Publications by authors named "Anna Rudin"

Objectives: To assess the effect of treatment on haemostatic parameters in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed RA started methotrexate and were randomised to additional conventional treatment, certolizumab pegol, abatacept or tocilizumab. Several biomarkers for haemostasis were analysed including parameters of the two global haemostatic assays-overall haemostatic potential (OHP) and endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), as well as single haemostatic factors-fibrinogen, prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2), D-dimer, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) and clot lysis time (CLT) in 24 patients at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after the start of the treatment.

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The neutrophil marker CD177 (NB1, HNA-2a) is expressed by 0-100% of circulating neutrophils in any given donor, dividing neutrophils into two distinct subpopulations (CD177pos and CD177neg). High proportions of CD177pos blood neutrophils have been linked to both systemic infections and a range of inflammatory pathologies, but whether this is a cause or a consequence of disease is not known. Many conditions displaying elevated CD177pos neutrophil proportions are also accompanied by the presence of circulating low-density granulocytes (LDGs).

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Background: Children growing up on farms or with pets have a lower risk of developing allergy, which may be linked to their gut microbiota development during infancy.

Methods: Children from the FARMFLORA birth cohort (N = 65), of whom 28 (43%) lived on a dairy farm and 40 (62%) had pets, provided fecal samples at intervals from 3 days to 18 months of age. Gut microbiota composition was characterized using quantitative microbial culture of various typical anaerobic and facultatively anaerobic bacteria, with colonization rate and population counts of bacterial groups determined at the genus or species level.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if baseline adiponectin, leptin, and resistin levels are associated with response to antirheumatic treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This study included 341 participants of the Nordic Rheumatic Diseases Strategy Trials and Registries trial with untreated early RA, randomized at baseline into four treatment arms: methotrexate combined with (1) prednisolone, (2) certolizumab, (3) abatacept, or (4) tocilizumab. Follow-up was up to 48 weeks.

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Objective: The high prevalence of osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is due to inflammation that stimulates differentiation of osteoclasts, a process involving circulating monocytes and T cell-derived factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate relations between circulating monocytes, T cell subsets, and changes in bone characteristics before and after treatment with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in RA.

Methods: Thirty patients with untreated early RA who met the American College of Rheumatology/EULAR 2010 criteria were included.

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Objectives: To investigate whether rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) and shared epitope (SE) allele-related genetic markers associate with treatment response to abatacept, certolizumab pegol or tocilizumab versus active conventional treatment (ACT).

Methods: Patients with treatment-naïve early rheumatoid arthritis were randomised in the NORD-STAR trial to ACT, certolizumab pegol, abatacept or tocilizumab, all with methotrexate. Centralised laboratory analyses for ACPA, RF and SE were performed.

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Objectives: Adverse pregnancy outcomes are more common in women with SLE compared with healthy women, but we lack prognostic biomarkers. Plasma IFN-α protein levels are elevated in a subgroup of pregnant women with SLE, but whether this is associated with pregnancy outcomes is unknown. We investigated the relationship between IFN-α, adverse pregnancy outcomes and the presence of autoantibodies in SLE pregnancy.

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Objective: This report from the NORD-STAR (Nordic Rheumatic Diseases Strategy Trials and Registries) trial aimed to determine if obesity is associated with response to conventional and biological antirheumatic treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This report included 793 participants with untreated early RA from the randomised, longitudinal NORD-STAR trial, all of whom had their body mass index (BMI) assessed at baseline. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥30 kg/m.

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Background: Lymphopenia, autoantibodies and activation of the type I interferon (IFN) system are common features in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We speculate whether lymphocyte subset counts are affected by pregnancy and if they relate to autoantibody profiles and/or IFNα protein in SLE pregnancy.

Methods: Repeated blood samples were collected during pregnancy from 80 women with SLE and 51 healthy controls (HC).

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Background: Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are widely used for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, there are no established biomarkers to predict a patient's response to these therapies. Prostanoids, encompassing prostaglandins, prostacyclins, and thromboxanes, are potent lipid mediators implicated in RA progression.

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Background: Involvement of B cells in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is supported by the presence of disease-specific autoantibodies and the efficacy of treatment directed against B cells. B cells that express low levels of or lack the B cell receptor (BCR) co-receptor CD21, CD21 B cells, have been linked to autoimmune diseases, including RA. In this study, we characterized the CD21 and CD21 B cell subsets in newly diagnosed, early RA (eRA) patients and investigated whether any of the B cell subsets were associated with autoantibody status, disease activity and/or joint destruction.

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Background: Cancer treatment with immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) can cause immune-related adverse events in the central nervous system (CNS irAE). There are no blood biomarkers to detect CNS irAE. We investigated if concentrations of S100-calcium-binding protein B (S100B) and neurofilament light chain (NfL) in blood can be used as biomarkers for CNS irAE and assessed the incidence of CNS irAE in a cohort of ICI-treated patients.

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Objective: We investigated methotrexate safety and the influence of dose on efficacy outcomes in combination with three different biologic treatments and with active conventional treatment (ACT) in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This post hoc analysis included 812 treatment-naïve patients with early RA who were randomized (1:1:1:1) in the NORD-STAR trial to receive methotrexate in combination with ACT, certolizumab-pegol, abatacept, or tocilizumab. Methotrexate safety, doses, and dose effects on Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) remission were assessed after 24 weeks of treatment.

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Objective: B cell function and autoantibodies are important in SLE pathogenesis. In this work, we aimed to investigate the impact of cumulative SLE B cell genetics on SLE subphenotype and autoantibody profile.

Methods: Female patients with SLE (n=1248) and healthy controls (n=400) were genotyped using Illumina's Global Screening Array.

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Background: The optimal first-line treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is debated. We compared clinical and radiographic outcomes of active conventional therapy with each of three biological treatments with different modes of action.

Methods: Investigator-initiated, randomised, blinded-assessor study.

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Background: An increased risk of pregnancy complications is seen in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the specific immunopathological drivers are still unclear. Hallmarks of SLE are granulocyte activation, type I interferon (IFN) overproduction, and autoantibodies. Here we examined whether low-density granulocytes (LDG) and granulocyte activation increase during pregnancy, and related the results to IFNα protein levels, autoantibody profile, and gestational age at birth.

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Background: The role of the lung for the initiation and progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is still unclear. Up to 10% of RA patients develop interstitial lung disease which remains a clinical challenge. Understanding early disease mechanisms is of great importance.

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Objective: This study was undertaken to develop and characterize a multiplex immunoassay for detection of autoantibodies against peptides derived from proteins known to play a role in development of arthritis and that are also expressed in joints.

Methods: We selected peptides from the human counterpart of proteins expressed in the joints, based on mouse models that showed these to be targeted by pathogenic or regulatory antibodies in vivo. Using bead-based flow immunoassays measuring IgG antibodies, we selected triple helical or cyclic peptides, containing the epitopes, to avoid collinear reactivity.

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Objective: To investigate potential associations between B cell-related immunologic changes and development of inflammatory arthritis (IA) after treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Methods: Patients who developed ICI-induced IA (ICI-IA) and patients who did not develop immune-related adverse events (non-IRAE) after receiving ICIs to treat metastatic melanoma were consecutively recruited. Blood samples were collected at the time of ICI-IA occurrence and at different time points during treatment.

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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease with a well-recognised female preponderance. In this post-hoc analysis of the NORD-STAR trial, we aimed to examine sex differences in remission rates with three different biological treatments combined with methotrexate versus active conventional treatment over 24 weeks, in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: NORD-STAR was a multicentre, investigator-initiated, assessor-blinded, phase 4, randomised, controlled trial of early rheumatoid arthritis, done in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

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Objectives: In early rheumatoid arthritis (eRA) plasma levels of specific chemokines have been shown to correlate with disease activity. However, it is unclear whether pre-treatment chemokine levels can predict disease remission at week 24, and it is not known how biological treatments with different modes of action affect plasma chemokine levels in patients with untreated eRA.

Methods: This study included 347 Swedish patients with untreated eRA from the larger NORD-STAR randomised treatment trial.

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Background: The type I interferon (IFN) gene signature is present in a subgroup of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Protein levels of IFNα have not been measured in RA and it is unknown whether they associate with clinical characteristics or treatment effect.

Methods: Patients with early untreated RA (n = 347) were randomized to methotrexate combined with prednisone, certolizumab-pegol, abatacept, or tocilizumab.

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We report a case of rapid eradication of melanoma brain metastases and simultaneous near-fatal encephalomyelitis following double immune checkpoint blockade. Brain damage marker S-100B and C reactive protein increased before symptoms or signs of encephalomyelitis and peaked when the patient fell into a coma. At that point, additional brain damage markers and peripheral T cell phenotype was analyzed.

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We recently reported that increased serum adiponectin was associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk in subjects with obesity. We hereby aim to determine if other adipokines associate with RA risk and if the association between adiponectin and RA is independent of other adipokines. Two nested-case control studies were performed in two different cohorts: 82 participants of the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study who developed RA during follow-up matched with 410 controls, and 88 matched pairs from the Medical Biobank of Northern Sweden.

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