Browse

Search for: rheumatoid arthritis    methotrexate    autoimmune disease    biomarker    gene expression    GWAS    HLA genes    non-HLA genes   

ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
21873609 Sperm storage for cancer patients in the UK: a review of current practice. 2011 Nov An increasing number of cancer patients can now hope to have a full and normal life due to significant improvements in treatment outcomes and survival rates. The application of cryobiology to store fertile gametes before sterilizing treatments has been a natural progression. Greater awareness has markedly increased the worldwide demand for long-term storage of sperm, and has prompted the UK Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority to extend the period of storage permitted by their regulations to 55 years. Other patients undergoing sterilizing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy such as haemoglobinopathies requiring bone marrow transplantation and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis may further increase the indications for sperm storage. Most adult and adolescent patients and their relatives/spouses/parents/guardians value this service even though very few eventually use the sperm. There is an urgent need to develop national and international guidelines for the provision, organization, maintenance and management of the cryopreservation services.
21400917 [Risk factors of severe peripheral corneal ulcers]. 2011 Feb PURPOSE: To evaluate the risk factors of severe peripheral corneal ulcers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty three eyes of 15 patients (9 eyes of 7 men and 14 eyes of 8 women) with severe peripheral corneal ulcers, who were treated during the past 10 years at Keio University Hospital, were reviewed about the original disease, status of ulcer, treatment, and visual prognosis. RESULTS: Fifteen eyes of 10 patients with Mooren's ulcer, 4 eyes of 3 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and 4 eyes of 2 patients with Terrien corneal degeneration were included. Mooren's ulcer tends to advance widely. Systemic administration of immunosuppressive and corticosteroidal agents was required in addition to surgical treatment. Visual prognosis was poor in the Mooren's ulcer and perforated cases. CONCLUSION: Mooren's ulcer and perforated cases are risk factors in peripheral corneal ulcer.
21305295 Calcium metabolism disorders simulating rheumatologic diseases. 2012 Jun Hypoparathyroidism and hyperparathyroidism may lead to spondylarthropathy or spondylarthropathy-like problems and crystal arthropathy, respectively. In this report, we present 2 cases with hypoparathyroidism and 1 case with hyperparathyroidism who developed spondylarthropathy-like disease, rheumatoid arthritis-like disease, and chondrocalcinosis, respectively. We briefly discussed relationship between calcium metabolism disorders and rheumatologic manifestations. As rheumatologists, we should be always open to other diagnosis if the treatment does not work in patients with rheumatologic diseases.
21146219 B cells in spontaneous autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system. 2011 Jun B cells and their secreted products participate in the intricate network of pathogenic and regulatory immune responses. In human autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and type 1 diabetes, a role for B cells and antibodies is well established. However, in multiple sclerosis (MS), despite the presence of autoantibodies, B cells were less considered as a major participant of autoimmune processes, until recently. Several lines of evidence now indicate a more active role for B cells in disease pathogenesis. In this review, we discuss the diverse roles of B cells in autoimmune diseases with particular focus on multiple sclerosis and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as well as the recently generated spontaneous EAE mouse models.
21598728 [Cardiovascular risk in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders]. 2011 Apr 20 Atherosclerosis (ATS) is characterized by an inflammatory process initiated by oxidized LDL in the vessel wall, where activation of cells of the innate and adaptive immune system takes place. ATS is accelerated with an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in systemic autoimmune disorders (AID) such as systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition to the traditional CV risk factors, which are over-represented in AID, the underlying chronic inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system play an amplifying role in ATS. Although certain drugs used in AID can increase the CV risk, the control of the disease as permitted by TNF-blocking agents in RA, reduces this risk. The strategies specific to AID to reduce the CV risk remain to be better defined.
21595593 Leflunomide in renal transplantation. 2011 May Leflunomide is a synthetic isoxazole-derivative drug that possesses both immunosuppressive and antiviral properties. Although its only US FDA-approved indication is for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, accumulating clinical experience in addition to animal study data makes it an appealing option for patients who are in need of reduction of immunosuppression in the setting of resistant cytomegalovirus infection or BK virus nephropathy, or in renal transplant recipients with chronic allograft dysfunction. While concern over adverse effects such as hepatotoxicity and hemolytic anemia cannot be ignored and there has yet to be a prospective randomized trial for its use in transplantation, its careful usage under close monitoring may provide the best chance for patients who risk allograft rejection during the time of immunosuppressive reduction as they attempt to eradicate BK virus or cytomegalovirus. At the present time, its use as a first-line agent in lieu of mycophenolate mofetil or sirolimus cannot be recommended.
21529972 Toll-like receptors as targets for immune disorders. 2011 Jul Since the identification of the first Toll-like receptor (TLR) in humans in 1997, understanding of the molecular basis for innate immunity has increased significantly. The TLR family and downstream signalling pathways have been extensively characterised, There is now significant evidence suggesting a role for TLRs in human inflammatory and immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, allergy/asthma and atherosclerosis. Various approaches have been taken to identify novel therapeutic agents targeting TLRs including biologics, small molecules and nucleic acid-based drugs. Several are now being evaluated in the clinic and showing promise against various diseases. This review paper outlines the recent advances in the understanding of TLR biology and highlights novel TLR agonists and antagonists in development for the treatment of immune diseases.
21463254 Sex steroids in autoimmune diseases. 2011 A sexual dysmorphism in the immune response has been described and females display an increased incidence of autoimmune diseases. Experimental data show that sex steroids influence immune cell development and have immunomodulatory effects. The distribution, the action (genomic and nongenomic), the sex and tissue-depending expression pattern of estrogen, progesterone and androgen receptors and their functional disruptions in corresponding receptor knockout animals will be discussed, pointing out the difference among sex steroid hormones. Recent advances indicate an immunomodulatory role of sex steroids in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The outcomes of the clinical trials will help to find the best use of sex steroids in combination with current therapeutic drugs in autoimmune diseases. Sex steroid receptor modulating drugs will provide new therapeutic approaches in these pathologies.
21370064 Immunoprofiling using NAPPA protein microarrays. 2011 Protein microarrays provide an efficient method to immunoprofile patients in an effort to rapidly identify disease immunosignatures. The validity of using autoantibodies in diagnosis has been demonstrated in type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus, and is now being strongly considered in cancer. Several types of protein microarrays exist including antibody and antigen arrays. In this chapter, we describe the immunoprofiling application for one type of antigen array called NAPPA (nucleic acids programmable protein array). We provide a guideline for setting up the screening study and designing protein arrays to maximize the likelihood of obtaining quality data.
21280174 Physicochemical analysis of poly-L-lysine: An insight into the changes induced in lysine r 2011 Jan Nonenzymatic glycation of macromolecules, especially proteins, takes place mainly due to hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus. Increased glycolysis during cancer and inflammation during rheumatoid arthritis also contribute to the process of glycation. As lysine residues of proteins are a potential site for glycation, it could be used as a marker for early glycation induced changes in lysine-rich proteins. In the present study, a lysine polymer was incubated with increasing concentrations of glucose for 24 h, and the early glycation product was evaluated by nitroblue tetrazolium assay. The modified polymer together with unmodified one was characterized by gel electrophoresis and UV, fluorescence spectroscopy. Results of the study clearly demonstrate that structural perturbation in the lysine polymer was caused by the early glycation. Further study on detection of antibodies against theglycated proteins in diseased patients might be helpful in early diagnosis of the disease.
23279772 Pyoderma gangrenosum and high titer serum anti-CCP2 antibodies. 2012 Jan Pyoderma gangrenosum is an uncommon ulcerative cutaneous neutrophilic dermatosis. In about 50 percent of cases, it is associated with systemic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythromatosus, hematological diseases and various malignancies. There is no specific laboratory finding or histological features pathognomonic of pyoderma gangrenosum and it is often a diagnosis of exclusion. Here, we report an elderly female without history of any systemic disorders, presenting to us with extensive, bilaterally symmetrical, deep leg ulcers along with multiple superficial ulcers involving the right groin which was diagnosed as pyoderma gangrenosum. The only positive rheumatologic marker was serum anti-cyclic cittrulinated peptide2 antibody, which was found to be strongly positive. Dramatic response to systemic corticosteroid followed by successful split skin grafting was observed in our patient.
22523507 Solar radiation and vitamin D: mitigating environmental factors in autoimmune disease. 2012 This paper looks at the environmental role of vitamin D and solar radiation as risk reduction factors in autoimmune disease. Five diseases are considered: multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disease of the thyroid, and inflammatory bowel disease. Clinical relevant studies and factors that may indicate evidence that autoimmune disease is a vitamin D-sensitive disease are presented. Studies that have resulted in prevention or amelioration of some autoimmune disease are discussed. An example of the utility of supplementing vitamin D in an unusual autoimmune disease, idiopathic thrombocytic purpura, is presented.
25182055 Molecular mechanisms in rheumatic diseases: rationale for novel drug development - introdu 2011 Novel therapies for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) will largely be developed as a consequence of our improved understanding of immune-mediated inflammatory responses that regulate the progression of the disease process. This Special Mini "Hot-Topic" Issue of Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, entitled, Molecular Mechanisms in Rheumatic Diseases: Rationale for Novel Drug Development explores several recent developments in how new drugs will be designed for the therapy of RA by employing proteomic databases and other wellvalidated computational strategies. Furthermore, recent advances in the recognition that pro-inflammatory cytokines and the interferon family of proteins activate intracellular signal transduction pathways which control immune-mediated inflammatory responses as well as the way in which newly identified regulators of inflammation such as the Toll-like receptors contribute to RA are also discussed.
23124706 Therapeutic application of mesenchymal stem cells in bone and joint diseases. 2014 Feb Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the non-hematopoietic progenitor cells, are multi-potent stem cells from a variety of tissues with the capability of self-renewal, proliferation, differentiation into multi-lineage cell types, as well as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory. These properties make MSCs an ideal source of cell therapy in bone and joint diseases. This review describes the advances of animal study and preliminary clinical application in the past few years, related to MSC-based cell therapy in the common bone and joint diseases, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, osteonecrosis of the femoral head and osteogenesis imperfecta. It highlights the promising prospect of MSC in clinical application of bone and joint diseases.
23044569 Autoimmune thyroiditis presenting as interstitial granulomatous dermatitis. 2012 Sep A 54-year-old female presented with recurrent, widespread, erythematous, painful plaques, over a 3-month period. Skin biopsy was compatible with interstitial granulomatous dermatitis. Additional investigation revealed hypothyroidism and positive anti-thyroid antibodies. Normalization of thyroid function and high-potency topical corticosteroids provided only transitory improvement of the dermatosis. Interstitial granulomatous dermatitis is a histologic inflammatory reaction, with variable cutaneous expression. It has been reported in association with several drugs, lymphoproliferative diseases and autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and vasculitis, but association with autoimmune thyroiditis is rare. Optimal therapy for this condition is yet to be established, but topical corticosteroids have been a mainstay of treatment. In most cases, this disease is characterized by flares and remissions.
22981814 Intravital microscopy: new insights into cellular interactions. 2012 Oct Inflammation is the body's way of combating invading pathogens or noxious stimuli. Under normal conditions, the complex host response of rubor, dolor, calor, tumor, and functio laesa is essential for survival and the return to homeostasis. However, unregulated inflammation is all too often observed in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, and cancer. The host inflammatory response is governed by a number of tightly regulated processes that enable cellular trafficking to occur at the sites of damage to ultimately ensure the resolution of inflammation. Intravital microscopy (IVM) provides quantitative, qualitative, and dynamic insights into cell biology and these cellular interactions. This review highlights the pros and cons of this specialized technique and how it has evolved to help understand the physiology and pathophysiology of inflammatory events in a number of different disease states, leading to a number of potential therapeutic targets for drug discovery.
22953651 A case of psoriasis with secondary amyloidosis, associated symbrachydactyly of the hand an 2012 Jul Secondary amyloidosis is associated with a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, familial Mediterranean fever, osteomyelitis, inflammatory bowel diseases and infective or neoplastic conditions. Few cases of secondary amyloidosis complicating psoriasis have been reported. We describe a 58-year-old patient with secondary amyloidosis, psoriasis, an associated symbrachydactyly of the hand and a transverse deficiency of the foot. To the best of our knowledge, no case of this association has been previously reported.
22941257 Rice body formation without rheumatic disease or tuberculosis infection: a case report and 2012 Dec Rice body formation is an uncommon inflammatory disorder associated with systemic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis infection. The pathophysiology of rice bodies is poorly understood. We describe a case of rice body formation in a 51-year-old male who presented with pain and swelling of the left wrist. The patient had no previous history of rheumatic disease, joint trauma, or infectious disease. He underwent a radical tenosynovectomy and had immediate improvement of symptoms. Despite extensive evaluation, the etiology of the rice bodies could not be identified. An increasing number of case reports have described rice body formation without a known cause suggesting an alternative, unidentified method of pathogenesis. We describe a unique case of rice body formation and a review of the literature with emphasis on theories of pathogenesis, diagnostic methods, and treatment.
22878595 Autophagy in immunity: implications in etiology of autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases. 2012 Sep Autophagy is now emerging as a spotlight in trafficking events that activate innate and adaptive immunity. It facilitates innate pathogen detection and antigen presentation, as well as pathogen clearance and lymphocyte homeostasis. In this review, we first summarize new insights into its functions in immunity, which underlie its associations with autoimmunity. As some lines of evidence are emerging to support its role in autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, we further discuss whether and how it affects autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus and multiple sclerosis, as well as autoinflammatory diseases, such as Crohn disease and vitiligo.
22824743 New insights into the pathogenesis of cutaneous autoimmune disorders. 2012 Apr T helper 17 (Th17) cells are characterized by the secretion of IL-17, a proinflammatory cytokine. They represent a newly described T helper subpopulation that is distinct from Th1 and Th2 lineages. Because of their pleiotropic activity on fibroblasts, keratinocytes, endothelial cells, neutrophils and memory T cells, Th17 cells are thought to be crucial in mediating tissue inflammation and autoimmunity. Autoimmune diseases were classically considered as Th1-mediated disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or mixed Th1/Th2 diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus, bullous diseases, but new evidence suggests the deep involvement of Th17 cells in their pathogenesis that, potentially, may address a selective therapeutic approach targeting the IL23/Th17 pathway. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the pathogenic contribution of Th17 cells in select cutaneous autoimmune disorders, including lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris.