with the same CT angiography modalities
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Refining treat-to-target strategies in cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes: the role of inflammatory markers Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-06 Özlem Satirer, Tatjana Welzel, Beate Zapf, Susanne M Benseler, Jasmin B Kuemmerle-Deschner
Objectives Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) encompasses a spectrum of IL-1 driven systemic diseases with dramatic individual and societal burden. The study aimed to identify parameters and instruments to refine real-life treat-to-target (T2T) strategies and control CAPS disease activity. Methods A single-centre, longitudinal study of consecutive children and adults diagnosed with CAPS
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Could tocilizumab be used in familial Mediterranean Fever? A systematic review Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-01 P Mertz, V Hentgen, S Georgin-Lavialle
Introduction Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common monogenic autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent fever and serosal inflammation. Although colchicine is the primary treatment, around 10% of FMF patients do not respond to it, necessitating alternative therapies. Biologic treatments, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), TNF-α, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors, have been considered
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Do quality of life and work productivity change in early axial spondyloarthritis and non-axial spondyloarthritis patients after two years? Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-06-28 Ana Bento da Silva, Sofia Ramiro, Anne Boel, Miranda van Lunteren, Mary Lucy Marques, Marleen van de Sande, Camilla Fongen, Sofia Exarchou, Roberta Ramonda, Désirée van der Heijde, Floris van Gaalen
: Objective To compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and non-axSpA patients with chronic back pain of < 2 years (2 y). Methods Baseline and 2 y data of patients included in the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early cohort were analyzed. HRQoL was assessed by the physical (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores of the 36-Item Short-Form
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Microwave ablation of synovial hypertrophy in recurrent monoarthritis: The results of extended cohort and long-term follow-up Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-06-28 Rabia Deniz, Tevfik Güzelbey, İlhanNahit Mutlu, Çağrı Erdim, Bilgin Karaalioğlu, Duygu Sevinç Özgür, Gamze Akkuzu, Kübra Kalkan, Özgür Kılıçkesmez, Cemal Bes
Objectives Recurrent monoarthritis (RM) is a major challenge of many rheumatic diseases. Ablation is a well-known technique in the treatment of benign or malign lesions of different etiologies. We aimed to to investigate the success and safety of microwave ablation (MWA) as an adjunctive therapy in a cohort of medical treatment-resistant RM. Methods Patients with RM associated with different inflammatory
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Performance of clinical and histological prognostic scores for kidney survival in ANCA-associated vasculitis Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-06-14 Marlon J Sandino-Bermúdez, Adriana Hernández-Andrade, Andrea Hinojosa-Azaola, Eduardo Martín-Nares, Juan M Mejía-Vilet
Objectives Integrating clinical and histological parameters into prognostic scores may enhance the prediction of progression to kidney failure in anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies-associated vasculitis (AAV). This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic performance of histological classifications and scoring systems for kidney survival in AAV. Methods This retrospective cohort study included 101
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Effect of using the Simple Erosion Narrowing Score or Sharp/van der Heijde score on power of rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials to detect differences in radiographic progression Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-06-13 Nathan den Broeder, Thomas E Bolhuis, Noortje van Herwaarden, Sytske Anne Bergstra, Chantal A M Bouman, Frank H J van den Hoogen, Lise M Verhoef, Alfons A den Broeder, Aatke van der Maas
Objectives The Simple Erosion Narrowing Score (SENS) is a simplification of the Sharp/van der Heijde score (SHS). Previous studies found SENS and SHS to have very similar measurement properties, but suggest that SENS has a lower discriminative ability that may result in reduced power. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the effect of using SENS rather than SHS on the power to show between-group differences
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Plasma interferon-alpha protein levels during pregnancy are associated with lower birth weight in systemic lupus erythematosus Rheumatology (IF 4.7) Pub Date : 2024-06-12 Marit Stockfelt, Agnes Torell, Iva Gunnarsson, Elisabet Svenungsson, Agneta Zickert, Maria Majcuk Sennström, Estelle Trysberg, Anders A Bengtsson, Andreas Jönsen, Helena Strevens, Christopher Sjöwall, Muna Saleh, Sofia Pihl, Dag Leonard, Lars Rönnblom, Tansim Akhter, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Bo Jacobsson, Anna-Carin Lundell, Anna Rudin
OBJECTIVES Adverse pregnancy outcomes are more common in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with healthy women, but we lack prognostic biomarkers. Plasma interferon alpha (IFNα) protein levels are elevated in a subgroup of pregnant women with SLE, but whether this is associated with pregnancy outcomes is unknown. We investigated the relationship between IFNα, adverse pregnancy outcomes