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ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
21403833 Benefits of exercise in rheumatoid arthritis. 2011 Feb 13 This paper aims to highlight the importance of exercise in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to demonstrate the multitude of beneficial effects that properly designed exercise training has in this population. RA is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune disease characterised by decrements to joint health including joint pain and inflammation, fatigue, increased incidence and progression of cardiovascular disease, and accelerated loss of muscle mass, that is, "rheumatoid cachexia". These factors contribute to functional limitation, disability, comorbidities, and reduced quality of life. Exercise training for RA patients has been shown to be efficacious in reversing cachexia and substantially improving function without exacerbating disease activity and is likely to reduce cardiovascular risk. Thus, all RA patients should be encouraged to include aerobic and resistance exercise training as part of routine care. Understanding the perceptions of RA patients and health professionals to exercise is key to patients initiating and adhering to effective exercise training.
21424366 [Progressive hoarseness]. 2011 Mar A 31-year-old female teacher presented with a 6-month history of progressive hoarseness. The rigid laryngeal endoscopy showed corresponding transversal cream-yellow nodular lesions in the submucosal space of the middle third of both vocal folds. These are characteristic for bamboo nodes which are rare and strongly associated with autoimmune disease. In the present case a hitherto undiscovered Sjögren syndrome was diagnosed. After surgical excision, local steroid therapy and voice training a considerable voice improvement could be achieved.
20361329 An adult onset Still's disease mimicking pneumonia. 2012 Aug Adult onset Still's disease is a rare systemic inflammatory disease of unknown origin. It is common to involve liver and spleen, and less often lungs. A 24-year-old man presenting with spiking fever, pulmonary infiltrations, and pleural effusion on the right side mimicking pneumonia. All serologic tests of infectious causes, antinuclear antibody, and rheumatoid factor were negative. He was diagnosed as Adult onset Still's disease according to the criteria of Yamaguchi. Adult onset Still's disease is considering in the differential diagnosis pneumonia that is unresponsive to antimicrobial treatment, negative cultures and serologically diagnostic laboratory tests, and high-level serum ferritin.
23211922 Juvenile Sjögren syndrome: distinctive age, unique findings. 2012 Sep Juvenile Sjögren's syndrome is a rare condition that affects children and adolescents with distinctive clinical features. Parotid swelling usually precedes regular oral and ocular symptoms, while typical serological findings may be absent. Hence, diagnosing juvenile Sjögren's syndrome may be challenging to the attending pediatric dentist, and long-term management without proper diagnosis may be jeopardized. The purpose of this report was to detail the features of an adolescent with primary Sjögren's syndrome diagnosed 12 years after the onset of the disease. An updated literature review highlighted the unusual aspects of the pediatric form of the disease.
21964038 [Sjögren's syndrome and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: from pathophysiology to treatment]. 2011 Dec Although infrequent, the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) during the course of Sjögren's syndrome represents a major complication. Nethertheless, most NHL developing in patients with Sjögren's syndrome are B cell lymphomas involving the marginal zone, localized to extranodal sites. Predictive factors include lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, neutropenia, cryoglobulinemia and low C4 levels. The treatment of B cell lymphomas depends on its nature and localization. Biotherapies targeting the B lymphocyte, such as rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, or more recently targeting BAFF can be proposed.
21274538 Therapeutic responses and prognosis in adult-onset Still's disease. 2012 May To date, the treatment of adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) has been largely empirical; therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the response to therapy and prognostic factors of AOSD. Fifty-four Korean patients with AOSD were enrolled based on Yamaguchi's criteria. We retrospectively analyzed the treatments and prognosis. Thirty-nine patients (72.2%) were female, and the average age at disease onset was 37.3 years. Twenty-nine patients had a monocyclic disease (53.7%), five had a polycyclic (9.3%) and fifteen had a chronic articular disease (27.7%) and five died (9.3%). The elevated ESR and corticosteroids refractoriness were associated with poor prognosis (P = 0.023 and P = 0.009, respectively). The patients that died were older than those survived (49.2 ± 11.8 vs. 42.2 ± 14 year old, P = 0.024). Forty-two patients were treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; however, they also needed corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). Among 50 patients treated with high-dose corticosteroids, 21 patients (42%) were resistant to corticosteroids and treated with IVIG or anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents. Of the 23 patients medicated with IVIG, the prognosis was better in IVIG-responsive patients, indicating a therapeutic effect. Methotrexate was the most commonly used disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (27 patients, 50%), and the corticosteroid requirements were lower in the methotrexate-responsive patients. Approximately half of AOSD patients had a poor prognosis and were corticosteroids resistance. An elevated ESR and non-response to corticosteroids were associated with poor prognosis. Patients who died were older than those survived.
20554085 [Association of Sjögren's syndrome and Plummer Vinson syndrome]. 2011 Feb Dysphagia is a common complaint of patients with Sjogren's syndrome, but its mechanism remains a subject of controversy. The association of Sjogren's syndrome with Plummer-Vinson syndrome remains uncommon. We report a 56-year-old women who presented both disorders. The diagnosis of the Plummer-Vinson syndrome was based on the classic triad of dysphagia, iron-deficiency anaemia and oesophageal webs. The diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome was based on the presence of three Fox criteria. This association should incite us to search for common immuno-genetic pathogenic factors between these two syndromes.
23365744 A synoviocyte model for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: response to Ibuprofen, be 2012 This study aimed at determining if synovial cell cultures from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), and healthy controls (HC) differ and are suitable disease models in pharmacological studies, and tested their response to some anti-inflammatory drugs. Synovial cells were isolated from synovial membrane or joint fluid. Cells were cultivated and exposed to no or TNF-α stimulation without, or in the presence of, betamethasone, ibuprofen, or a standardized ginger extract. Concentrations of a panel of cytokines, growth factors, and chemokines were mapped for each culture and condition. Our cells secreted an increased amount of the cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 in response to TNF-α stimulation in all conditions. OA cells showed a higher IL-6 and IL-8 and a lower IL-1β production, when not stimulated, than RA and HC cells, which were similar. TNF-α stimulation caused similar IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 release in all groups. Ibuprofen showed no effect on cytokine production, while ginger extract was similar to betamethasone. Ginger extract was as effective an anti-inflammatory agent as betamethasone in this in vitro model. Cultured fibroblast-like synoviocytes from OA and RA subjects promise to be a useful pharmacological disease model, but further studies, to support results from such a model are needed.
23209899 Autoimmune thyroid disease in rheumatoid arthritis: a global perspective. 2012 Objective. To determine the prevalence and impact of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. Eight-hundred patients were included. The association between AITD and RA was analyzed was analyzed by bivariate and multivariate analysis. In addition, a literature review was done focusing on geographical variations. Results. In our cohort the prevalence of AITD was 9.8% while the presence of antibodies was 37.8% for antithyroperoxidase enzyme (TPOAb) and 20.8% for antithyroglobulin protein (TgAb). The presence of type 2 diabetes, thrombosis, abnormal body mass index, and a high educational level was positively associated with AITD. The literature review disclosed a geographical variation of AITD in RA ranging from 0.5% to 27%. Autoantibody prevalence ranges from 6% to 31% for TgAb, 5% to 37% for TPOAb, and from 11.4% to 32% for the presence of either of the two. Conclusion. AITD is not uncommon in RA and should be systematically assessed since it is a risk factor for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These results may help to further study the common mechanisms of autoimmune diseases, to improve patients' outcome, and to define public health policies. An international consensus to accurately diagnose AITD is warranted.
22841377 B-cell populations and sub-populations in Sjögren's syndrome. 2012 Sep Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting exocrine glands, in particular the lacrimal and salivary glands. The disease can be primary (pSS) or secondary to other systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and others. The systemic autoimmune character of pSS is also apparent from the occurrence of (non-organ specific) autoantibodies in this disease. Histopathologically, glandular involvement is characterized by focal accumulation of lymphocytes, particularly around epithelial ducts, with, sometimes, germinal center-like structures. The infiltrates largely consist of T-cells, with a preponderance of CD4-positive T-cells. As a result, the pathology in SS was primarily attributed to T cells. However, a break with the fixation on the role of T cells in pSS came when therapeutic B-cell depletion strategies proved remarkably efficacious in this disease, thereby indicating a major role for B-cells in the immunopathogenesis of pSS. In this regard, a closer look at the composition of B-cells and B-cell sub-populations, both in the peripheral blood and in target tissues, is worthwhile. In this review, we discuss current data on B-cells in pSS. B-cell depletion offers a unique possibility to study the recurrence of (pathogenic) B-cells and their characteristics in pSS patients treated with rituximab. Data on B-cell sub-populations in the peripheral blood and B-cell repertoire in the target tissues following rituximab treatment are discussed as well. We also address their state of activation, repertoire, and relation to B-cell activating factor (BAFF).
24426223 Unique correlation between mutated citrullinated vimentine IgG autoantibodies and markers 2013 Jul Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory systemic autoimmune disease, primarily affecting the peripheral joints. Anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin autoantibodies (anti-MCV) of IgG isotype were shown to be a useful diagnostic marker of RA especially in RA patients who were anti-cyclic citrullinated protein autoantibodies (anti-CCP) negative. Nevertheless, published data correlates rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-CCP or anti-MCV antibodies with either erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as markers of disease activity, not investigated the possible correlations of RA autoantibodies towards ESR and CRP in comparison. Herein, we aim to evaluate the usefulness of anti-MCV as a dependable marker in established RA compared with anti-CCP and RF antibodies and to examine correlations between RF, anti-CCP and anti-MCV antibodies towards ESR and serum CRP. Serum RF-IgA, RF-IgM, anti-CCP and anti-MCV levels were measured in 30 patients with RA and 40 patients with other autoimmune diseases (non-RA) compared with 20 normal subjects. Specificity, sensitivity and AUC for RF antibodies, anti-CCP and anti-MCV were calculated towards RA diagnosis. Our results showed that ESR and CRP had significantly higher values in both RA and non-RA patients compared with our healthy controls with observed significant increment in RA patients compared with non-RA patients. An important finding from our study is that 33.3 % of RA patients were anti-CCP negative but being positive towards anti-MCV. Also, in-between 36.7 up to 40 % of RA patients were RF-IgA and RF-IgM negative while being anti-MCV positive. Anti-MCV antibodies showed the highest specificity and sensitivity (97.5 and 86.6 %, respectively) towards RA diagnosis with the highest AUC value (0.920) compared with anti-CCP and RF antibodies. Correlation analyses revealed that there was no significant correlation between ESR along with CRP towards RF-IgA, RF-IgM and anti-CCP while profound highly significant correlation exhibited between ESR and CRP towards anti-MCV data (r = 0.879 and 0.994, respectively). Thus, our data suggest that the assessment of serum anti-MCV autoantibodies along with ESR and CRP considered as a simple laboratory regime for monitoring RA patients to assess and follow-up disease activity. The addition of anti-MCV autoantibodies to serologic markers in the ACR/EULAR classification criteria for RA will add points for patients with negative anti-CCP and RF antibodies.
21552999 Psoriatic arthritis in South and Central America. 2011 Aug Psoriasis and its related manifestations, including psoriatic arthritis, are prevalent disorders in the Western world, particularly among Caucasians. The study of these disorders in Latin America lags way behind the study of other more common rheumatic disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. From the scarce evidence available, however, it appears that the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are lower than in other parts of the Western world and almost negligible among natives from the Andean region, although confirmatory epidemiologic studies are lacking.
24426844 The relationship among health literacy, health knowledge, and adherence to treatment in pa 2013 Feb BACKGROUND: Patients with poor health literacy often lack the knowledge needed to manage their treatment. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to determine whether health literacy is a predictor of health knowledge and/or adherence to medication treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHOD: The study was completed in an urban, outpatient rheumatology setting. Health literacy was measured using the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. The Arthritis Knowledge Questionnaire was modified to measure medication specific health knowledge, and the Morisky Medication Adherence scale was used to measure adherence. Researchers used regression analyses to determine if health literacy was a predicator of knowledge and/or adherence. RESULTS: Participants (N = 125) had high mean health literacy scores. The average medication knowledge score was 0.73. Adherence to medication regimen was 0.84. Controlling for patient covariates, health literacy was positively associated with education, race, and age. In adjusted analyses, health literacy was a significant predictor of health knowledge but not adherence. Race, neighborhood income, and confidence with contacting provider about medications were predictors of adherence. CONCLUSION: Study findings indicate that health literacy is independently associated with medication knowledge but not medication adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These results provide useful information for planning initiatives to support individuals with disease self-management.
21383687 Tear physiology in dry eye associated with chronic GVHD. 2012 Jan The purpose of this study was to compare tear physiology characteristics of chronic GVHD (cGVHD)-associated dry eye to dry eye caused by Sjogren's syndrome (SS), a extreme form of aqueous-deficient dry eye, and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), the major cause of evaporative dry eye. Tear turnover rate, evaporation and osmolarity along with meibomian gland dropout and lipid layer interferometric patterns were assessed in the right eyes of 12 patients with dry eye associated with cGVHD, 12 age-matched patients with SS and 12 age-sex matched subjects with MGD. In cGVHD, the decrease in tear turnover rate was similar (P=0.33), but the number of non-functioning meibomian glands was significantly higher (P<0.01) than in SS. Tear evaporation rate in cGVHD dry eye was found to be similar to that in MGD (P=0.36) and significantly higher than in SS (P<0.01). The lipid layer was most unstable in cGVHD compared with other groups. There was no variation in tear volume across all groups. Although statistical significance was not detected, the mean tear osmolarity (333.51±14.67mOsm/L) was highest in cGVHD. Major aspects of tear physiology were severely impaired in cGVHD-associated dry eye.
20798946 Clinical features and hyperferritinemia diagnostic cutoff points for AOSD based on ROC cur 2012 Jan Hyperferritinemia has been reported in adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). This study aims to investigate clinical features of AOSD in Chinese population and diagnostic value of different hyperferritinemia cutoff points based on ROC curve. A total of 48 patients from October 2002 to February 2007 diagnosed AOSD in the department of rheumatology, the first affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-set University were enrolled. A total of 86 patients mainly complaining fever >39°C for over one week and meeting Yamaguchi criteria but confirmed as non-AOSD by other serological or pathological tests were obtained from the same department as controls. Total serum ferritin levels were determined at the time of admission. Clinical features of AOSD in Chinese population were similar to previous studies. Significantly higher levels of total serum ferritin were presented in patients with AOSD (8100.7 ± 13678.5) compared with non-AOSD controls (448.3 ± 539.4) (P < 0.01). No differences were found in serum ferritin level between different categories of non-AOSD patients (P > 0.05). High value of area under receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) suggested that ferritin was very predictive in AOSD diagnosis. Three cutoff points were picked based on clinical practice and ROC curve. Ferritin level ≥2,500 µg/L appeared to be highly specific for a diagnosis of AOSD, yet the low sensitivity may falsely ruled out patients with true AOSD. Hyperferritinemia ≥750 µg/L was seldom observed in inflammatory diseases or solid tumor. Hyperferritinemia ≥1,250 µg/L could mostly rule out other autoimmune diseases and hematologic diseases. Combined Yamaguchi criteria and hyperferritinemia gave better prediction for AOSD. In conclusion, different hyperferritinemia cutoff points observed in ROC curve help to optimize diagnostic and therapeutic strategy.
23204033 Recurrent histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis with a long latency in a patient with auto 2013 Jun Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD), a histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (HNL), characteristically presents as cervical lymphadenopathy in young Asian women. Most resolve spontaneously with rare recurrences described. We report a patient with biopsy-proven recurrence of KFD-like HNL after almost 8 years and analyze 65 additional published cases with recurrences. While those with recurrences similarly affect young (average age = 27 years), Asian (80%) women (76%), 73% had multiple sites of involvement and 32% of those tested had underlying autoimmune conditions. Our case is unusual with respect to the following: (a) Age: 50 years, the oldest among the reported patients with recurrences. (b) Race: African descent, with only 3 others reported with recurrent HNL. Of these 4 cases, 2 had underlying autoimmunity. (c) Underlying condition: Her clinical and laboratory features were best felt to represent Sjögren's syndrome (SjS). Only 2 other cases of SjS-associated HNL have been reported; in 2 recently reported cases SjS developed subsequently.
24281405 Oral Administration of Shark Type II Collagen Suppresses Complete Freund's Adjuvant-Induce 2012 Mar 28 OBJECTIVE: Shark type II collagen (SCII) is extracted as a glycoprotein from the cartilage of blue shark (Prionace glauca). We aim to confirm the effects of oral tolerance of SCII on inflammatory and immune responses to the ankle joint of rheumatoid-arthritis rats induced by Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was observed 14 ± x days after injection of CFA. Rats in the control group were treated with acetic acid by oral administration (0.05 mmol kg-1d-1, days 14-28), while rats in experimental groups were treated by oral administration with SCII (1 or 3 mg kg-1d-1, days 14-28), Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosidium (TWP) (10 mg kg-1d-1, days 14-28), and bovine type II collagen from US (US-CII) (1 mg kg-1d-1, days 14-28), respectively. The severity of arthritis was evaluated by the articular swelling. The immunological indexes observed included delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction, the level of interleukins 10 (IL-10) in rat blood serum and morphological characterization. Mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) was performed to investigate the relationship between T cell apoptosis and specific immune tolerance induced by SCII. RESULTS: Treatment with SCII for 2 weeks significantly attenuated the acute inflammation. The rats orally administrated with SCII at the level of 3 mg kg-1d-1 (SCII 3) and US-CII had decreased DTH reaction compared with rats in control group. Rats treated with SCII 3 had the highest level of IL-10 with 102 pg/mL. SCII with concentration of 10 μg/L could help to significantly enhance level of Fas/Apo-1 in T cell in vitro. The result of histological staining indicated that the recovery of the articular membranes of ankle joint in SCII 3 group was greatly enhanced. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that appropriate dose of SCII can not only ameliorate symptoms but also modify the disease process of Complete-Freunds-Adjuvant-induced arthritis. Oral administration of SCII might be a potential candidate as a novel drug for further investigation.
21297329 A case of adult onset Still's disease complicated with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. 2011 Only a few pathologic reports exist describing adult onset Still's disease (AOSD) with pulmonary involvement. We report this very rare case of AOSD complicated with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP). A 32-year-old woman was referred with high spiking fever, salmon-pink rash in her arms and legs, and polyarthralgia. The laboratory data showed marked increases in white blood cell count, an erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C reactive protein, ferritin, and liver dysfunction. All cultures remained negative, as were autoantibodies and rheumatoid factor. The patient was strongly suspected of AOSD according to specific diagnostic criteria. However, chest X ray disclosed an infiltrative shadow accompanied by air bronchogram in the upper lobe of the right lung and therapy with antibiotics was initiated. As the patient did not respond to antibiotics and a remittent fever of over 38°C, a flexible bronchoscopy was performed. Organizing pneumonia was diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) histology and radiologically, and the lesions were thought to be due to pulmonary involvement of AOSD. Therefore, she was diagnosed with AOSD complicated with COP. Oral treatment with prednisolone (30 mg/day) resulted in rapid disappearance of the infiltrative shadow. Symptoms and markers of inflammation also improved. Clinicians should be aware that COP can be a complication of AOSD.
23059671 Sjögren's syndrome - an update for dental practitioners. 2012 Oct Sjögren's syndrome (SS), an autoimmune, multi-factorial disorder, affects around 5% of females and 0.5% of males in the general population. The dental practitioner has a key role in recognising the clinical features of this condition, organising referral for specialist care and managing the oral health of these patients. In this article, we summarise the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management of SS relevant to dental practitioners.
22899190 Elevated FDG activity in lymph nodes as well as the spleen and liver in a patient with adu 2012 Oct A 66-year-old woman had fever, rash, and joint pain. Physical examination revealed multiple enlarged lymph nodes. A possibility of lymphoma was considered and FDG PET/CT was performed, which demonstrated elevated FDG activity not only in many lymph nodes but also in the spleen and liver. However, adult-onset Still disease was diagnosed, and the patient responded well to therapy.