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

ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
24811462 Prevalence of self-reported rheumatic diseases in a Portuguese population. 2014 Jan OBJECTIVES: With this study we attempted to estimate the prevalence of self-reported rheumatic diseases in a Portuguese population. It was also our objective to evaluate the influence of the variables sex and age on the prevalence of these diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population was comprised of 297 individuals from a total of 573 random telephone numbers selected from the city of Lisbon telephone book (landline/residents). Those 297 were the ones that agreed to answer the proposed questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence value of self-reported rheumatic diseases was 26.3%. A prevalence value of self-declared osteoarthritis of 21.2% was found, 7.7% for osteoporosis, 1.3% for rheumatoid arthritis and 0.3% each for gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet's disease and fibromyalgia. An association with the variables sex and age was achieved for the total of rheumatic diseases. The same association was obtained for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasizes the good self- -judgment that the inquired population has about their rheumatic diseases, and some of the obtained results are in agreement with the national and worldwide literature.
24697295 A smoothing dynamic model for irregularly time-spaced longitudinal data. 2014 In nondesigned longitudinal observational studies, irregularly spaced measurements are commonly present over a period of follow-up time. We propose a smoothing dynamic model, based on the idea of varying coefficients, to analyze this highly unbalanced longitudinal data. The estimate of model parameters can be obtained by implementing a well-developed B-splines technique. Our method is illustrated with data from a primary care based longitudinal cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients. The results show that the effects of some risk factors might be underestimated by an intention-to-treat analysis using a last-value-carried-forward method.
24693449 Review of hyperuricemia as new marker for metabolic syndrome. 2014 Hyperuricemia has long been established as the major etiologic factor in gout. In recent years, a large body of evidence has accumulated that suggests that hyperuricemia may play a role in the development and pathogenesis of a number of metabolic, hemodynamic, and systemic pathologic diseases, including metabolic syndrome, hypertension, stroke, and atherosclerosis. A number of epidemiologic studies have linked hyperuricemia with each of these disorders. In some studies, therapies that lower uric acid may prevent or improve certain components of the metabolic syndrome. There is an association between uric acid and the development of systemic lupus erythematosus; the connection between other rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis is less clear. The mechanism for the role of uric acid in disorders other than gout is not well established but recent investigations point towards systemic inflammation induced by urate, as the major pathophysiological event common to systemic diseases, including atherosclerosis.
24419811 Schizophrenia-like disorder associated with etanercept treatment. 2014 Jan 13 A report on the development of a schizophrenia-like disorder after the start of etanercept in a middle-aged woman who had no history of psychiatric illness. Etanercept was discontinued and she was treated with sulpiride for 6 months. There has been no relapse of psychosis since etanercept was discontinued, despite being off sulpiride for 3 months. Unfortunately, subsequent treatment she has had for her rheumatoid arthritis has not afforded the same level of symptom control as etanercept. This report points to the need for more research into the differential impact of reduced-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α levels in the different regions of the brain. It highlights the need for pharmacovigilance especially in individuals on etanercept and other TNF inhibitors. It also highlights the need to systematically consider differential diagnosis before arriving at a diagnosis of psychiatric illness even in the presence of highly suggestive constellation of symptoms.
24379616 Immunological alterations in hepatitis C virus infection. 2013 Dec 21 A higher prevalence of immunological processes has recently been reported in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, focusing the attention of physicians and researchers on the close association between HCV and immune disorders. HCV lymphotropism represents the most important step in the pathogenesis of virus-related immunological diseases and experimental, virologic, and clinical evidence has demonstrated a trigger role for HCV both in systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, hemolytic anemia and severe thrombocytopenia, and in organ-specific autoimmune diseases, such as autoimmune hepatitis, thyroid disorders and diabetes. This review will outline the principal aspects of such HCV-induced immunological alterations, focusing on the prevalence of these less characterized HCV extrahepatic manifestations.
24320963 Dietary modulation of the inflammatory cascade. 2014 Feb Dietary supplementation has traditionally consisted of adding vitamins and/or minerals to correct or prevent a nutritional deficiency. When supplementing the diet with other inflammatory mediators, such as essential fatty acids, there is an adjunctive benefit to the standard therapies used in the control of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis. This review focuses on the strategies utilized for therapeutic modulation of the inflammatory cascade through dietary supplementation with specific biomolecules. Examples of how these biomolecules affect local and systemic immune responses to chronic inflammation are examined. In particular, an overview of the literature identifying the potential to modify the host response to chronic periodontitis is provided.
24128801 Oral microbiota and systemic disease. 2013 Dec It is well known that bacteria are the primary cause of infectious diseases, however, evidence is emerging that these organisms are also indirectly responsible for several diseases including cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The oral cavity is home to several million bacteria that can cause two major diseases-periodontitis and caries. The relationship between periodontopathic bacteria and systemic diseases has been explored for several years. The concept of the oral cavity as a source of distant infection has been debated for at least a century. This review will discuss the historic aspects of the development of the focal infection theory, the reasons for its demise, its re-emergence and current status.
24276020 RNAi Therapeutics in Autoimmune Disease. 2013 Mar 5 Since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), excitement has grown over its potential therapeutic uses. Targeting RNAi pathways provides a powerful tool to change biological processes post-transcriptionally in various health conditions such as cancer or autoimmune diseases. Optimum design of shRNA, siRNA, and miRNA enhances stability and specificity of RNAi-based approaches whereas it has to reduce or prevent undesirable immune responses or off-target effects. Recent advances in understanding pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases have allowed application of these tools in vitro as well as in vivo with some degree of success. Further research on the design and delivery of effectors of RNAi pathway and underlying molecular basis of RNAi would warrant practical use of RNAi-based therapeutics in human applications. This review will focus on the approaches used for current therapeutics and their applications in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome.
23909269 [Relationship of bilirubin to diseases caused by increased oxidative stress]. 2013 Jul Oxidative stress contributes importantly to pathogenesis of numerous civilization diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, as well as autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions. Bilirubin is the major product of the heme catabolic pathway in the intravascular compartment. For long time, bilirubin was considered to be only a waste product, however, recent data from the last 2 decades have proved its important antioxidant properties, which contributes to defense against increased oxidative stress. Numerous experimental as well as clinical studies have demonstrated association between low bilirubin concentrations and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, certain cancers, autoimunne diseases, such as lupus erythematodes, or rheumatoid arthritis or neurological psychiatric disorders, such as schizofrenia. On the other hand, subjects with mildly elevated blood bilirubin levels, typical for Gilbert syndrome, have decreased risk of these diseases.
23355622 Erlotinib and gefitinib, epidermal growth factor receptor kinase inhibitors, may treat non 2013 Kinase inhibitors that enter clinical use as treatments for cancer may have off-target effects, making them efficacious in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Case reports are presented on the potential of erlotinib and gefitinib for treating psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other nonautoimmune inflammatory disorders.
25409222 Recovery of cochlear and vestibular function after labyrinthine haemorrhage. 2014 Sep Inner ear haemorrhage is a rare disorder with disabling symptoms. Prognosis is generally considered to be poor with essentially no chance of functional recovery. The most common aetiologies are related to blood dyscrasias, anticoagulant therapy or local trauma. The association with autoimmune diseases is exceptional. The authors report a case of sudden deafness with vertigo in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, caused by labyrinthine haemorrhage. Clinical picture and progress of audiovestibular function are described along with imagiological features from magnetic resonance imaging. Inner ear haemorrhage is a rare disorder with disabling symptoms and poor prognosis. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case described with documented vestibular function recovery following labyrinthine haemorrhage.
24829127 Nuclear imaging to support anti-inflammatory drug discovery and development. 2014 May 15 Nuclear medicine contributes important tools to support antiinflammatory drug discovery and development in many ways. The support provided is manifold: new molecular entities (NME, either small molecules or biologics) labeled with radioisotopes can be applied in animal models and humans to measure biodistribution, target engagement, and pharmacokinetics. In addition, nuclear imaging techniques can be used to select or enrich the patient populations in clinical trials, to assess disease activity, target status and distribution and to quantify response to therapeutic interventions. In the first part of this review we will outline how nuclear imaging techniques can be applied to support informed decision making in drug development. In the second part, we will briefly highlight the use of nuclear imaging of inflammation in drug development in selected diseases, specifically rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), atherosclerosis (ATS) and as an emerging topic cancer.
24550930 B cell depletion: rituximab in glomerular disease and transplantation. 2013 Jan B cells play a central role in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases. Selective targeting can be achieved with the use of the monoclonal antibody rituximab. In addition to being a drug for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, rituximab is also an FDA-approved treatment for refractory rheumatoid arthritis and, since recently, ANCA vasculitis. It has shown efficacy in many autoimmune diseases. This review will discuss current evidence and the rationale of the use of rituximab in glomerular diseases, including randomized controlled trials. The focus will be on the use of rituximab in idiopathic membranous nephropathy, systemic lupus erythematosus and ANCA-associated vasculitis. The emerging role of rituximab in renal transplantation, where it seems to be important for the desensitization protocols for highly sensitized patients as well as for the preconditioning of ABO-incompatible recipients and the treatment of antibody-mediated rejection, will also be addressed.
24435034 Off-label use of rituximab in systemic rheumatic diseases: case series and review. 2013 Oct B-cells play an important role not only in cellular but also in humoral immunity through differentiation into plasma cells and antibody production. B-cell depletion may, theoretically, change the course of systemic rheumatic diseases (SRD) in which self-reactive antibodies are part of the pathogenic pathway. In Rheumatology, anti-B-cell antibody Rituximab is currently licensed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, however there is growing evidence of its potential use in other SRD. The authors present a case series of eight patients in which Rituximab was used off-label including overlap syndrome Rhupus, systemic lupus erythematosus and Wegener's granulomatosis. In the end, a brief literature review about this subject is performed.
24130938 Essentials of periodontal medicine in preventive medicine. 2013 Sep Influence of systemic disorders on periodontal diseases is well established. However, of growing interest is the effect of periodontal diseases on numerous systemic diseases or conditions like cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, pre-term low birth weight babies, preeclampsia, respiratory infections and others including osteoporosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, erectile dysfunction, Alzheimer's disease, gastrointestinal disease, prostatitis, renal diseases, which has also been scientifically validated. This side of the oral-systemic link has been termed Periodontal Medicine and is potentially of great public health significance, as periodontal disease is largely preventable and in many instances readily treatable, hence, providing many new opportunities for preventing and improving prognosis of several systemic pathologic conditions. This review article highlights the importance of prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases as an essential part of preventive medicine to circumvent its deleterious effects on general health.
23888364 Ocular vasculitis. 2013 Sep Vasculitis is the inflammation of blood vessels that leads to loss of perfusion and ischemia with necrosis. When this occurs in the orbit, the consequences are typically very conspicuous and can be devastating with decreased quality of life and loss of vision. Systemic vasculitides are often related to ophthalmic disorders, which can serve as the first diagnostic manifestation of potentially life-threatening disease. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (e.g., granulomatosis with polyangiitis), Behcet's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus are a few of the diseases commonly associated with ocular vasculitis. Collaboration between ophthalmologists and rheumatologists is important in the successful diagnosis and treatment of patients with vasculitis.
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.
22998047 Melatonin and synthetic analogs as antioxidants. 2013 Feb Recent studies suggest that overproduction of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), lowered antioxidant defense of the body. Oxidative stress is damaging to DNA, lipids, proteins and many more vital macromolecules. Consequences of oxidative stress thought to contribute to the development of a wide range of diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegeneration in motor neuron diseases and many cancer types. Melatonin (MLT) is a powerful antioxidant with a particular role in the protection of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. To find an improved antioxidant activity, developments of novel synthetic analogues are under investigation. These studies may offer a new progress and approach in antioxidant drug development as well as antioxidant chemistry. Therefore, we have been synthesizing novel MLT derivatives and investigating their antioxidant capacities. This review gives a brief knowledge about the MLT based analogue indole derivatives as potential antioxidants.
22782640 Comprehensive tuberculosis screening program in patients with inflammatory arthritides tre 2013 Feb OBJECTIVE: Reactivation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is a major complication in patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents. We report on the 5 cases of active tuberculosis (TB) that developed in the Golimumab Phase III Program (3 with rheumatoid arthritis, 1 with psoriatic arthritis, and 1 with ankylosing spondylitis) through 1 year among 2,210 patients receiving golimumab. METHODS: Data from global studies were used for an in-depth evaluation of the 5 cases of TB through week 52. Integrated safety data were evaluated for potential hepatotoxicity in patients treated with anti-TB therapy. RESULTS: No active TB developed among 317 patients receiving golimumab and treated for latent TB with isoniazid. Active TB occurred in 5 patients not treated with isoniazid by week 52 (in 2 patients by week 24); all of the patients had negative TB screening tests (per the local guidelines) and resided in countries with high background rates of TB. No deaths were due to TB. Across all of the groups (placebo and golimumab), alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase elevations occurred in greater proportions of patients treated for latent TB infection versus not treated; elevations were largely mild (<3 times the upper limit of normal). CONCLUSION: Comprehensive TB screening kept the number of active TB cases relatively low despite conducting the studies in TB-endemic regions. Treatment for latent TB infection appeared effective, since no patients treated for latent TB had TB reactivation. Concurrent treatment with golimumab and anti-TB medication was generally well tolerated. Clinicians should remain vigilant for development of active TB after initiation of TNF inhibitors, since prompt diagnosis and treatment can improve outcomes.
24845797 Ingested (oral) tocilizumab inhibits EAE. 2014 Aug BACKGROUND: Blocking the activity of IL-6 can inhibit autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether an antibody against IL-6, tocilizumab (TCZ) (Actemra®), used clinically in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) would have similar anti-inflammatory effects in EAE after oral administration. DESIGN/METHOD: B6 mice were immunized with MOG peptide 35-55 and gavaged with control saline or TCZ during ongoing disease. Splenocytes, CD4(+) T cells or macrophages/monocyte lineage cells (CD11b(+)) from control fed or TCZ fed mice were adoptively transferred into active MOG peptide 35-55 immunized recipient mice during ongoing disease. Actively fed and recipient mice were examined for disease inhibition, inflammation, and cytokine responses. RESULTS: Ingested (oral) TCZ inhibited ongoing disease and decreased inflammation. Adoptively transferred cells from TCZ fed donors protected against actively induced disease and decreased inflammation. There was a decrease in IL-6 in actively treated spleen, decrease in TNF-α, Th1-like cytokine IL-12 and increase in Th2-like cytokine IL-10 in active fed and adoptively treated recipients. CONCLUSIONS: Ingested (orally administered) TCZ can inhibit disease, CNS inflammation, decrease pro-inflammatory Th1-like cytokines and increase Th2-like anti-inflammatory cytokines.