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ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
33115800 Implementation of a novel home delivery service during pandemic. 2021 Nov INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, measures have been put in place to adapt to patients' needs during home quarantine, such as "telehealthcare". With this service, hospital pharmacists develop a distinct role via the implementation of pharmacovigilance services and pharmaceutical care plans for patients with comorbidities, and for special populations as immunosuppressed patients.MethodsCross-sectional study involving hospital and community pharmacists actively practising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients who could not come to the hospital pharmacy department were provided with a delivery service to the community pharmacy of their choice. RESULTS: A total of 1186 patients requested this service. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents were the most in-demand medication, followed by rheumatoid arthritis and antiretroviral drugs. 125 patients responded to the telephone survey, most of whom stated that they would use the delivery service again, and expressed their desire to continue doing so. DISCUSSION: Without a doubt, telepharmacy and medication delivery services have provided multiple benefits during home quarantine. The delivery service enabled us to provide drugs to patients in their immediate environment through a service that was free for both the patient and the hospital pharmacy service. However, at present, the available evidence of the impact of telepharmacy models is sparse. CONCLUSIONS: This medication delivery service has provided multiple benefits to patients during home quarantine. Although the users of this service seem to be satisfied with the current model, in the future, we should consider which patients would benefit most from this service and shape it to individual needs.
32964653 Insights on the Evidence of Cardiotoxicity of Hydroxychloroquine Prior and During COVID-19 2021 Jan The recent empirical use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) revived the interest in its cardiac toxicity, increasingly sidelined over time. We aimed to assess and compare the profile of cardiac adverse drug reactions (CADRs) associated with HCQ before and during COVID-19. We performed a retrospective comparative observational study using the French Pharmacovigilance network database between 1985 and May 2020 to assess all postmarketing CADRs associated with HCQ notified before COVID-19 in its approved indications for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (preCOV), and those concerning its empirical use in COVID-19 (COV). Eighty-five CADR in preCOV were compared with 141 CADRs in COV. The most common CADR of preCOV were cardiomyopathies (42.4%) and conduction disorders (28.2%), both statistically more frequent than in COV (P < 0.001). COV notifications significantly highlighted repolarization and ventricular rhythm disorders (78.0%, P < 0.001) as well as sinus bradycardias (14.9%, P = 0.01) as compared with preCOV. Estimated incidence of CADR was significantly higher among patients exposed to off-label use of HCQ in COVID-19 (2.9%) than before COVID-19 in its approved indications (0.01%, P < 0.001). The use of HCQ in COVID-19 sheds a new light on the spectrum of its cardiac toxicity. This fosters the value of a closer monitoring of all patients treated with HCQ, regardless of its indication, and the importance of an update of its summary of product characteristics.
32876429 Statistical Modeling for Enhancing the Discovery Power of Citrullination from Tandem Mass 2020 Oct 6 Citrullination is a post-translational modification implicated in various human diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancers. Due to a relatively low concentration of citrullinated proteins in the total proteome, confident identification of citrullinated proteome is challenging in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic analysis. From these MS-based analyses, MS features that characterize citrullination, such as immonium ions (IMs) and neutral losses (NLs), called diagnostic ions, have been reported. However, there has been a lack of systematic approaches to comprehensively search for diagnostic ions and no statistical methods for the identification of citrullinated proteome based on these diagnostic ions. Here, we present a systematic approach to identify diagnostic IMs, internal ions (INTs), and NLs for citrullination from tandem mass (MS/MS) spectra. Diagnostic INTs mainly consisted of internal fragment ions for di- and tripeptides that contained two and three amino acids with at least one citrullinated arginine, respectively. A statistical logistic regression model was built for a confident assessment of citrullinated peptides that database searches identified (true positives) and prediction of citrullinated peptides that database searches failed to identify (false negatives) using the diagnostic IMs, INTs, and NLs. Applications of our model to complex global proteome data sets demonstrated the increased accuracy in the identification of citrullinated peptides, thereby enhancing the size and functional interpretation of citrullinated proteomes.
32856055 Bioinformatics analysis of the potential biomarkers for acute respiratory distress syndrom 2020 Sep 30 BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is caused by uncontrolled inflammation, and the activation of alveolar macrophages (AM) is involved in pathophysiologic procedures. The present study aimed to identify key AM genes and pathways and try to provide potential targets for prognosis and early intervention in ARDS. METHODS: The mRNA expression profile of GSE89953 was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The LIMMA package in R software was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the clusterProfiler package was used for functional enrichment and pathway analyses. A protein-protein interaction network of DEGs was constructed to identify hub genes via the STRING database and Cytoscape software. Hub gene expression was validated using differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) obtained from the ProteomeXchange datasets to screen potential biomarkers. RESULTS: A total of 166 DEGs (101 up-regulated and 65 down-regulated) were identified. The up-regulated DEGs were mainly enriched in regulation of the ERK1 and ERK2 cascade, response to interferon-gamma, cell chemotaxis, and migration in biological processes. In the KEGG pathway analysis, up-regulated DEGs were mainly involved in rheumatoid arthritis, cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, phagosome, and the chemokine signaling pathway. The 12 hub genes identified included GZMA, MPO, PRF1, CXCL8, ELANE, GZMB, SELL, APOE, SPP1, JUN, CD247, and CCL2. CONCLUSION: SPP1 was consistently differentially expressed in both DEGs and DEPs. SPP1 could be a potential biomarker for ARDS.
32707869 The CCL20-CCR6 Axis in Cancer Progression. 2020 Jul 22 Chemokines, which are basic proteins that exert their effects via G protein-coupled receptors and a subset of the cytokine family, are mediators deeply involved in leukocyte migration during an inflammatory reaction. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 20 (CCL20), also known as macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3α, liver activation regulated chemokine (LARC), and Exodus-1, is a small protein that is physiologically expressed in the liver, colon, and skin, is involved in tissue inflammation and homeostasis, and has a specific receptor C-C chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6). The CCL20-CCR6 axis has long been known to be involved in inflammatory and infectious diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and human immunodeficiency virus infections. Recently, however, reports have shown that the CCL20-CCR6 axis is associated with several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, and kidney cancer. The CCL20-CCR6 axis promotes cancer progression directly by enhancing migration and proliferation of cancer cells and indirectly by remodeling the tumor microenvironment through immune cell control. The present article reviewed the role of the CCL20-CCR6 axis in cancer progression and its potential as a therapeutic target.
32421977 Inflammation, NF-κB, and Chronic Diseases: How are They Linked? 2020 Most chronic diseases, caused by lifestyle factors, appear to be linked to inflammation. Inflammation is activated mechanistically, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a significant mediator. NF-κB, one of the most studied transcription factors, was first identified in the nucleus of B lymphocytes almost three decades ago. This protein has a key function in regulating the human immune system, and its dysregulation has been linked to many chronic diseases including asthma, cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, and neurological disorders. Physiologically, many cytokines have been discovered that activate NF-κB. Pathologically, environmental carcinogens such as cigarette smoke, radiation, bacteria, and viruses can also activate this transcription factor. NF-κB activation controls expression of more than 500 genes, and most are deleterious to the human body when dysregulated. More than 70,000 articles have been published regarding NF-κB. This review emphasizes the upside and downside of NF-κB in normal and disease conditions and the ways in which we can control this critical transcription factor in patients.
32188617 HHV-6: an unusual cause of cerebellar ataxia. 2020 Mar 17 Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection is the cause of roseola infantum in children. The reactivation of HHV-6 is associated with multiple clinical syndromes including encephalitis and myelitis, especially in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. However, the virus can cause encephalitis in other immunosuppressed as well as immunocompetent individuals. We report a case of a 70-year-old woman who was immunocompromised secondary to treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with leflunomide and methotrexate. The patient presented with acute ataxia, diplopia and dysarthria. MRI brain showed an enhancing lesion in the midbrain. The diagnosis of HHV-6 encephalitis was made after HHV-6 A DNA was detected in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment consisted of a 3-week course of intravenous ganciclovir along with physiotherapy. At a 3-month follow-up, repeat MRI brain showed a decrease in size and oedema of the lesion and the patient's neurological function was improved.
32521236 Interplay between Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential and Metabolism. 2020 Jul Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), defined as a clone of hematopoietic cells consisting of a single acquired mutation during a lifetime, has recently been discovered to be a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). As such, this phenomenon has sparked interest into the role that these single mutations may play in CVD. Atherosclerotic CVD is a complex disease and we have previously shown that atherosclerosis can be accelerated by metabolic- or autoimmune-related risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, and rheumatoid arthritis. In this review, we discuss the role of CHIP, the interplay between CHIP and metabolic diseases, as well as how metabolism of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) could regulate CHIP-related HSC fate.
32298964 The role of follicular T helper cells in the onset and treatment of type 1 diabetes. 2020 Jul Follicular T helper (TFH) cells are a unique subset of CD4(+) T cells. Their main function is to participate in the formation of germinal centres (GC) and help B cells produce antibodies for involvement in humoral immune responses. TFH cell dysregulation can cause various autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), systemic lupus erythaematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis. Among them, T1DM is usually accompanied by high levels of autoantibodies, such as insulin antibody (IAA) and glutamate decarboxylase 65 antibody (GAD65Ab). The production of these autoantibodies is closely related to the production and activation of TFH cells in vivo, which promotes the development of T1DM. Therefore, this review will focus on the relationship between TFH cells and T1DM and the possible mechanisms that affect the disease and summarize the current strategies for targeting TFH cells in the treatment of T1DM.
32208166 A new target for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: Interleukin-37. 2020 Jun Interleukin (IL)-37 belongs to the IL-1 cytokine family. It has anti-inflammatory effects on numerous autoimmune diseases such as asthma, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Mechanistically, IL-37 plays an anti-inflammatory role by regulating the expression of inflammatory factors in two ways: binding extracellular receptors IL-18R or transferring into the nucleus with Smad3. IBD is a kind of idiopathic intestinal inflammatory disease with unknown etiology and pathogenesis. Recent researches had proved that IL-37 is negatively involved in the pathogenesis and development of IBD. Among various inflammatory diseases, IL-37 has been shown to regulate inflammatory development by acting on various immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages (MÏ•), dendritic cells (DCs), T cells and intestinal epithelial cells. This review summarizes the biological role of IL-37, and its immunoregulatory effects on the immune cells, especially anti-inflammatory function in both human and experimental models of IBD.
32176033 No difference in clinical outcome and survivorship after total knee arthroplasty with pate 2020 Mar The study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes and surgery survivorship for over 10 years following patellar resurfacing or nonresurfacing in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in a cohort of Chinese patients.From 1998 to 2003, 355 patients underwent primary TKA in our institute. The survivorship of TKA between the patellar resurfacing and nonresurfacing groups and the clinical outcome of Hospital for Special Surgery knee score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities index score, patellar score, patellar related complications, and radiological results were studied at latest follow-up.There was no statistically significant difference for the Hospital for Special Surgery score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities score, and the patellar score between the 2 groups after an average 12.4-year follow-up. Nonresurfacing group had higher anterior knee pain than the resurfacing group (13.2% vs 5.6%). The patients with rheumatoid arthritis had a 2.9-fold higher rate of patellar-related complications than did the patients with osteoarthritis. The 10-year survival rate was not significantly different between the 2 groups both for revision surgery (P = .505) and for patellar-related complication (P = .194).There was no significant difference in the long-term clinical outcome and survivorship between patellar resurfacing and nonresurfacing. Patellar nonresurfacing could be advisable during primary TKA for osteoarthritis patients. Selective patellar resurfacing for RA patients could achieve lower patellar-related complications.
32131438 Small Molecule Wnt Pathway Modulators from Natural Sources: History, State of the Art and 2020 Mar 2 The Wnt signaling is one of the major pathways known to regulate embryonic development, tissue renewal and regeneration in multicellular organisms. Dysregulations of the pathway are a common cause of several types of cancer and other diseases, such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. This makes Wnt signaling an important therapeutic target. Small molecule activators and inhibitors of signaling pathways are important biomedical tools which allow one to harness signaling processes in the organism for therapeutic purposes in affordable and specific ways. Natural products are a well known source of biologically active small molecules with therapeutic potential. In this article, we provide an up-to-date overview of existing small molecule modulators of the Wnt pathway derived from natural products. In the first part of the review, we focus on Wnt pathway activators, which can be used for regenerative therapy in various tissues such as skin, bone, cartilage and the nervous system. The second part describes inhibitors of the pathway, which are desired agents for targeted therapies against different cancers. In each part, we pay specific attention to the mechanisms of action of the natural products, to the models on which they were investigated, and to the potential of different taxa to yield bioactive molecules capable of regulating the Wnt signaling.
31986916 Naringenin: a potential natural remedy against methotrexate-induced hepatotoxicity in rats 2022 Mar Hepatotoxicity is an adverse side effect of methotrexate (MTX) administration for the treatment of different malignancies, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Naringenin (NAR) is a citrus flavone with multiple pharmacological characteristics. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effects of NAR on MTX-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. For this purpose, 32 Wistar rats were randomly divided into four experimental groups as group 1 Control, group 2 NAR (50 mg/kg/d, o.p.), group 3 MTX (20 mg/kg/d, i.p.), group 4 NAR + MTX. NAR was administrated for 10 consecutive days and MTX was injected on the ninth day. The results indicated that MTX significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA), NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels in the liver. On the other hand, administration of MTX reduced the GSH content, as well as CAT, SOD, and GPx levels. NAR administration remarkably improved MTX-induced alteration of biochemical biomarkers. Our findings were confirmed by the histopathological examination of the liver. Based on our findings, NAR may inhibit MTX-induced hepatotoxicity through scavenging reactive free radicals and inducing anti-inflammatory effects.
31900383 Interleukin-1β is a potential therapeutic target for periodontitis: a narrative review. 2020 Jan 2 Interleukin(IL)-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, was elevated and participates in periodontitis. Not only the link between IL-1β and periodontitis was proved by clinical evidence, but also the increased IL-1β triggers a series of inflammatory reactions and promotes bone resorption. Currently, IL-1β blockage has been therapeutic strategies for autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, gout and type II diabetes mellitus. It is speculated that IL-1β be a potential therapeutic target for periodontitis. The review focuses on the production, mechanism, present treatments and future potential strategies for IL-1β in periodontitis.
32714470 Acide hyaluronique intra articulaire dans la gonarthrose: une étude long-terme, ouverte, 2020 INTRODUCTION: Les injections intra articulaires (IA) d'acide hyaluronique (HA) désignées sous le nom de viscosupplémentation (VS), sont fréquemment utilisées dans le traitement symptomatique de la gonarthrose (OA), une affection ostéo-articulaire chronique douloureuse et handicapante, qui touche une fraction importante de la population âgée. La sévérité de la gonarthrose est en général décrite par la classification en stades radiologiques de Kellgren-Lawrence (KL). La VS a été largement étudiée à travers de nombreux essais cliniques; cependant, les résultats sont rarement analysés en détail, en fonction du stade KL. MÉTHODE: Une étude ouverte importante, portant sur 1 177 patients souffrant de gonarthrose, fut réalisée de 2004 à 2007. Chaque patient a reçu un traitement de VS consistant en 3 injections d'ARTHRUM H 2% (LCA Pharmaceutical, Chartres, France). A l'inclusion, les patients ont été décrits par leur profil démographique, leur indice de masse corporelle (IMC), leur stade KL et leur état clinique selon les sous-scores douleur et fonction de l'indice Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC). Les visites de suivi étaient à M3, M6 et M9 (mois) après la VS. Cette large base de données a été entièrement retraitée en 2019, de manière à fournir une analyse séparée par stade KL, et fut complétée par l'évaluation des taux de patients répondeurs (%) au traitement, selon l'Outcome Measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials & Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OMERACT-OARSI). L'analyse fut menée à la fois sur les populations en intention de traiter (ITT) et per protocole (PP) ayant terminé l'étude. RÉSULTATS: En analyse ITT du critère principal, les variations du sous-score WOMAC A (douleur) depuis l'inclusion jusqu'à la fin de l'étude, ont été respectivement de 19,8 ; 19,8 ; 17,8 et 14,2, sur une échelle de 0-100, pour les patients des stades KL I à KL IV. En analyse PP dans les mêmes conditions, ces variations ont été de 20,6 ; 19,9 ; 17,1 et 11,7. Tous ces résultats étaient significatifs par rapport aux valeurs à l'inclusion (p<0.001) et cliniquement pertinents à chaque stade KL. Des améliorations significatives ont été également observées pour le sous-score WOMAC C (fonction), et pour les autres critères secondaires. Le taux de répondeurs OMERACT-OARSI variait de 72 à 82% pour les patients KL I à III à M6 et M9. Pour les patients KL IV, le maximum atteint a été 47.7% à M6. Les autres paramètres tels que le sexe, l'IMC ou l'âge, ne furent pas identifiés comme des facteurs de pronostic pour la réponse à la VS. CONCLUSIONS: L'analyse détaillée par stade KL d'une large cohorte de patients suivis en ouvert, suggère le traitement de VS avec ARTHRUM H 2% est applicable à une grande variété de patients gonarthrosiques.
32828145 Utilisation patterns and clinical impact of the introduction of infliximab-biosimilar in T 2021 Jul OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at assessing the impact of a non-medical recommendation on drug-utilisation patterns and clinical outcomes in a central Region of Italy (Tuscany). METHODS: We performed a pre-post study on data collected in Tuscan healthcare administrative databases. We included patients with diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis, or ulcerative colitis, or Crohn's disease, or psoriasis. The first analysis compared patients treated with infliximab on January 1st, 2013 (originator only available) to those on January 1st, 2016 (both originator and biosimilar available). The second analysis compared infliximab-originator users with infliximab-biosimilar ones. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) of persistence on treatment, Emergency Department (ED) admissions, hospitalisations and specialist visits were calculated. RESULTS: The first analysis included 606 patients and the second 434. In both analyses, we did not observe any significant difference in persistence. In the first analysis, the 2016 infliximab-originator cohort showed a significant association with the risk of having at least one ED admission (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.31). A significant difference of accessing a specialist visit (more frequently rheumatologic) was observed in the 2016 cohort (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.20). In the second analysis, the risk of having at least one hospitalisation decreased significantly in switchers to infliximab-biosimilar (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed no relevant changes in the clinical outcomes following the introduction of infliximab-biosimilar. The few observed differences observed can be explained mainly by a selective switching to infliximab-biosimilar in patients with lower burden of disease.
32198923 Impaired proteolysis by SPPL2a causes CD74 fragment accumulation that can be recognized by 2020 Aug Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is associated with autoantibody production to class II MHC-associated invariant chain peptide, CD74/CLIP. In this study, we considered that anti-CD74/CLIP autoantibodies present in sera from AS might recognize CD74 degradation products that accumulate upon deficiency of the enzyme signal peptide peptidase-like 2A (SPPL2a). We analyzed monocytes from healthy controls (n = 42), psoriatic arthritis (n = 25), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 16), and AS patients (n = 15) for SPPL2a enzyme activity and complemented the experiments using SPPL2a-sufficient and -deficient THP-1 cells. We found defects in SPPL2a function and CD74 processing in a subset of AS patients, which culminated in CD74 and HLA class II display at the cell surface. These findings were verified in SPPL2a-deficient THP-1 cells, which showed expedited expression of MHC class II, total CD74 and CD74 N-terminal degradation products at the plasma membrane upon receipt of an inflammatory trigger. Furthermore, we observed that IgG anti-CD74/CLIP autoantibodies recognize CD74 N-terminal degradation products that accumulate upon SPPL2a defect. In conclusion, reduced activity of SPPL2a protease in monocytes from AS predisposes to endosomal accumulation of CD74 and CD74 N-terminal fragments, which, upon IFN-γ-exposure, is deposited at the plasma membrane and can be recognized by anti-CD74/CLIP autoantibodies.
32035988 Clinical Outcomes of Hip Arthroscopy in Patients With Systemic Inflammatory Diseases Compa 2020 May PURPOSE: To evaluate postoperative outcomes and preoperative risk factors for patients with underlying systemic inflammatory disorders after hip arthroscopy. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients who had undergone hip arthroscopy, with a history of systemic inflammatory disease, was performed. This included patients with a diagnosis of lupus, a positive antinuclear antibody test, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, sarcoidosis, inflammatory bowel disease, Reiter syndrome, and mixed connective tissue disease. These cases were 1:2 matched to a control group of patients with no history of systemic inflammatory disease based on age and sex. An a priori power analysis was conducted and A 1:2 case-control ratio was selected to increase study power. Inclusion criteria included all skeletally mature patients with hip pain refractory to nonoperative management who underwent hip arthroscopy for labral tears and femoroacetabular impingement. Skeletally immature patients, those with Tönnis grades of 2 or more (less than 2 mm of joint space), hip dysplasia, patients undergoing revision hip arthroscopy, and patients whose pain failed to improve after intra-articular injection were excluded. The primary outcome was rate of revision hip arthroscopy or total hip arthroplasty 24 months after surgery. Secondary outcomes included 2 patient-reported outcome scores, the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) and Non-Arthritic Hip Score (NAHS). RESULTS: Twenty patients (21 hip arthroscopy procedures) and 42 controls were included. There was no significant difference in proportion of patients who met failure criteria (28.6% vs 16.7%, P = .271) or 2-year survivorship (76.2% vs 83.3%, P = .496) between the systemic inflammatory disorder and control groups, respectively. Both groups had a significant improvement in mHHS and NAHS at 24 months compared with baseline; however, there was no significant difference in mHHS (P = .28) or NAHS (P = .22) at 24 months between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with underlying inflammatory conditions have similar 2-year outcomes after hip arthroscopy for intra-articular pathology compared with patients with no history of inflammatory disease. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, retrospective comparative study.
32984368 Neoplasm Risk in Rheumatic Diseases Has No Correlation With Conventional Synthetic Disease 2020 Objectives: To investigate whether there is an elevated neoplasm risk in patients with rheumatic diseases treated with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs). Methods: A population-based nested case-control study was performed by retrieving all patients newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or psoriasis vulgaris (PsO) from the 2000 Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID 2000) in Taiwan. Two hundred and sixty-one patients with neoplasm from 1997 to 2013 were enrolled in this study, and controls were matched in a 1:1 ratio with age, sex, and year of enrollment. Composition of demographic indices, comorbidities, medication usage, and differences in days of prescription of different medications between neoplasm and neoplasm-free (control) groups were compared. Results: Between the control and neoplasm groups, no differences in ratio were observed in the usage of hydroxychloroquine (50.96 vs. 49.04%, p = 0.6616), methotrexate (26.82 vs. 27.59%, p = 0.8441), azathioprine (3.45 vs. 3.07%, p = 0.8052), and cyclophosphamide (1.15 vs. 2.30%, p = 0.3131) from enrollment to index date. Medications within 3 years before the index date in patients that had ≥3 months of comparable duration also showed no difference (hydroxychloroquine: 33.06 vs. 30.25%, p = 0.6404; methotrexate: 20.66 vs. 25.21%, p = 0.4018; azathioprine: 2.48 vs. 2.52%, p = 0.9835; cyclophosphamide: 0.83 vs. 0.84%, p = 0.9906). We also made a subgroup analysis focusing on RA and SLE patients; no difference between control and neoplasm group in both the ratio of usage and days of prescription of hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, azathioprine, and cyclophosphamide was observed. Conclusion: Neoplasm risk in patients with rheumatic diseases has no correlation with csDMARD usage.
32776178 The impact of pharmaceutical care on the efficacy and safety of transdermal glucosamine su 2021 Feb Background Arthritis is a common chronic joint disease. It progressively causes joint pain, stiffness, and disability. Glucosamine sulfate has been shown to be an effective symptom-relieving biological agent. Pharmaceutical care, including patient counseling, is very important to overcome inconsistencies in compliance and adherence. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical care on the efficacy and safety of transdermal glucosamine sulfate and capsaicin (TGC-Plus cream) in the management of chronic joint pain. Settings A rheumatology outpatient clinic, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan. Methods A cross sectional study with a single treatment group was conducted. One hundred (100) patients diagnosed with either osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or chronic joint pains were recruited. Patients started on TGC-Plus cream applied twice daily for duration of 12 weeks. Patients received pharmaceutical care services during the study duration. Main outcome measure Efficacy and safety of TGC-Plus cream in pain relief and joint function improvement (alleviating joint stiffness) the need of alternative analgesics and number of doctor's visits. Results There was a significant reduction of numerical pain score (7 ± 1.40 vs. 3.53 ± 2.13, p < 0.05), with significant reduction in the limitation of joint movement (6.18 ± 2.14 vs. 3.47 ± 2.23, p < 0.05) after 12 weeks. In addition, the need for analgesics and the number of doctor's visits were significantly reduced (1.99 ± 2.77 vs. 0.71 ± 1.90, p < 0.05), (1.11 ± 1.28 vs. 0.06 ± 0.293, p < 0.05) respectively. Conclusion Pharmacist supervised treatment with the TGC-Plus cream significantly reduces pain and enhances locomotor function in patients with chronic pain who failed to achieve adequate prior pain relief.