Modern Rheumatology

Little is known about the association between coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] and autoimmune diseases, especially for systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]. SLE patients meet with a throng of questions during the pandemic, including minimize the risk of infection, the complex pathological features and cytokine profiles, diagnosis and treatment, rational choice of drugs and vaccine, good nursing and psychological supervision, etc. In this study, we review and discuss the multifaceted effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients living with SLE using the available literatures...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the usefulness and onset of nocebo effects after switching from original etanercept (ETN) to a biosimilar (BS) in routine clinical practice at rheumatology clinics in Japan (13 sites). METHODS: A total of 165 patients (87.0% female, age = 57.88 ± 15.07 years, disease duration = 10.32 ± 7.71 years), whose low disease activity was maintained with the original ETN for 12 weeks or longer, and who agreed to switch treatment to its BS, were included...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevention and development of cervical cancer in SLE patients in Japan and its background based on a questionnaire survey. METHODS: The questionnaire was handed to 460 adult female SLE patients at 12 medical institutions. The participants were grouped by age, and data related to their HPV vaccination status, age at first coitus, cervical cancer screening, and diagnosis of cervical cancer were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 320 responses were received...

OBJECTIVE: Poor sleep quality, such as nocturnal arousal and sleep inefficiency, is associated with frailty and sarcopenia. Herein, we evaluated the relationship between poor sleep quality and locomotive syndrome (LS), a motor organ dysfunction common among community-dwelling middle-aged and older women. METHODS: Participants comprised 2246 Japanese middle-aged and older women. LS was classified into stages LS-1, LS-2, and LS-3 (from least to most severe) according to results on the stand-up test, two-step test, and 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale...

OBJECTIVES: To assess clinical features in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in Japan by ICD-10 code assignment. METHODS: Demographics, treatment patterns, and concomitant diseases (identified using ICD-10 code only) in patients who were assigned the PMR ICD-10 code M35.3 at least once between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2020 were aggregated from a nationwide medical information database owned by the Health, Clinic, and Education Information Evaluation Institute...

OBJECTIVES: Several animal disease models have been used to understand the mechanisms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), however, translation of findings from animals to humans has not been sufficiently examined in drug development. To confirm the validity of NZB/W F1 mice as an SLE model, we extensively characterized SLE patients and NZB/W F1 mice by omics analysis. METHODS: Peripheral blood from patients and mice, and spleen and lymph node tissue from mice were analyzed using cell subset analysis, cytokine panel assays and transcriptome analysis...

OBJECTIVE: The present study compared the clinical features of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) with and without nephrolithiasis and/or nephrocalcinosis to determine factors related to renal dysfunction. METHODS: The clinical features of 68 patients with anti-SSA-antibody positive pSS with and without nephrolithiasis and/or nephrocalcinosis who underwent abdominal computed tomography and/or ultrasonography were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 68 patients with anti-SSA antibody positive pSS, 23 (33%) had renal nephrolithiasis and/or nephrocalcinosis, whereas 45 (67%) did not...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate differences in school performance, school attendance, quality of life and physical activity in adolescents with Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) compared to healthy controls. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-nine patients with FMF and 154 healthy controls between 13-18 years were included in the study. Demographic, school performance (according to grade point average), school absenteeism, type and frequency of exercise were recorded. Quality of life was evaluated with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4...

OBJECTIVES: The treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been greatly improved, and the tight control of disease activity yields superior clinical outcomes. This study aimed to elucidate the accompanying changes in hip destruction following the implementation of a treat-to-target strategy for patients with RA. METHODS: We extracted 190 hips over two periods, i.e., the early period (1998-2003) and late period (2013-2019), with 103 and 87 hips, respectively. The observed rheumatic changes, such as inward migration, upward migration, and femoral head collapse, were quantitatively evaluated, while osteoarthritic changes, such as the formation of a capital drop, were investigated from radiographs before primary total hip arthroplasty...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the mortality rate of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over the past 17 years. METHODS: Japanese patients with early RA enrolled in the Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort from 2001 to 2012 were classified into Group A (2001-2006) and B (2007-2012). The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and five-year survival rate were calculated. RESULTS: Groups A and B had 1,609 and 1,608 patients, of which 167 and 178 patients were lost during follow-up, and 47 and 45 deaths were confirmed, respectively...

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a nationwide epidemiological study to estimate the number of patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) in Japan and to describe the clinical characteristics of these patients. METHODS: The first survey was designed to estimate the number of patients with TAK and GCA who were treated at medical institutions in Japan in 2017. The second survey was designed to collect data on the clinical characteristics of the patients who were reported in the first survey...

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with plasma D-dimer levels in outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We consecutively recruited 460 RA patients who visited our hospital for routine follow-ups between June and October, 2021. Plasma D-dimer, RA-related characteristics, comorbidities, and cardiovascular and venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk factors were examined at enrollment. Patients with elevated D-dimer levels underwent whole-leg venous ultrasonography to diagnose deep vein thrombosis (DVT)...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the ACR/EULAR 2022 criteria with the previous classification algorithm for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: We used data from two nationwide, prospective, inception cohort studies. The enrolled patients were classified as having eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) according to the new criteria; these criteria were compared with Watts' algorithm...

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate vaccination coverage and the factors associated with non-vaccination for vaccine-preventable diseases among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: This single-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted in a 715-bed regional tertiary-care teaching hospital in Japan from 1 September to 30 November 2020. Vaccination status and the factors and reasons for not receiving the influenza vaccine, 23-valent-pneumococcal-polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23), 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), and varicella vaccine live (VVL) were investigated...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationships between type 1 interferon (T1-IFN) signatures and clinical characteristic in lupus patients. METHODS: We examined 49 patients with newly-onset patients, who were diagnosed between 1999 and 2017. The patients treated with more than 10 mg of prednisolone or hydroxychloroquine were excluded from this study. Serum T1-IFN signatures were revealed by a functional reporter assay, and standardized by recombinant IFN-α. Patient backgrounds, clinical findings and treatments were retrospectively extracted from their electrical medical records...

OBJECTIVES: Anti-asparaginyl tRNA synthetase (anti-KS) antibody is present in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) accompanied by polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM). We examined clinical/immunological features of these patients. METHODS: PM/DM or ILD patients were screened for autoantibodies and clinical/immunological data were collected retrospectively. ILD was diagnosed by computed tomography and clinical/immunological features of anti-KS positive patients were compared with anti-Jo-1 positive patients...

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OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether pSS patients with hyperglobulinemia have an increased risk of all-cause mortality. METHODS: Patients who registered in Chinese Rheumatism Data Centre from May 2016 to July 2021, and met the 2002 AECG criteria or 2016 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SS were included. Hyperglobulinemia was defined as any elevated serum levels of IgG, IgA, or IgM. The primary outcome was all-cause death. Data for demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory results, disease activity, damage scores, treatments were evaluated...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationships of disease severity with genotype and phenotype in adults familial Mediterranean fever patients. METHODS: Two-hundred and seventy-fivepatients included in the study were divided into 4 groups according to their mutations: Group 1, M694V homozygous; group 2, M694V-other; group 3, other-other; and group 4, no meaningful gene variants. Disease severity was evaluated using the Pras disease severity score. The association between Pras score and other possible predictors was assessed by the multiple linear regression analysis...

INTRODUCTION: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic disease and frequently occurs during the second-fourth decades of life, although disease onset may be seen at any age. This study aimed to analyze the influence of age of onset on clinical manifestations of BD. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This retrospective study analyzed two cohorts (pediatric and adult) to determine the association between the age of onset and clinical features in BD. Patients were classified into four groups to analyze the clinical characteristics according to the age of fulfilling the BD diagnostic criteria as follows: childhood-onset (<12 years), adolescent-onset (13-17 years), adult-onset (18-39 years), and late-onset (>40 years)...