Publications by authors named "Alejandro Ramos-Casallas"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to find a link between fecal calprotectin (FC) levels and intestinal inflammation in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) who do not have inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Out of 180 SpA patients, approximately 27% exhibited positive fecal calprotectin and about 16% showed high levels, with significant associations found between higher FC levels and measures of disease activity and abdominal symptoms.
  • The results suggest that elevated FC levels, especially in patients showing loss of vascular pattern in the ileum, could serve as a useful biomarker for managing SpA, indicating a common immune response related to chronic inflammation.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze the diversity and composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA).
  • MiSeq sequencing was used to analyze stool samples from 69 individuals, with significant results found in the diversity of microbiomes between different SpA subtypes, particularly favoring ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
  • The findings suggest that disease activity and treatment types (anti-TNF vs. anti-IL-17) may influence gut microbiota composition, with anti-TNF potentially aiding in restoring gut health while anti-IL-17 might maintain inflammation.
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Objective: This study aimed to establish the association between HLA-A, B, DR genotypes and gastrointestinal variables in patients with SpA without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: Retrospective study of 91 patients with SpA and 401 healthy controls, with typing by Illumina Sequencing/PacBio and LIFECODES HLA-PCR/SSO multiplex sequencing technology. The presence of gastrointestinal symptoms was evaluated by administering a survey, and those who presented 2 or more symptoms were taken for clinical evaluation by rheumatology and gastroenterology, colonoscopy and histopathological study.

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The role of Blastocystis in intestinal health is an open controversy, and little is known about the potential effect of this microorganism in autoinflammatory diseases such as spondyloarthritis (SpA). Here, we analyzed the gut microbiome of 36 SpA patients and 13 control individuals and demonstrated that the richness, diversity, and taxonomic composition between these two groups are different. We also showed that colonization by Blastocystis in control individuals increases the richness and diversity of the intestinal microbiome, whereas in SpA patients, it does not seem to have any impact.

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Adipokines are associated with the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are potential biomarkers of disease activity, periodontitis, and obesity. The aim of this was to establish the association between adipokine profile, RA disease activity, body mass index, and periodontal infection. This study evaluated 51 patients with early-RA and 51 controls including serum rheumatological markers, adipokine levels, detection of and serum anti- antibodies, clinical and periodontal measurements.

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Article Synopsis
  • Spondyloarthritis (SpA) can lead to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with oral cavity changes often being the first clinical signs of IBD.
  • In a study with 80 SpA patients and 52 healthy controls, over 63% of the patients showed oral lesions, particularly gingivitis, which was significantly linked to IBD findings in the colon.
  • The research suggests that incorporating oral assessments into diagnostic processes for SpA could enhance early detection of IBD and improve patient care.
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Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of chronic inflammatory systemic diseases mainly characterized by inflammation in the spine and/or peripheral joints. Although a link between SpA-pathogenesis, intestinal inflammation and gut dysbiosis has been proposed, studies have been focused on bacteria-host interactions and very little has been reported regarding intestinal parasites. Here, intestinal parasitic infection of 51 SpA-patients were evaluated and compared to healthy control individuals.

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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by joint inflammation and destruction.

Objective: Establish the association between Porphyromonas gingivalis () infection, body mass index (BMI), joint involvement, and serum adipokines in first-degree relatives (FDR) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: The cross-sectional study evaluated 124 FDR and 124 healthy controls (HC).

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There is little literature on the implementation of screening criteria for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA). This study aimed to apply IBD screening criteria in a group of patients with SpA without IBD diagnosis and correlate them to endoscopic findings and disease activity. A total of 82 patients with SpA were included.

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Background: Digital chromoendoscopy (Narrow Band Imaging By Olympus) or BLI (Blue Light Imaging By Fujifilm), with the magnification endoscope, allows a detailed evaluation of the mucosal surface and its vascular network, which facilitates the diagnosis and monitoring of early lesions. This technique has demonstrated a better detection, which allows optical diagnosis during a colonoscopy examination. Patients with SpA with nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms, subclinical intestinal inflammation are defined as endoscopic and histologically.

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Background: The Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, in which 5-10% of extra-articular manifestations are gastrointestinal such as the inflammatory bowel disease. Objective: To apply the clinical criteria for the screening of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients with SpA with gastrointestinal symptoms and its association with disease activity and function.

Methods: A Cross-sectional study included 82 patients with SpA, according to ASAS classification criteria without diagnosis of IBD.

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Background: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a heterogeneous group of chronic autoinflammatory disorders that can present extra-articular gastrointestinal manifestations. Among them is mainly inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although IBD mainly affects the intestinal tract, it can include early manifestations evident in the oral cavity.

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Objective: Antibodies against carbamylated proteins/peptide (CarP) have been associated with severity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. However, their role in risk groups, specific targets and relation with periodontal disease (PD) is uncertain yet. The aim of this study was evaluated the association between the levels of anti-CarP with clinical manifestation, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, periodontal activity markers, PD diagnosis, PD severity, and presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P gingivalis) in relatives of patients with RA.

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