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ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
31528842 Tuberculosis in people with rheumatic disease in Finland 1995-2007: a nationwide retrospec 2019 OBJECTIVES: RA and its medication, especially TNF-α inhibitors, increase the risk of clinical tuberculosis (TB) infection. We aimed to investigate the clinical manifestations, incidence and temporal changes in TB occurring concurrently with rheumatic diseases (RDs) between 1995 and 2007. METHODS: We combined the register of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland and the National Infectious Disease Register to find adult patients with reimbursed DMARDs and with a TB notification between 1995 and 2007. After reviewing the medical records, we described their clinical manifestations and medications, explored TB incidence trends using Poisson regression, and compared the incidence of TB with that of the general population. RESULTS: We identified 291 patients with both TB and rheumatic disease (RD), 196 of whom had RA. Between 1995 and 2007, the incidence of TB in adult RD decreased from 58.8 to 30.0 per 100 000 (trend P < 0.001, average marginal effect -3.4/100 000 per year, 95% CI -4.4, -2.4). Compared with the general population, the incidence was ∼4-fold. Among RD patients, pulmonary TB was the most common form of TB (72.6%). Disseminated TB was present in 56 (19.6%) patients. CONCLUSION: The incidence of TB among RD patients was ∼4-fold that of the general population, and it declined between 1995 and 2007. Disseminated TB was present in nearly 20% of patients.
31798626 Epigenetic Regulation in the Pathogenesis of Sjögren Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis. 2019 Autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as Sjögren syndrome (SS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity, which cause joint tissue damage and destruction by triggering reduced mobility and debilitation in patients with these diseases. Initiation and maintenance of chronic inflammatory stages account for several mechanisms that involve immune cells as key players and the interaction of the immune cells with other tissues. Indeed, the overlapping of certain clinical and serologic manifestations between SS and RA may indicate that numerous immunologic-related mechanisms are involved in the physiopathology of both these diseases. It is widely accepted that epigenetic pathways play an essential role in the development and function of the immune system. Although many published studies have attempted to elucidate the relation between epigenetic modifications (e.g. DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, miRNAs) and autoimmune disorders, the contribution of epigenetic regulation to the pathogenesis of SS and RA is at present poorly understood. This review attempts to shed light from a critical point of view on the identification of the most relevant epigenetic mechanisms related to RA and SS by explaining intricate regulatory processes and phenotypic features of both autoimmune diseases. Moreover, we point out some epigenetic markers which can be used to monitor the inflammation status and the dysregulated immunity in SS and RA. Finally, we discuss the inconvenience of using epigenetic data obtained from bulk immune cell populations instead specific immune cell subpopulations.
31768328 Effect of an orthosis on foot center of pressure translation for treatment of hallux valgu 2020 Jan OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the change in the center of pressure (COP) path and distribution with or without orthosis for hallux valgus (HV) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: In total, 17 patients and 21 feet were enrolled. We measured the COP path using the COP path measurement device (F-Scan II system). The HV angle (HVA); the anteroposterior COP path length, which was measured as a percentage of the foot length (%Long); transverse width of the COP path which was measured from the most medial to the most lateral point and expressed as a percentage of maximum foot width (%Trans); and the final site of the walking locus were analyzed by comparing patients with RA with and without orthosis. RESULTS: Testing without and with the orthosis showed that the HVAs were 31.8° ± 9.3° and 25.2° ± 6.8° (p < 0.001), the %Long values were 61.1% ± 5.5% and 69.2% ± 5.9% (p < 0.001), and the %Trans values were 28.0% ± 9.1% and 30.1% ± 8.3% (p = 0.108). The final site of the walking locus for the 1st interphalangeal joint without and with orthosis were 8 feet (38.1%) and 15 feet (71.4%) (p = 0.020), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the orthosis for HV improved the walking path and should be considered as a therapeutic option in nonpharmacological treatment of RA.
31749638 Addition Of A Sleeve To The Etanercept Autoinjector (Enbrel(®) MyClic(®)) Improves Ease 2019 PURPOSE: A novel device (sleeve) has been developed that attaches to compatible autoinjectors and is designed to improve the patient experience, particularly for those with limited manual dexterity. This study was designed to explore whether user experience is improved when using the Enbrel(®) MyClic(®) autoinjector in conjunction with the sleeve. The Enbrel MyClic autoinjector contains etanercept (Enbrel(®)), a biologic drug that patients self-administer subcutaneously for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-four adult patients (16 female) with RA and varying degrees of manual dexterity impairment took part in this user study. Written informed consent was supplied by each patient prior to performing the study. They each performed two simulated injections into skin pads, one with the Enbrel MyClic alone and the other with the Enbrel MyClic + sleeve. Following the simulated injections, participants answered questions about their experience of using the sleeve and rated the following on a scale of 1 (poor experience) to 7 (optimal experience): overall use; ease of preparation; ease of administration; ease of learning to use; look, feel and size of the device; overall experience. RESULTS: Participants rated the Enbrel MyClic + sleeve more highly than the Enbrel MyClic alone for overall use, ease of administration, feel, size and overall experience. Participants with severe dexterity impairment (n = 12) were more likely to rate these features as better with the sleeve in place than those with mild dexterity impairment (n = 10). Three-quarters of participants said they would request the sleeve if it became available and all said that they would recommend it to others. The main benefits cited by participants were better grip and a better feeling of control. CONCLUSION: Addition of the sleeve improved patients' experience of using the Enbrel MyClic. The benefits of the sleeve outweighed any inconvenience associated with the additional steps needed to prepare the device.
31417462 Alexithymia and Psychological Distress in Patients With Fibromyalgia and Rheumatic Disease 2019 BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic rheumatologic disease characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and other psychopathological symptoms which have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. FMS is frequently associated with alexithymia, a multidimensional construct characterized by difficulty in identifying feelings (DIF) and verbally communicating them difficulty describing feelings (DDF) and an externally oriented cognitive thinking style (EOT). The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between alexithymia, anxious and depressive symptoms and pain perception, in patients with FMS and other rheumatic diseases (RD). METHODS: The sample consisted of 127 participants (M = 25, F = 102; mean age: 51.97; SD: 11.14), of which 48 with FMS, 41 with RD and 38 healthy control group (HC). All groups underwent to a test battery investigating anxiety and depressive symptoms (HADS), pain (VAS; QUID-S/-A) and alexithymia (TAS-20). RESULTS: A high prevalence of alexithymia (TAS ≥ 61) was found in FMS (47.9%) and RD (41.5%) patients, compared to the HC group (2.6%). FMS patients showed significant higher scores than HC on DIF, DDF, EOT, anxiety and depression. The clinical sample, FMS and RD groups combined (n = 89), alexithymic patients (AL, n = 40) exhibited higher scores in pain and psychological distress compared to non-alexithymic patients (N-AL, n = 34). Regression analysis found no relationship between alexithymia and pain in AL, meanwhile pain intensity was predicted by anxiety in N-AL. CONCLUSION: While increasing clinical symptoms (pain intensity and experience, alexithymia, anxiety, and depression) in patients with fibromyalgia or rheumatic diseases, correlations were found on the one side, between alexithymia and psychological distress, on the other side, between pain experience and intensity. Meanwhile, when symptoms of psychological distress and alexithymia were subthreshold, correlations with pain experience and intensity became stronger.
30911476 Prevalence and patterns of peripheral neuropathy in patients of rheumatoid arthritis. 2019 Jan BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by involvement of multiple small and large joints with multisystem extra-articular manifestations. Peripheral neuropathy is known extra-articular manifestation of RA with the incidence of around 39.19% as per previous studies. Early diagnosis and treatment of peripheral neuropathy has been shown to improve both physical and functional disabilities of patients with RA. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to study prevalence and patterns of peripheral neuropathy in patients with RA. The secondary objective was to study demographic, clinical parameters, disease severity, and extra- articular manifestations in patients with RA with and without peripheral neuropathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients of RA were recruited. Detailed clinical examination and electrophysiological tests were done to diagnose peripheral neuropathy. The demographic and clinical parameters were noted and tabulated. Student's t-test was used to analyze continuous variable, whereas Chi-square test was used for analysis of categorical variables. RESULTS: Of 89 patients with RA, 75.28% (n = 67) patients had peripheral neuropathy electrophysiologically, whereas 20.89% (14 patients of 67) had superficial touch sensory loss on examination. Subclinical neuropathy was present in 50.74% (n = 34) of patients. Statistically significant association between the presence of neuropathy and age of the patients, disease duration, use of disease-modifying antirheumatoid drugs, disease severity (disease activity score-28), and presence of subcutaneous nodules (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with RA, especially elderly patients, should undergo electrophysiological testing to rule out peripheral neuropathy. Electrophysiological study is a diagnostic and gold standard tool to diagnose subclinical neuropathy in patients with RA. Presence of peripheral neuropathy in these patients has been found to be significantly associated with deteriorating health status, pain scores, and presence of extra-articular manifestations.
31839806 SB5 shows cross-immunogenicity to adalimumab but not infliximab: results in patients with 2019 BACKGROUND: The primary objective of this study was to analyze the cross-reactivity of antidrug antibodies to reference adalimumab (ADL) and SB5 (adalimumab biosimilar) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Sera from patients with IBD and RA with or without antibodies to adalimumab (ATA+ or ATA-, respectively) were tested for cross-reactivity with SB5 and ADL. Functional inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α binding was measured. Sera from patients with antibodies to reference infliximab (ATI+) were examined for cross-reactivity to SB5. Sera were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: All 30 anti-ADL ATA+ sera from patients with IBD and all 4 anti-SB5 ATA+ sera from patients with RA were cross-reactive with ADL and SB5 (range of mean concentrations: IBD, 20.99-21.31 μg/ml; RA, 16.46-17.48 μg/ml). In general, there was no significant difference between mean ATA titers. A strong correlation was detected in all ATA+ samples (rho = 0.997 to >0.999; p < 0.001 each). However, ATA- sera were not reactive to either ADL or SB5. anti-ADL ATA+ sera similarly neutralized functional activity of ADL and SB5; no functional inhibition was observed with ATA- sera. ATI+ sera did not cross-react with SB5. CONCLUSIONS: ADL and SB5 show cross-immunogenicity in sera from patients with IBD or RA, supporting shared immune-dominant epitopes. ATI+ sera did not cross-react with SB5, suggesting different immunogenic epitopes between infliximab and SB5.
31598593 Comparison of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Traditional Physiotherapy in Ro 2019 Sep OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) in relieving pain and improving range of motion (ROM) and functionality besides conventional physiotherapy methods in the treatment of chronic rotator cuff calcific tendinitis (RCCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 80 patients (35 males, 45 females; mean age 53.3±9.6 years; range, 40 to 70 years) with chronic RCCT. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: rESWT group (n=40) treated with conventional physiotherapy and rESWT, and control group (n=40) treated only with a conventional physiotherapy program. The traditional physiotherapy program included ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, shoulder joint ROM and stretching exercises, and ice applications. All patients received a total of 20 treatments, five days a week for four weeks. rESWT was applied once a week for four weeks in total. Before and after treatment, all patients were evaluated for age, height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), pain intensity with a Visual Analog Scale, shoulder ROM, and functional disability status with the shortened version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (QuickDASH). RESULTS: Mean BMI value of the participants was 26.1±3.0 kg/m2. Although all parameters of the patients in both groups improved significantly, patients in the rESWT group had a statistically significant improvement in pain, ROM and QuickDash scores (p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: We assume that rESWT is an effective and noninvasive method of reducing pain and increasing ROM and functional status without the need for surgery.
31560010 A core-shell structure QRu-PLGA-RES-DS NP nanocomposite with photothermal response-induced 2019 Oct 10 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a degenerative joint disease caused by autoimmunity; for the effective treatment of RA while avoiding the side effects of conventional drugs, we have proposed a new therapeutic strategy to eliminate the inflammatory response in RA by regulating the immune system that promotes the transformation of M1-type macrophages to M2-type macrophages. Herein, we designed and synthesized a core-shell nanocomposite (QRu-PLGA-RES-DS NPs), which showed an effective therapeutic effect on RA by accurately inducing the polarization of M2 macrophages. In this system, the quadrilateral ruthenium nanoparticles (QRuNPs) with a photothermal effect were utilized as a core and the thermosensitive molecular poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) modified with the targeted molecule dextran sulfate (DS) was employed as a shell. Then, the nanocarrier QRu-PLGA-DS NPs effectively improved the water solubility and targeting of resveratrol (RES) through self-assembly. Therefore, the QRu-PLGA-RES-DS NPs significantly enhanced the ability of RES to reverse the M1 type macrophages to the M2 type macrophages through an accurate release. In vivo experiments further demonstrated that the QRu-PLGA-RES-DS NPs could effectively accumulate in the lesion area with an exogenous stimulus, and this significantly enhanced the transformation of the M2 type macrophages and decreased the recruitment of the M1 type macrophages. Furthermore, the QRu-PLGA-RES-DS NPs effectively treated RA by eliminating the inflammatory response; in addition, photoacoustic imaging (PA) of the QRu NPs provided image guidance for the distribution and analysis of nanomedicine in inflammatory tissues. Hence, this therapeutic strategy promotes the biological applications of Ru-based nanoparticles in disease treatment.
31174663 A 52-Year-Old Woman With an Abdominal Mass, Bilateral Pulmonary Nodules, and Mediastinal 2019 Jun A 52-year-old, nonsmoking, African-American woman with a history of obesity, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis was referred for workup of multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules. The pulmonary nodules were discovered incidentally while undergoing a CT scan for an abdominal mass that was radiographically diagnosed as a uterine leiomyoma. She was asymptomatic from a pulmonary standpoint without unintentional weight loss, fevers, or night sweats. Her mother and sister had a history of lung cancer. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 5 years earlier that was controlled with adalimumab for approximately 3 years when she stopped being seen by her rheumatologist and discontinued adalimumab. During evaluation for the abdominal mass, she re-established care with a rheumatologist and was started on 40 mg prednisone daily with plans to restart adalimumab once the workup for the abdominal mass and pulmonary nodules was completed. She had undergone bariatric surgery with cholecystectomy approximately 5 years earlier, after which she experienced intentional postsurgical weight loss.
30476367 The Safety Profile of Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors in Ankylosing Spondylitis: Are TNF 2019 Apr Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors significantly improved the treatment options for patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Unfortunately, currently, there is no strategy for sustaining remission of the disease with TNF inhibitors; after discontinuation, a high percentage of patients experience flares in a short time. Therefore, up-to-date, long-term use of TNF inhibitors in patients with ankylosing spondylitis remains necessary. For this reason, the issue of the long-term safety of TNF inhibitors in patients with ankylosing spondylitis raises concerns. Although TNF inhibitors are well established in ankylosing spondylitis treatment, the majority of studies on TNF inhibitors' safety have been performed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Until recently, there were very few studies of TNF inhibitors' safety in ankylosing spondylitis. Meanwhile, TNF inhibitors appear to have different safety profiles in ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis. In this review, we describe available data on the occurrence of adverse events associated with TNF inhibitor treatment in ankylosing spondylitis, including serious adverse events, infections, serious infections, tuberculosis, opportunistic infections, hepatitis B reactivation, malignancies, laboratory test abnormalities, autoimmune diseases, paradoxical adverse events, and heart failure.
31207292 The frequency of uveitis in patients with juvenile inflammatory rheumatic diseases. 2019 Nov OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis investigated the frequency and type of ocular involvement in juvenile inflammatory arthritis (JIA) and other juvenile rheumatic diseases. METHODS: Medline, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to September 2018 to identify publications related to juvenile arthritis and rheumatic diseases, which reported frequency of Uveitis in juvenile rheumatic conditions and contained at least 20 patients. The prevalence and type of eye complications were extracted, and random effects models estimated their frequency. Heterogeneity was evaluated using I(2). RESULTS: In total, 7132 unique citations resulted in 59 articles included. Pooled frequency of uveitis was: 24% in oligoarticular JIA, 12% in polyarticular JIA, 1% in systemic JIA, 50% in pediatric Bechet's, 9% in juvenile psoriatic arthritis, 24% in juvenile spondyloarthropathy and 5% in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus. The most common uveitis in JIA was anterior uveitis, which occurred in 14%; also described as iridocyclitis in 10% of patients. Publication bias was negligible for all conditions except those with few reported studies (juvenile SLE and systemic JIA). Uveitis in JIA was more common in Europe (14%), North America (11%) and the Middle East (12%) than East Asia (7%) and Oceania (3%). CONCLUSIONS: Ocular involvement (mostly uveitis) in juvenile inflammatory arthritis and other pediatric rheumatic diseases varied between 3% and 50% depending on the underlying condition; and was highest in pediatric Bechet's. In JIA, the highest frequency of uveitis was in oligoarticular JIA; with anterior uveitis being the most frequent type of uveitis. There was variation geographically for uveitis in JIA.
29992394 Ultrasonographic findings in a patient with reactive arthritis induced by intravesical BCG 2019 Jan Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy is an effective and safe immunotherapy for superficial bladder cancer. However, reactive arthritis (ReA) is reported as an adverse event in about 0.5-1% of patients receiving intravesical BCG therapy. ReA is known as a kind of spondyloarthritis, the main pathological finding of which is enthesitis. Here we report a patient with ReA induced by intravesical BCG therapy for bladder cancer, in whom the diagnosis of ReA was supported by ultrasonographic findings of enthesitis and synovitis. A 69-year-old male was diagnosed with carcinoma in situ of the bladder and treated with intravesical BCG therapy. After the third intravesical BCG injection, pain and swelling appeared in both wrists. Ultrasonographic examination revealed not only intra-articular synovitis in the bilateral wrist joint, wrist flexor tenosynovitis, and wrist extensor tenosynovitis, but also enthesitis of the flexor carpi radialis tendon (FCR). The severe enthesitis of the FCR in both wrists was considered to be an important finding that supported the diagnosis in this patient. Thus, we diagnosed this case as ReA induced by intravesical BCG therapy. In clinical practice, ReA is often difficult to distinguish from seronegative rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Ultrasonographic findings of enthesitis may support a definitive diagnosis for these patients.
30451654 Imaging in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and osteoar 2019 Jan Imaging is increasingly used in the routine management of rheumatic diseases as well as in the clinical trials of these disorders. This viewpoint, authored by a group of international imaging experts following two meetings dedicated to imaging in rheumatology, reports a consensus about the current knowledge and addresses where further research should be focused based on the views of the international imaging experts and discussion of the evidence with attending imaging practitioners. The goal was to maximize the potential of imaging to improve the clinical management of four rheumatic diseases. These rheumatic diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and osteoarthritis.
31159523 [The effect of arthroscopic synovectomy on refractory knee arthritis with popliteal cyst i 2019 Jun 1 Objective: To investigate the efficacy of arthroscopic synovectomy on refractory knee arthritis complicated with popliteal cyst. Methods: Patients diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondyloarthritis (SpA) with refractory knee arthritis who underwent knee arthroscopic synovectomy in our hospital from 2010 to 2017 were enrolled, including 20 patients (16 RA, 4 SpA) with popliteal cyst. Clinical data, RA disease activity score (DAS28), SpA back pain score, etc, were collected to evaluate the efficacy of knee surgery. Results: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) [58(17, 79)mm/1h vs. 19(9, 30)mm/1h, P< 0.001],C reactive protein (CRP) [3.72(0.92,8.14) mg/L vs. 0.85(0.10,3.08) mg/L,P<0.001], rheumatoid factor [64.6(20.2,193.3) vs. 20.5(10.0,58.4),P<0.001], DAS28 score(4.67±1.25 vs. 2.81±1.23,P<0.001), knee joint discomfort score [5(4,6) vs. 2(1,3),P<0.001] and the volume of knee joint effusion by ultrasound (P<0.05) in 95 RA patients were significantly decreased compared to those before operation. ESR [27(12,54)mm/1h vs. 20 (16,28) mm/1 h,P<0.001], CRP [3.27(1.06,6.95) mg/L vs. 1.41(0.34,3.03)mg/L,P<0.001],knee discomfort score [2(0,5) vs. 1(0,3),P<0.05], back pain visual analogue score (VAS) [5(4,5) vs. 2(1,3), P<0.001], and the volume of knee joint effusion by ultrasound (P<0.001) in 58 SpA patients were significantly lower than those before the operation.The rate [16.84%(16/95) vs. 6.32%(6/95),P=0.023] and grading (P=0.007) of popliteal cyst in RA were decreased after the operation. No statistically difference was observed in the rate [6.90% (4/58) vs. 5.17%(3/58), P=0.697] of popliteal cyst in patients with SpA, yet with a trend of decrease in 4 patients. Conclusion: This study provide evidence that knee arthroscopic synovectomy has a good effect for refractory knee arthritis, which can reduce disease activity, improve joint symptoms and decrease the grading of popliteal cyst.
33086974 Case with long-standing gout showing various ultrasonographic features caused by monosodiu 2020 Jan Gout, which is characterized by the deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) in the synovial fluid and other tissues, is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. Unlike the easily recognized acute and monoarticular gouty arthritis, advanced gout induces multiple finger joint disorders and may sometimes mimic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or vice versa. The gold standard for gout diagnosis is the identification of MSU crystals via aspiration in the symptomatic joints or nodules; however, its feasibility and specificity may be inadequate. Recently, there have been important advances in imaging techniques, assisting in the non-invasive diagnosis of gout. Ultrasonography (US) has been known to have the ability to detect deposition of MSU crystals in patients with gout. Herein, we report an evocative case of long-standing gout with precisely detected specific US features indicating MSU crystal deposition and inflammation in multiple joints. Comprehensive US assessment included the bone, hyaline cartilage, soft tissue, subcutaneous nodules and tendon; we also discriminated gouty arthritis from RA.
30907380 [Prevalence of ten Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) in Spain]. 2019 Mar 25 OBJECTIVE: Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) are chronic and highly disabling diseases that share inflammatory sequences and immunological dysregulations. Considered as a disease in itself, the prevalence of IMID is virtually unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of 10 selected UDI, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, hidradenitis suppurativa, sarcoidosis and uveitis in Spain. METHODS: cross-sectional epidemiological study of point prevalence was made. This study was carried out through a series of computerized interviews in households chosen at random in 17 autonomous communities in Spain. A structured questionnaire was used to determine the frequency of diagnosis and the concurrence of 10 IMID in the respondents and other individuals belonging to the same family nucleus. The point prevalence estimates were used and compared with the objective of determining the frequency of IMID by age, sex and communities. The data were processed using Excel 2016 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) and the SPSS V.019 system (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA) for statistical analysis using the usual statistical tests in this type of studies. RESULTS: Of the 7,980 respondents, 510 were diagnosed with an IMID, representing a cross-sectional study of 6.39% (95% CI: 6.02-6.76). One, two, three or more members of the family were affected in 87.2%, 7.8% and 5% of positive relatives in IMID, respectively. The most recurrent diseases were psoriasis (2.69% [95% CI: 2.32-3.06]) and rheumatic arthritis (1.07% [95% CI: 0.70-1.44]). There were differences in prevalence due to sex (p = 0.004) and age (p = 0.000). No significant differences were identified related to geographic location (p = 0.819). Attendance of at least 2 IMID was reported in 8.9% of respondents. CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence was of the IMID studied was 6.39%, psoriasis being the most frequent with 2.69%. This study constitutes an initial step to consider IMID as an independent disease within the health system..
30809710 Hand, foot, and spine deformities in parkinsonian disorders. 2019 Mar Hand and foot deformities, known as "striatal deformities", and other musculoskeletal abnormalities such as dropped head, bent spine, camptocormia, scoliosis and Pisa syndrome, are poorly understood and often misdiagnosed features of Parkinson's disease and other parkinsonian syndromes. These deformities share some similarities with known rheumatologic conditions and can be wrongly diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Dupuytren's contracture, trigger finger, or other rheumatologic or orthopedic conditions. Neurologists, rheumatologists, and other physicians must be familiar with these deformities to prevent misdiagnosis and unnecessary diagnostic tests, and to recommend appropriate treatment options.
30992058 Correction to: Sarilumab plus methotrexate in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis an 2019 Apr 16 Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in Table 2.
30890397 Patients with down syndrome have increased prevalence of rheumatoid factor but not autoant 2019 Aug The association between Down syndrome (DS), a genetic disorder resulting from trisomy of the 21st chromosome, and the autoantibodies of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been proposed but not unequivocally proven. The aim of this study was to determine whether adult patients with DS present higher levels of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies and/or rheumatoid factor (RF) than the general population. Our results showed that none of the 68 patients with DS had anti-CCP antibodies, whereas among 204 age- and sex-matched controls these autoantibodies were present in one person. However, DS patients presented a higher number of RF positive cases than controls (11.7% to 3.2% respectively; Fisher's exact test, p = .027). The higher number of RF positive cases in the DS group without increase of anti-CCP antibodies may be indicative of immune disturbances in general rather than RA in these patients. Our study supports the view that RA does not occur with higher frequency in patients with DS than in the general population.