Work productivity and activity impairment in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: In this observational, analytical, cross-sectional study we aimed to describe the impact of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) on work productivity and activities of daily living (ADL) to assess the association between ADL impairment and clinical manifestations and to compare ADL impairment according to patients' socioeconomic condition.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with pSS attending 11 centres from Argentina were included. To evaluate work productivity and ADL impairment, a work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire (WPAI) was used.

Effects of Amerindian Genetic Ancestry on Clinical Variables and Therapy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: To define whether Amerindian genetic ancestry correlates with clinical and therapeutic variables in admixed individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from Latin America.

Methods: Patients with RA (n = 1347) and healthy controls (n = 1012) from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Peru were included. Samples were genotyped for the Immunochip v1 using the Illumina platform.

Efficacy and safety of an interleukin 6 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus: a phase II dose-ranging randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: This phase II trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of an interleukin (IL) 6 monoclonal antibody for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Patients with active disease were randomised to placebo or PF-04236921 10 mg, 50 mg or 200 mg, subcutaneously, every 8 weeks with stable background therapy. SLE Responder Index (SRI-4; primary end point) and British Isles Lupus Assessment Group-based Composite Lupus Assessment (BICLA) were assessed at week 24.

Elevated IL-1β levels in anti-Ro/SSA connective tissue diseases patients with prolonged corrected QTc interval.

Objectives: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) have increased IL-1β levels. IL-1β and other pro-inflammatory cytokines have a modulating activity on cardiac ion channels and have been associated with increased arrhythmic risk in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Likewise, adult patients with connective tissue diseases (CTDs) may have prolonged QTc intervals associated with the presence of anti-Ro/SSA antibodies.

Multicentric prevalence study of anti P ribosomal autoantibodies in juvenile onset systemic lupus erythematosus compared with adult onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associations with clinical manifestations of anti- P ribosomal antibodies in patients with juvenile-onset and adult-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Clinical and serological data of 30 patients with juvenile-onset SLE (age at onset younger than 16 years old) were compared with data of 92 patients with adult-onset SLE. Symptoms occurring during the entire disease course were considered.

Rheumatoid arthritis in Latin Americans enriched for Amerindian ancestry is associated with loci in chromosomes 1, 12, and 13, and the HLA class II region.

Objective: To identify susceptibility loci for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Latin American individuals with admixed European and Amerindian genetic ancestry.

Methods: Genotyping was performed in 1,475 patients with RA and 1,213 control subjects, using a customized BeadArray containing 196,524 markers covering loci previously associated with various autoimmune diseases. Principal components analysis (EigenSoft package) and Structure software were used to identify outliers and define the population substructure.

4G/5G plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and -308 A/G tumor necrosis factor-α promoter gene polymorphisms in Argentinean lupus patients: focus on lupus nephritis.

We investigated the relationship between the 4G/5G plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and -308 A/G tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) polymorphisms and the clinical and biochemical features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in an Argentinean patient cohort. A total of 402 patients were studied, including 179 SLE patients and 223 healthy individuals. PCR-RLFP was used to determine the genotypes of the 4G/5G PAI-1 and -308 A/G TNF-α polymorphisms.

The -2518 A/G polymorphism in the monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 gene is associated with the risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus in Argentinean patients: a multicenter study.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic, autoimmune disorder. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), a chemokine involved in the recruitment and migration of monocytes/macrophages, has been shown to be increased in the plasma of SLE patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the possible association of the polymorphism -2518 of the MCP-1 gene with the risk of developing SLE, manifesting lupus nephritis (LN) and with other clinical features of SLE in an Argentinean population.

Study of functional variants of the BANK1 gene in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate 1 functional (rs17266594) and 2 potentially functional (rs10516487 and rs3733197) BANK1 variants, which were previously identified as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility markers, to test whether they are associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Four different cohorts were included in the study: 1,080 RA patients and 1,368 healthy controls from Spain, 278 RA patients and 568 healthy controls from Sweden, 288 RA patients and 287 healthy controls from Argentina, and 288 RA patients and 288 healthy controls from Mexico. Samples were genotyped for BANK1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a TaqMan 5'-allele discrimination assay.

Analysis of IRF5 gene functional polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Recent findings suggest that interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF-5) may play a crucial role in several cellular processes, including the transcription of genes for inflammatory cytokines. Two genetic variants of the IRF5 gene (rs2004640 in exon 1 and rs2280714 in the 3'-untranslated region) have been shown to exert functional modifications affecting IRF5 messenger RNA splicing and expression, and have been associated with genetic predisposition to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to analyze the possible contribution of the IRF5 gene to the predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis (RA).