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

ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
32619340 Systematic Literature Review of Residual Symptoms and an Unmet Need in Patients With Rheum 2021 Nov OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nature and burden of residual disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who meet treatment targets. Second, for those who did not meet targets, to evaluate how much is due to patient symptoms. METHODS: Prospective and retrospective studies were searched in Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library in the English language from January 1, 2008 to April 18, 2018; conference abstracts (from January 2016 to April 2018) and reference lists of relevant studies were also screened. RESULTS: Of 8,339 records identified, 55 were included in the review; 53 were unique studies, including 10 randomized controlled trials. Of these, 48 reported on patients who achieved low disease activity (LDA) or remission. Studies varied in population, treatment goals, and outcome reporting. The proportions of patients with residual symptoms in these studies varied by the definitions used for LDA or remission and were more often reported in patients with LDA than those in remission. The most commonly reported outcome measures were functional disability (n = 34 studies), tender or swollen joints (n = 18), pain (n = 17), patient global assessment (n = 15), and fatigue (n = 14). However, few studies reported the percentage of patients achieving a specific threshold, which could then be used to easily define the presence of residual symptoms. CONCLUSION: Residual symptoms are present in some patients despite their achieving LDA or remission, highlighting an unmet need, especially with respect to improving pain, fatigue, and function. Standardized reporting in future observational studies would facilitate better understanding of this issue in defined RA populations.
32851423 Nurse-led care for the management of rheumatoid arthritis: a review of the global literatu 2021 Mar Globally, increasing demand for rheumatology services has led to a greater reliance on non-physician healthcare professionals (HCPs), such as rheumatology nurse specialists, to deliver care as part of a multidisciplinary team. Across Africa and the Middle East (AfME), there remains a shortage of rheumatology HCPs, including rheumatology nurses, which presents a major challenge to the delivery of rheumatology services, and subsequently the treatment and management of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To further explore the importance of nurse-led care (NLC) for patients with RA and create a set of proposed strategies for the implementation of NLC in the AfME region, we used a modified Delphi technique. A review of the global literature was conducted using the PubMed search engine, with the most relevant publications selected. The findings were summarized and presented to the author group, which was composed of representatives from different countries and HCP disciplines. The authors also drew on their knowledge of the wider literature to provide context. Overall, results suggest that NLC is associated with improved patient perceptions of RA care, and equivalent or superior clinical and cost outcomes versus physician-led care in RA disease management. Expert commentary provided by the authors gives insights into the challenges of implementing nurse-led RA care. We further report practical proposed strategies for the development and implementation of NLC for patients with RA, specifically in the AfME region. These proposed strategies aim to act as a foundation for the introduction and development of NLC programs across the AfME region.
32798211 Innate immunity drives pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. 2021 Apr Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease affecting ∼1% of the general population. This disease is characterized by persistent articular inflammation and joint damage driven by the proliferating synovial tissue fibroblasts as well as neutrophil, monocyte and lymphocyte trafficking into the synovium. The factors leading to RA pathogenesis remain poorly elucidated although genetic and environmental factors have been proposed to be the main contributors to RA. The majority of the early studies focused on the role of lymphocytes and adaptive immune responses in RA. However, in the past two decades, emerging studies showed that the innate immune system plays a critical role in the onset and progression of RA pathogenesis. Various innate immune cells including monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells are involved in inflammatory responses seen in RA patients as well as in driving the activation of the adaptive immune system, which plays a major role in the later stages of the disease. Here we focus the discussion on the role of different innate immune cells and components in initiation and progression of RA. New therapeutic approaches targeting different inflammatory pathways and innate immune cells will be highlighted here. Recent emergence and the significant roles of innate lymphoid cells and inflammasomes will be also discussed.
33599787 [Ultrasound of the hand-clinical indications]. 2021 May BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography continues to gain in importance in musculoskeletal diagnostics and has become the imaging modality of first choice in the search for active inflammation in patients with arthritis. OBJECTIVES: Value of ultrasonography, examination techniques, explanation of findings and differential diagnoses in arthrosonography of the hand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Review of the literature, description of the examination procedure, discussion of recent publications, guidelines and recommendations. RESULTS: Ultrasonography is a sensitive and specific method that is easy to learn. Ultrasonography and radiography are complementary and should be interpreted together. A good ultrasound generally makes the more expensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unnecessary. Findings in rheumatoid arthritis and its differential diagnoses should be interpreted in a clinical context taking into consideration the number and quantity and lack of other findings. CONCLUSIONS: According to recent developments, athrosonography will gain more importance for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis in arthritis patients. An interdisciplinary approach helps in understanding the disease and imaging findings.
33685929 How to enhance recruitment of individuals at risk of rheumatoid arthritis into trials aime 2021 Mar OBJECTIVES: Several trials to test the efficacy of a pharmacological intervention aimed at primary prevention of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are ongoing or have recently been completed. A common issue in these trials is the severe difficulty with patient recruitment. In order to enhance recruitment, this qualitative study identified barriers and facilitators of individuals at risk of RA to participate in a prevention trial. METHODS: Individuals at risk of developing RA (ie, arthralgia with anticitrullinated protein antibodies and/or rheumatoid factor without arthritis), who had previously been asked to participate in a prevention trial, participated in focus group discussions (n=18) exploring their facilitators and barriers for trial participation. Thematic analysis identified factors that were important in at-risk individuals' decision about trial participation. RESULTS: The prospect of personal benefit, the acknowledgement of one's symptoms and the desire to contribute to society facilitated trial participation. In contrast, misconception about what it means to be at risk, or about the aim of the prevention trial, negative views on trial medication, and a low perceived urgency to act on the possibility of developing RA versus a high perceived burden of participating in a trial discouraged participation. CONCLUSIONS: To enhance inclusion in trials aimed to prevent RA, the results suggest to use strategies such as optimising education about RA, personal risk, trial aim and trial medication, explicitly addressing misconceptions and concerns, using tools to improve information provision, limiting study burden in trial design and encouraging physicians to mention trial participation.
33529715 Autocitrullination of PAD4 does not alter its enzymatic activity: In vitro and in silico s 2021 May BACKGROUND: Protein arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) is an enzyme capable of converting arginine (positively charged residue) into citrulline (neutral residue). PAD4 is a promiscuous enzyme since it citrullinates various substrates, including small peptides, large proteins and itself. The effect of autocitrullination on PAD4 activity remains controversial and inconclusive. We hypothesized that PAD4 autocitrullination may influence the activity of PAD4 by indirectly altering its binding to substrate. METHODS: We employed mass spectrometry analysis to study the process of autocitrullination. The kinetics of citrullination of PAD4 and citrullinated PAD4 (citPAD4) towards substrates of different sizes (0.17-15.4 kDa), i.e. free arginine, a peptidyl substrate, and histone H3, were studied by colorimetric assay and Western blotting. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to investigate structural dynamic and binding properties of PAD4/citPAD4 in the absence and presence of substrates. RESULTS: We observed that 23/27 arginine residues in PAD4 (85 %) can be citrullinated, including R372, R374 and R639 located near the substrate binding pocket. PAD4 and citPAD4 expressed comparable enzymatic activities towards different substrates. In agreement with experimental results, MD simulations indicated that autocitrullination does not change the shape of the substrate binding pocket and PAD4/citPAD4 exhibited comparable binding free energy with a H3-derived peptidyl substrate (6-TARKS-10). CONCLUSION: While the effect of autocitrullination on PAD4 activity thus far remained unclear and controversial, here we have demonstrated that autocitrullination does not affect the activity of PAD4. Thus, the regulation of PAD4 activity is probably not controlled by autocitrullination but likely by other mechanisms that need further investigation.
31912644 Improved Pregnancy Outcome in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Who Followed an Ideal Cli 2021 Feb OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of optimal management of pregnancy on a composite outcome of miscarriage and complicated birth among women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Data were extracted from health care databases of the Lombardy Region, Italy (2004-2013) as a part of the Record-Linkage on Rheumatic Diseases Study. Analyses included women with RA identified through a copayment exemption code (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code 714.0) and controls from the general population, ages 18-50 years. Seven health care quality indicators (HCQI) were constructed and summarized in 3 pathway indicators: diagnostic, therapeutic, and prenatal follow-up. Complicated birth or miscarriage were used to identify the adverse pregnancy outcome (APO). The relationship between HCQI and APO was analyzed using logistic models, and the results were presented as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). RESULTS: Data from the study cohort included the first pregnancy observed in 443 patients with RA compared with 6,097 women belonging to the general population. In the RA population, patients who followed the 3 pathway indicators had a reduced risk of overall APO, with an OR of 0.60 (95% CI 0.39-0.94), and reduced risk of miscarriage/perinatal death, with an OR of 0.40 (95% CI 0.24-0.69), compared to those who did not follow the pathway indicators. Compared with the general population, patients with RA who met all HCQI during pregnancy displayed a risk of APO with an OR of 0.92 (95% CI 0.61-1.38) and miscarriage/perinatal death with an OR of 0.77 (95% CI 0.47-1.29). CONCLUSION: The adherence to an ideal clinical pathway of pregnancy management in women with RA restored the risk of APO to that expected for the general population.
34432365 Assessing methotrexate intolerance and its prevalence in rheumatoid arthritis: Development 2021 Oct OBJECTIVE: Methotrexate (MTX) intolerance refers to unpleasant symptoms that accompany use of MTX. Although a validated questionnaire on MTX intolerance exists for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, it is lacking for adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS: A 10-item questionnaire called Methotrexate Intolerance and Severity assessment in Adults (MISA) was developed to assess MTX intolerance. On receiver operating characteristic analysis, its predictive ability was compared to Methotrexate Intolerance Severity Score (MISS), a validated questionnaire for children. Subsequently, prevalence and associations of intolerance were assessed in 414 RA patients. After 1 year, discontinuation of MTX was compared between patients with and without MTX intolerance. RESULTS: MISA score had a good predictive ability (area under the curve [AUC] of 0.904), with sensitivity and specificity of 91.4% and 84.3% (cut-off ≥1) to correctly classify MTX intolerance and was better than MISS score (AUC of 0.823). Among 414 RA patients, 159 (38.4%) had MTX intolerance, with common symptoms being nausea, lethargy, irritability and loss of appetite. On multivariable analysis, age (odds ratio 0.972) and body mass index (odds ratio 1.061) were significant predictors of MTX intolerance. At 1 year, a higher proportion of patients with intolerance than without intolerance had discontinued MTX (odds ratio 2.4, P = 0.02). To classify severity of intolerance, another score, MISA-cross-product, was developed and validated, with an AUC of 0.899. CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed MISA questionnaire and score had good predictive ability to diagnose MTX intolerance. Intolerance to MTX was common, being found in one-third of RA patients. Patients with intolerance were twice more likely to discontinue MTX at 1 year.
34484204 Haplotype-Specific Expression Analysis of MHC Class II Genes in Healthy Individuals and Rh 2021 HLA-DRB1 alleles have been associated with several autoimmune diseases. For anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive rheumatoid arthritis (RA), HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) alleles are the major genetic risk factors. In order to study the genetic regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class II gene expression in immune cells, we investigated transcriptomic profiles of a variety of immune cells from healthy individuals carrying different HLA-DRB1 alleles. Sequencing libraries from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD14+ monocytes of 32 genetically pre-selected healthy female individuals were generated, sequenced and reads were aligned to the standard reference. For the MHC region, reads were mapped to available MHC reference haplotypes and AltHapAlignR was used to estimate gene expression. Using this method, HLA-DRB and HLA-DQ were found to be differentially expressed in different immune cells of healthy individuals as well as in whole blood samples of RA patients carrying HLA-DRB1 SE-positive versus SE-negative alleles. In contrast, no genes outside the MHC region were differentially expressed between individuals carrying HLA-DRB1 SE-positive and SE-negative alleles, thus HLA-DRB1 SE alleles have a strong cis effect on gene expression. Altogether, our findings suggest that immune effects associated with different allelic forms of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ may be associated not only with differences in the structure of these proteins, but also with differences in their expression levels.
33589553 Improved Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Incident Rheumatoid Arthriti 2021 Sep OBJECTIVE: To assess trends in incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality following incident CVD events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) onset in 1980-2009 vs non-RA subjects. METHODS: We studied Olmsted County, Minnesota residents with incident RA (aged > 18 yrs, 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria met in 1980-2009) and non-RA subjects from the same source population with similar age, sex, and calendar year of index. All subjects were followed until death, migration, or December 31, 2016. Incident CVD events included myocardial infarction and stroke. Patients with CVD before RA incidence/index date were excluded. Cox models were used to compare incident CVD events by decade, adjusting for age, sex, and CVD risk factors. RESULTS: The study included 905 patients with RA and 904 non-RA subjects. Cumulative incidence of any CVD event was lower in patients with incident RA in the 2000s vs the 1980s. The HR for any incident CVD in the 2000s vs 1980s was 0.53 (95% CI 0.31-0.93). The strength of association attenuated after adjustment for anti-rheumatic medication use (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.34-1.22). Patients with RA in the 2000s had no excess in CVD over non-RA subjects (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.42-1.19). Risk of death after a CVD event was somewhat lower in patients with RA after the 1980s with an HR of 0.54 (95% CI 0.33-0.90) in the 1990s vs 1980s and 0.68 (95% CI 0.33-1.41) in the 2000s vs 1980s. CONCLUSION: The incidence of major CVD events in RA has declined in recent decades. The gap in CVD occurrence between patients with RA and the general population is closing. Mortality after CVD events in RA may be improving.
34346619 [Systemic autoimmune diseases; diagnostics versus classification]. 2021 Jun 24 Systemic autoimmune diseases are characterized by their heterogenic clinical presentations and often poorly understood pathogenesis. As such, the diagnosis process may be complex and the final diagnosis is made by an expert, after considering a differential diagnosis. Classification criteria are developed for research purposes to select homogenous populations of already diagnosed patients. In clinical practice, these classification criteria are sometimes misused as diagnostic criteria. We describe three patient histories. Two patients met the classification criteria of several separate diseases, emphasizing the amount of overlap between different sets of criteria and the necessity of making a diagnosis before using classification criteria. A third patient was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis and later developed rheumatoid arthritis; a diagnosis that could have been overlooked if classification criteria were used diagnostically. We describe the correct use of classification criteria in systemic autoimmune diseases and discuss what the diagnostic process is supposed to entail.
33414179 Effects of alcohol consumption and smoking on risk for RA: results from a Swedish prospect 2021 Jan OBJECTIVE: Several, but not all studies, have shown a dose-dependent inverse association with alcohol consumption and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas smoking is an established risk factor for RA. We aimed to study the association between alcohol consumption and RA incidence and investigate a potential interaction between alcohol and smoking habits, regarding RA incidence. METHODS: We used a prospective cohort study, based on 41 068 participants with detailed assessment of alcohol intake, smoking and potential confounders at baseline in 1997. We ascertained a total of 577 incident cases of RA during a mean of 17.7 years of follow-up through linkage to nationwide and essentially complete databases. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate HR with 95% CI. Interaction on the additive scale between alcohol and smoking was estimated by calculating the attributable proportion due to interaction (AP). RESULTS: Overall, alcohol consumption was associated with a 30% reduced incidence of RA (HR 0.69, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.86) with a dose-response relationship (p value for trend <0.001) which remained significant after stratification by age and smoking habits. The positive association between smoking and RA incidence was reduced with increasing alcohol consumption (p value for trend <0.001). A synergistic effect was observed between alcohol and smoking (AP 0.40, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.64), indicating that 40% of the cases among the double exposed are due to the interaction per se. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest an inverse association between alcohol consumption and RA incidence, and a synergistic effect between alcohol and smoking.
34416328 Dual targeting single arrow: Neutrophil-targeted sialic acid-modified nanoplatform for tre 2021 Sep 25 Clinically, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is frequently accompanied by multi-system diseases. Among them, the incidence of comorbid tumors in RA is relatively high, resulting in a gradual increase in mortality; this poses a considerable challenge to clinical treatment. To date, no effective treatment plan for simultaneous tumor and RA therapy is available. Accordingly, we reported a sialic acid-modified doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome (DOX-SAL) that targets peripheral blood neutrophils (PBNs), which play an important role in tumors and RA. Furthermore, the prepared liposome induced PBN apoptosis by binding to L-selectin, which is highly expressed on the surface of PBNs activated by inflammation. This liposome, in turn, reduced the accumulation of inflammatory neutrophils at the disease site. In the first successfully established mouse model of RA comorbidity, induced by employing S180 sarcoma cells and collagen, DOX-SAL effectively inhibited tumor growth while simultaneously alleviating systemic RA symptoms without side effects. Additionally, the animals demonstrated adequate growth during the 48 days of treatment. This treatment strategy encompasses the best of both worlds, breaking the deadlock that tumors and RA cannot be effectively treated in parallel, highlighting a new concept and reference for the clinical treatment of comorbid tumors and RA.
32340503 Prevalence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies in patients with spondyloarthri 2021 Mar OBJECTIVES: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies are frequently detected in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, recent studies have revealed a potentially high prevalence rate of these antibodies in patients with other rheumatic disorders, causing confusion while diagnosing RA. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the positive rate of anti-CCP antibodies in other chronic arthritis diseases focusing on patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA). METHODS: A total of 109 patients who were diagnosed with SpA at Yukioka Hospital from 1993 to 2018 were included in this retrospective analysis, including patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS); psoriatic arthritis (PsA); synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis syndrome (SAPHO); undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA); reactive arthritis (ReA); and inflammatory bowel disease-associated SpA (IBD). RESULTS: Overall, 15.3% (16/109) of patients with SpA were positive for anti-CCP antibodies, including 2.3% (1/43) in AS, 23.1% (3/13) in SAPHO, 35.0% (7/20) in PsA, 14.8% (4/27) in uSpA, 0% (0/3) in ReA, and 33.3% (1/3) in IBD. CONCLUSION: PsA patients have a significantly higher prevalence rate of positive anti-CCP antibodies among SpA patients, and the positive rates in SAPHO and uSpA were also high. These findings provide insight into the heterogeneity of SpA with relevance for RA differential diagnosis.
33926512 The impact of cell type and context-dependent regulatory variants on human immune traits. 2021 Apr 29 BACKGROUND: The vast majority of trait-associated variants identified using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are noncoding, and therefore assumed to impact gene regulation. However, the majority of trait-associated loci are unexplained by regulatory quantitative trait loci (QTLs). RESULTS: We perform a comprehensive characterization of the putative mechanisms by which GWAS loci impact human immune traits. By harmonizing four major immune QTL studies, we identify 26,271 expression QTLs (eQTLs) and 23,121 splicing QTLs (sQTLs) spanning 18 immune cell types. Our colocalization analyses between QTLs and trait-associated loci from 72 GWAS reveals that genetic effects on RNA expression and splicing in immune cells colocalize with 40.4% of GWAS loci for immune-related traits, in many cases increasing the fraction of colocalized loci by two fold compared to previous studies. Notably, we find that the largest contributors of this increase are splicing QTLs, which colocalize on average with 14% of all GWAS loci that do not colocalize with eQTLs. By contrast, we find that cell type-specific eQTLs, and eQTLs with small effect sizes contribute very few new colocalizations. To investigate the 60% of GWAS loci that remain unexplained, we collect H3K27ac CUT&Tag data from rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls, and find large-scale differences between immune cells from the different disease contexts, including at regions overlapping unexplained GWAS loci. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our work supports RNA splicing as an important mediator of genetic effects on immune traits, and suggests that we must expand our study of regulatory processes in disease contexts to improve functional interpretation of as yet unexplained GWAS loci.
33592662 [EBV-positive MTX-associated lymphoproliferative disorder and Ig M myeloma in rheumatoid a 2021 Feb HISTORY: An 80-year-old female patient arrived with a pronounced lymphadenopathy and weight loss. 6 years ago she had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. At the time of arrival, she was administered Methotrexate (MTX) 10 mg/week. FINDINGS AND DIAGNOSIS: By lymph node biopsy, a clonal population of both EBV-positive B and T cells was seen. Newly occurring anemia (Hb 10 g/dl), monoclonal gammopathy of the Ig M isotype and detection of 40 % EBV-positive plasma cells in the bone marrow were consistent with the diagnosis of Ig M myeloma. We interpret these findings as a biclonal Epstein Barr Virus-positive Methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorder (MTX-LPD). TREATMENT AND COURSE: The clinical condition improved immediately after MTX discontinuation. In the follow-up after 4 months, the gamma globulin concentration in serum was significantly reduced (from 51.1 to 34.7 %) and a renewed immune electrophoresis of the serum was without evidence of monoclonal gammopathy. CONCLUSION: Based on this case, the association of RA with lymphoproliferative disorders can be confirmed - here as an association of RA with biclonal MTX-LPD or multiple myeloma. Therapy with MTX and reactivation of EBV infection are important influencing factors.
32909363 Multiomics and Machine Learning Accurately Predict Clinical Response to Adalimumab and Eta 2021 Feb OBJECTIVE: To predict response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) prior to treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to comprehensively understand the mechanism of how different RA patients respond differently to anti-TNF treatment. METHODS: Gene expression and/or DNA methylation profiling on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), monocytes, and CD4+ T cells obtained from 80 RA patients before they began either adalimumab (ADA) or etanercept (ETN) therapy was studied. After 6 months, treatment response was evaluated according to the European League Against Rheumatism criteria for disease response. Differential expression and methylation analyses were performed to identify the response-associated transcription and epigenetic signatures. Using these signatures, machine learning models were built by random forest algorithm to predict response prior to anti-TNF treatment, and were further validated by a follow-up study. RESULTS: Transcription signatures in ADA and ETN responders were divergent in PBMCs, and this phenomenon was reproduced in monocytes and CD4+ T cells. The genes up-regulated in CD4+ T cells from ADA responders were enriched in the TNF signaling pathway, while very few pathways were differential in monocytes. Differentially methylated positions (DMPs) were strongly hypermethylated in responders to ETN but not to ADA. The machine learning models for the prediction of response to ADA and ETN using differential genes reached an overall accuracy of 85.9% and 79%, respectively. The models using DMPs reached an overall accuracy of 84.7% and 88% for ADA and ETN, respectively. A follow-up study validated the high performance of these models. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that machine learning models based on molecular signatures accurately predict response before ADA and ETN treatment, paving the path toward personalized anti-TNF treatment.
34398007 Comparison of the efficacy and safety indicators of DMARDs for rheumatoid arthritis: A net 2021 Jul 23 OBJECTIVE: To compare efficacy and safety indicators of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, Sarilumab, Sirukumab, Baricitinib, Tocilizumab and Adalimumab in rheumatoid arthritis treatment by a network meta-analysis. METHODS: Medline, Embase, Web of Science, The Food and Drug Administration web site, and Cochrane library were searched from build to June 1, 2020. Clinical randomized controlled trails of these 5 drugs for rheumatoid arthritis were collected for network meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 4 randomized controlled trails with 2070 patients were obtained. The results of the network meta-analysis showed that: (1).. There was no significant difference between the 4 drugs (Sarilumab, Sirukumab, Adalimumab, and Tocilizumab) (P > .05) in terms of American College of Rheumatology 20. (2).. There was no significant difference between the 5 drugs in the aspect of the America College of Rheumatology 50% and 70% (American College of Rheumatology 50, American College of Rheumatology 70) (P > .05). (3).. There was no significant difference between the 3 drugs (Sarilumab, Sirukumab, Adalimumab) in terms of reducing disease activity score 28-erythrocyte sedimentation rate in patients (P > .05). (4).. No significant difference was observed among the 5 drugs in terms of incidence of adverse reactions, serious adverse reactions and withdrawal adverse reactions (P > .05). The results of the ranked probability plot indicated that Tocilizumab and Sarilumab outperform other drugs in terms of efficacy and safety. CONCLUSION: The results of the ranking of the 5 drugs showed that Tocilizumab and Sarilumab had the best efficacy and safety.
34488432 Can anticarbamylated protein antibodies be used to support the diagnosis of systemic lupus 2021 Oct Aim: Autoantibody development plays an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, we aimed to determine the diagnostic value of anticarbamylated protein antibody (anti-CarP) antibody in SLE and RA patients and its relationship with disease prognosis. Material & method: Fifty-seven SLE patients (F/M 50/7; median age 40.9 ± 13.7; median disease duration 2 years) who met the 2012 SLICC SLE diagnostic criteria were included in the study. A total of 46 RA patients selected according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR diagnostic criteria (F/M 38/8; median age 54.2 ± 12.4; median disease duration 2 years) were included. A total of 30 healthy individuals were selected as the control group. The anti-CarP antibody was studied by using human anticarbamylated protein antibody ELISA Kit (SunRedBio, Shanghai, China). Results: Anti-CarP antibody positivity was found to be 17.4% in RA patients (p < 0.001), 54.4% in SLE patients (p < 0.001) and 3.3% in the healthy control group. The anti-CarP antibody was determined to predict SLE patients with 54.4% sensitivity and 96.7% specificity compared with the healthy control group (area under the curve: 0.755; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Anti-CarP antibody positivity was significantly higher in the SLE patients compared with the healthy control and RA group. It has significant sensitivity and specificity in both SLE and RA patients compared with the healthy controls.
33822899 Quantification of morning stiffness to assess disease activity and treatment effects in rh 2021 Nov 3 OBJECTIVES: The clinical parameter of morning stiffness is widely used to assess the status of RA, but its accurate quantitative assessment in a clinical setting has not yet been successful. This lack of individual quantification limits both personalized medication and efficacy evaluation in the treatment of RA. METHODS: We developed a novel technology to assess passive resistance of the MCP III joint (stiffness) and its passive range of motion (PRoM). Within this pilot study, 19 female postmenopausal RA patients and 9 healthy controls were examined in the evening as well as the morning of the following day. To verify the specificity of the biomechanical quantification, 11 patients with RA were assessed both prior to and ∼3 h after glucocorticoid therapy. RESULTS: While the healthy controls showed only minor changes between afternoon and morning, in RA patients the mean PRoM decreased significantly by 18% (s.d. 22) and stiffness increased significantly by 20% (s.d. 18) in the morning compared with the previous afternoon. We found a significant positive correlation between RA activity and biomechanical measures. Glucocorticoids significantly increased the mean PRoM by 16% (s.d. 11) and reduced the mean stiffness by 23% (s.d. 22). CONCLUSION: This technology allowed mechanical stiffness to be quantified in MCP joints and demonstrated high sensitivity with respect to disease status as well as medication effect in RA patients. Such non-invasive, low-risk and rapid assessment of biomechanical joint stiffness opens a novel avenue for judging therapy efficacy in patients with RA and potentially also in other non-RA inflammatory joint diseases.