Arthritis and rheumatism

Among the various treatments, induction of synoviocytes apoptosis by natural products during rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathological condition can be considered of vast potential. However, it is unclear that liquiritin, a kind of natural flavonoid extracted from the roots of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, induced the apoptosis of synovial membrane and its molecular mechanism. In this study, interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-RA-FLS cells were incubated with different concentration of liquiritin. MTT assay, Hoechst 33342 staining, JC-1 staining and western blot were used to check the viability, cell apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential changes and the expression of related proteins, respectively...

The relationship between inflammation and formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is still not completely understood and excessive inflammatory reaction is attributed to increased yet also to reduced ROS formation. To compare ROS formation in severe and low inflammation, neutrophil oxidative burst was analyzed in rheumatic patients before and during therapy with TNFα- or interleukin-6 receptor-neutralizing antibodies. Intracellular and extracellular ROS productions were evaluated on the basis of luminol- and isoluminol-enhanced chemiluminescence in isolated peripheral neutrophils...

We describe the clinical, histopathologic and immunohistochemical characteristics of episcleral/conjunctival pseudorheumatoid nodulosis, a new granulomatous entity that belongs among a group of related lesions. Specifically, pseudorheumatoid nodulosis should be differentiated from solitary rheumatoid nodules, rheumatoid nodulosis, accelerated rheumatoid nodules and nodulosis, and solitary pseudorheumatoid nodules. A 53-year-old man presented with bilateral painless, large, faintly yellow-grey, partially immobile, solid, circumscribed and occasionally confluent episcleral nodules of several months' duration...

BACKGROUND: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and the involvement of multiple internal organs. Previous studies reported poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with SSc compared with the general population. However, very little is known about how HRQoL in SSc patients compares with that in patients with other systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and Sjogren's syndrome (SjS)...

OBJECTIVE: The OMERACT Safety Working Group is identifying core safety domains that matter most to rheumatic disease patients. METHODS: International focus groups were held with 39 inflammatory arthritis patients to identify DMARD experiences and concerns. Themes were identified by pragmatic thematic coding and discussed in small groups by meeting attendees. RESULTS: Patients view DMARD side effects as a continuum and consider cumulative impact on day-to-day function...

OBJECTIVE: Although smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular and rheumatic disease severity, only 10% of rheumatology visits document cessation counseling. After implementing a rheumatology clinic protocol that increased tobacco quitline referrals 20-fold, current objectives were to 1) examine patients' barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation based on prior rheumatology experiences, 2) solicit reactions to the new cessation protocol, and 3) identify patient-centered outcomes or "signs of cessation progress" following improved care...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) on bone mineral density (BMD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with osteoporosis. METHODS: Patients with RA who were newly diagnosed with osteoporosis (T-score ≤ -2.5) between 2010 and 2017 were included. All patients received background bisphosphonate for treatment of osteoporosis. BMD was measured at baseline and after one year. To identify csDMARDs or other factors associated with significant increase in BMD (≥3%) at lumbar spine and femoral neck at one year, we performed logistic regression analysis...

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha (anti-TNF-α) therapy is known to raise the risk of granulomatous infections, leading to development of risk management strategies at national or global level. This study aimed to determine the relative risk (RR) of tuberculosis (TB) due to anti-TNF-α usage in patients with rheumatologic diseases (RDs) in a nationwide basis. METHOD: This retrospective cohort study included patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that treated with or without anti-TNF-α agents, as registered in the national prescription information system between years 2013 and 2015...

In recent years, low dose naltrexone (LDN) has been used as an off-label therapy for several chronic diseases. Results from small laboratory and clinical studies indicate some beneficial effects of LDN in autoimmune diseases, but clinical research on LDN in rheumatic disease is limited. Using a pharmacoepidemiological approach, we wanted to test the hypothesis that starting LDN leads to reduced dispensing of medicines used in the treatment of rheumatic disease. We performed a controlled before-after study based on the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD) to compare prescriptions to patients one year before and one year after starting LDN in 2013...

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the long-term course, remission rate and disease burden in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) 18 years after disease onset in a population-based setting from the early biologic era. METHODS: A total of 510 consecutive cases of JIA with disease onset between 1997 and 2000 from defined geographic regions in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland were prospectively included in this 18-year cohort study. At the follow-up visit, patient-reported, demographic and clinical data were collected...

AIM: To assess the real-world effectiveness and safety of rituximab (RTX) at 24 months in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to identify predictors of low disease activity/remission and a good European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response. METHODS: Seventy RTX-treated RA patients were enrolled. Predictors for low disease activity/remission and a good EULAR response at 24 months were identified by multivariate analyses. RESULTS: At 24 months, the mean Disease Activity Score of 28 joints-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) decreased from 6...

Clinical research is the study of aspects of patient health or illness that are closely related to clinical practice. In the late 20th and early 21th century, outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) improved dramatically due to breakthroughs in new drugs. Patient-reported outcome measures now play a significant role in the drug development process as study endpoints in clinical trials of new therapies, and this has led to increased interest in the patient's perspective, drug safety and treatment outcomes in clinical practice...

OBJECTIVE: To review the current literature, and evaluate the psychometric properties of disease damage indices in rheumatic diseases. METHODS: A search of Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to June 2018 to identify damage indices in all systemic rheumatic diseases. Articles were included in a systematic review if indices were composite (multi-organ) in nature and if adequate detail on methodology was described. Articles pertaining to the validation of these indices were also reviewed in order to assess the psychometric properties of the indices using the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Arthritis Clinical Trials (OMERACT) filter as a guide...

Introduction: To retrospectively evaluate the impact of comorbidities on treatment choice, 12-month clinical response, and 24-month retention rate in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with a first-line tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor (TNFi), by using for the first time the Rheumatic Disease Comorbidity Index (RDCI). Methods: The study population was extracted from a local registry of RA patients receiving adalimumab or etanercept as first-line biologics between January 2001 and December 2013...

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis patients are at increased risk for periprosthetic joint infection after arthroplasty. The reason is multifactorial. Nasal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is a modifiable risk factor; carriage rates in RA patients are unknown. The goal of this study is to determine the S aureus nasal carriage rates of RA patients on biologics, RA patients on traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and osteoarthritis. METHODS: Consecutive patients with RA on biologics (±DMARDs), RA on non-biologic DMARDs, or OA were prospectively enrolled from April 2017 to May 2018...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been related to an impairment of the nutritional status. Body mass index (BMI) has been used but questions arise about how to properly evaluate nutritional status in RA patients. Few studies have evaluated it by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.In women with RA, to analyze:Case-control study including 89 women with RA. The control group was composed by 100 patients affected by non-inflammatory rheumatic disorders. Study variables included age, RA duration, history, activity and disability, and in relation to nutritional status: BMI, serum albumin (ALB), whole body DXA assessment, and skeletal muscle index (SMI)...

CTLA-4-Ig exerts anti-rheumatic action via negative regulation of the co-stimulation process between antigen-presenting cells and T cells. CTLA-4-Ig also binds to CD80/CD86 on monocytes of osteoclast precursors. However, little is known about the effect of CTLA-4-Ig on osteoclastogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We evaluated here the effects of CTLA-4-Ig on osteoclast generation from human blood monocytes (PBM) and rheumatoid synovial fluid monocytes (RSFM). Highly purified monocytes were cultured with RANKL and M-CSF in the presence of CTLA-4-Ig...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate the effectiveness of first-line biologic disease modifying drugs(boDMARDs), and their approved biosimilars (bsDMARDs), compared with conventional (csDMARD) treatment, in terms of ACR (American College of Rheumatology) and EULAR (European League against Rheumatism) responses. METHODS: Systematic literature search, on eight databases to January 2017, sought ACR and EULAR data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of boDMARDs / bsDMARDs (in combination with csDMARDs, or monotherapy)...

The importance of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is increasingly recognised. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by activated neutrophils are both thought to contribute to pathology; although the underlying mechanisms, particularly the effects of IgG autoantibodies upon neutrophil function, are not fully understood. Therefore, we determined whether purified IgG from patients with SLE or RA have differential effects upon neutrophil activation and function...

BACKGROUND: There have been no reports on the relationship between lung radiological patterns and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity or RA treatment response in patients with RA-associated lung disease (RA-LD). METHODS: Patients with RA-LD who underwent treatment for RA from April 2005 to March 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. RA-LD patients were divided into three groups based on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) patterns [usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), and bronchiolitis]...