Clinical Rheumatology

OBJECTIVE: To describe the trends in remission rates among RA patients in the OPAL dataset, spanning from 2009 to 2022, and provide insights into the effectiveness of evolving RA management approaches in real-world clinical settings. METHODS: Patients with a physician diagnosis of RA and at least 3 visits between 1 January 2009 and December 2022 were identified in the OPAL dataset, an aggregated collection of data extracted from the electronic medical records of patients managed by 117 Australian rheumatologists...

INTRODUCTION: Sit-to-stand (STS) movement is fundamental in daily life. STS tasks have been used to assess lower limb muscle strength, balance control, and functional abilities in various populations, but limited information is available on their use in older individuals with knee osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE: We here examined the intra-rater, inter-rater, and test-retest reliability of the 30-s and 5-time STS tests, and calculated the standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change (MDC)...

Moyamoya syndrome (MMS) is a rare, chronic, progressive cerebrovascular disorder characterized by stenosis at the apices of the intracranial internal carotid arteries, including the proximal anterior cerebral arteries and middle cerebral arteries. Cerebral angiography images are used for detection through measurement. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that can cause multisystemic involvement. The coexistence of SLE and MMS has been rarely reported in the literature. A 46-year-old male patient with malar rash, Raynaud phenomenon presented to the hospital with a complaint of weakness in the left lower extremity, which began 3 days before the date of the visit...

OBJECTIVES: Gout is characterized by hyperuricemia and recurrent inflammatory episodes caused by intra-articular crystal deposition of monosodium urate (MSU). There is a clear relationship between gout and metabolic syndrome. Recent evidence indicates that perforin plays a role in regulating glucose homeostasis and provides protection in diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis models. However, the impact of perforin on immune inflammation in gout remains unclear. METHODS: We induced acute gout models in both wild-type (WT) mice and Prf1null mice by administering intra-articular injections of MSU crystals...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine pre-treatment and post-treatment hemogram-derived inflammatory biomarkers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who received anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data of 1182 patients with RA were screened. Among them, 207 patients who met the eligibility criteria were included in the retrospective study. Demographic parameters, disease activity, and blood cell-derived indexes were evaluated...

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INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to assess the cultural adaptation, validity, and reliability of the Turkish version of the Juvenile Arthritis Quality of Life Questionnaire (JAQQ) in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS: A total of 100 JIA patients (64% female), aged 9 to 18 years, participated in the study conducted at a tertiary care university hospital. The JAQQ was culturally adapted through a rigorous translation process and administered alongside established measures, including the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ), Juvenile Arthritis Biopsychosocial Questionnaire (JABQ), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to explore the relationship between clinical characteristics and circulating lymphocyte profiles in Chinese male patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). METHOD: Data from 397 patients with pSS were analyzed retrospectively. 37 were male, which is a prevalence of 9.3%. The clinical, laboratory, and immunophenotypic profiles of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were compared between male and female pSS patients. RESULTS: Male patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome have unique clinical manifestations and circulating lymphocyte profiles...

OBJECTIVE: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease with unknown etiology that is considered to be related to environmental and genetic factors. The aim of this study was to clarify the oral microflora characteristics of pSS patients and to reveal the connection between oral bacterial composition and dental caries using a high-throughput sequencing technique. METHODS: Thirty-five pSS patients and 20 healthy controls were enrolled in this study...

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to investigate the correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and disease remission in Takayasu arteritis (TAK) patients. METHODS: This retrospective study included 59 patients in the study group and 80 patients in the validation cohort with TAK. After 6 months of therapy, patients were re-evaluated, and serum 25(OH)D levels were compared before and after treatment. Correlations between changes in 25(OH)D levels and changes in disease activity scores (NIH, ITAS2010, ITAS...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the latent class of psychological resilience in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and examine the factors influencing various latent types. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. A total of 480 patients with RA were enrolled from two tertiary care institutions in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, between May and November 2023, using the convenience sample approach. The General Information Questionnaire, CD-RISC-10, SSRS, ASES-8, and BRAF-MDQ were used to analyze the latent classes of psychological resilience in the respondents, and the factors influencing the latent classes were explored using one-way analysis of variance, analysis of variance, and multi-categorical logistic regression analysis...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at identifying clinical and laboratory risk factors for myocardial involvement (MI) in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) patients as well as constructing a risk-predicted nomogram for prediction and early identification of MI. METHODS: An IIMs cohort in southeastern China was constructed, including 504 adult IIMs patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and were hospitalized at four divisions of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 1st 2018 to April 30st 2022...

BACKGROUND: Enthesopathy is considered a crucial aspect of assessment and outcome in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is a critical tool for accurately detecting enthesitis. Recent research focuses on identifying simple biomarkers for detecting and monitoring psoriatic enthesopathy. Red cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are components of a complete blood count (CBC) and are reliable bio-inflammatory markers in various rheumatic diseases...

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OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for the development of non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 517 SLE patients and 1034 age-and sex-matched healthy population was conducted to compare the prevalence of NTIS in these two groups, and to analyze the laboratory and clinical characteristics of SLE patients with NTIS. Finally Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for NTIS in SLE patients...

OBJECTIVES: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex immune-mediated connective tissue disease, involving skin manifestations, vascular features, and organ-based complications that may affect functional capacity and physical activity. Functional capacity and physical activity are associated with arterial stiffness; however, this relationship has not been evaluated in patients with SSc. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the association of functional capacity and physical activity with arterial stiffness in patients with SSc...

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