May the analysis of 1918 influenza pandemic give hints to imagine the possible magnitude of Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)?

Background: In 1918 an unknown infectious agent spread around the world infecting over one-third of the general population and killing almost 50 million people. Many countries were at war, the First World War. Since Spain was a neutral country and Spanish press could report about the infection without censorship, this condition is commonly remembered as "Spanish influenza".

Coeliac disease is a risk factor for the development of seronegative arthritis in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease.

Objective: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is known to cluster with other systemic autoimmune disorders. Rheumatic manifestations, such as a seronegative non-erosive polyarthritis have been described. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics and the prevalence of rheumatic features in thyroiditis patients, and to ascertain whether the association with systemic autoimmune disorders improved the arthritis manifestations.

Metabolic Syndrome and psoriatic arthritis: considerations for the clinician.

: Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is strictly interconnected with systemic inflammation, and increased evidence has described a close link between this condition and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA).: This review summarizes main studies exploring clinical aspects and prevalence of MetS in PsA cohorts. Further, there is accumulating evidence showing shared inflammatory pathways between MetS, its components, and PsA.

Targeted synthetic pharmacotherapy for psoriatic arthritis: state of the art.

Introduction: In recent years, different studies regarding psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have shown the pathogenetic role of dysfunction of signaling pathways involving the phosphodiesterase-4 enzyme and transcription factors or enzymes belonging to the kinase (JAK)-signal family pathway. These also represent the target of several drugs known as targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (tsDMARDs).

Areas Covered: The authors performed a systematic literature search using the PubMed database, as well as through retrieving data from randomized controlled trials, their analysis, and pooled data analysis on the efficacy and safety profile of the PDE4 inhibitor (PDE4i), apremilast, and the inhibitors of JAK (JAKis), tofacitinib, filgotinib, baricitinib, and upadacitinib, in PsA.

Late-Onset and Elderly Psoriatic Arthritis: Clinical Aspects and Management.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can start in subjects aged over 60 years, defined as late-onset PsA. In late-onset PsA, the weight of family history and genetic background appears less significant when compared with younger onset PsA, whereas obesity and smoking have been suggested as potential risk factors. In patients with late-onset PsA, erosive polyarticular or oligoarticular patterns are more frequent than other phenotypes.

Pro-inflammatory adipokine profile in psoriatic arthritis: results from a cross-sectional study comparing PsA subset with evident cutaneous involvement and subset "sine psoriasis".

Objective: Adipokines have been considered in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory processes of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The main aim of the current study is to investigate possible differences and correlations between adipokines and clinical expression in PsA patients with and without clinical evident psoriasis.

Methods: Serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, leptin, resistin, visfatin, and ghrelin were measured in 80 consecutive PsA patients, 42 PsA patients with clinically evident psoriasis (group 1) and 38 PsA patients sine psoriasis (group 2), fulfilling the CASPAR criteria.

Effects of antiepileptic therapy on bone mineral status evaluated by phalangeal quantitative ultrasound in pediatric patients with epilepsy and motor impairment.

Background: In epileptic patients with motor disability, it's difficult to disentangle the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on bone health from those provoked by impaired mobility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of AEDs on bone mineral status by phalangeal quantitative ultrasound (QUS), a no-radiation and non-invasive method, in pediatric patients with motor impairment and epilepsy.

Methods: We enrolled 56 patients (31 females, 25 males) with epilepsy and motor impairment and 24 children with only motor disability (13 females, 11 males).

Ultrasonographic Evidence of Predominance of Acute Extracapsular and Chronic Intrasynovial Patterns in 100 Cases of Psoriatic Hand Dactylitis.

Objective: To use ultrasonography to study whether the duration of psoriatic dactylitis was associated with different patterns of extracapsular and synovial-based involvement.

Methods: One hundred cases of hand dactylitis from 85 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were consecutively enrolled in a multicenter cross-sectional study and divided into 2 groups according to dactylitis duration (shorter or longer than the median: 20 weeks). All dactylitis fingers were investigated using high-frequency ultrasound both in greyscale (GS) and power Doppler (PD), evaluating the presence of flexor tenosynovitis, soft tissue edema, subcutaneous PD signal (PDS), extensor tendon involvement, and joint synovitis.

Symptomatic psoriatic dactylitis is associated with ultrasound determined extra-synovial inflammatory features and shorter disease duration.

Objectives: To explore the link between ultrasonographic features of dactylitis in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and symptoms, digital tenderness and duration of dactylitis.

Methods: Forty-eight cases of PsA dactylitis were investigated using high frequency ultrasound (US) both in grey scale (GS) and Power Doppler (PD), evaluating the presence and the degree of flexor tenosynovitis, peri-tendinous oedema, subcutaneous PD, extensor tendon involvement, GS synovitis and intra-articular PD signal (PDS) of the involved digits. Patients were compared according to the presence of local pain and digital tenderness, the duration of dactylitis and the concomitant treatment.

Quantitative Ultrasound of Proximal Phalanxes in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors.

Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is a well-known complication in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors; the optimal method to assess BMD is still debated. We studied BMD by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in 72 ALL survivors, and evaluated any correlation with cumulative doses of steroids and cytotoxic agents. Mean age at diagnosis was 61±45 months, while mean age at QUS was 318.

Cardiovascular Risk Markers and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Psoriatic Arthritis Patients.

Background: Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory arthropathy that affects 14%- 30% of patients with skin and/or nail psoriasis, leading to severe physical limitations and disability. It has been included in the group of spondyloarthropathy with which it shares clinical, radiologic, and serologic features in addition to familial and genetic relationship. Beyond skin and joint involvement, psoriatic arthritis is characterized by a high prevalence of extra-articular manifestation and comorbidities, such as autoimmune, infectious and neoplastic diseases.

Metabolic syndrome in psoriatic arthritis: the interplay with cutaneous involvement. Evidences from literature and a recent cross-sectional study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of MetS and its components and the level of serum uric acid in patients with PsA and in those with PsA sine psoriasis. A secondary aim of the study was to investigate on correlations of MetS in all study population. Consecutive PsA patients underwent assessment of disease activity and metabolic parameters.

Switching Between Biological Treatments in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Review of the Evidence.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthropathy. Therapy with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents represents the first therapeutic choice for moderate and severe forms; however, PsA patients can experience anti-TNFα failure, lack of efficacy, or adverse events. Several evidences exist on the effectiveness of switching among different TNFα inhibitors, and we reviewed the published data on the effectiveness of anti-TNFα first-, second- and third-line.

Small molecule therapy for managing moderate to severe psoriatic arthritis.

The majority of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients experience a good clinical response to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) and biologic therapies (bDMARDs). However, treatment failure with these drugs can represent a relevant clinical problem. Moreover, in daily clinical practice, the appropriate identification of patients eligible for these agents can be conditioned by numerous aspects, mainly represented by comorbidities, such as history of malignancies, chronic and recurrent infectious diseases.

Elderly psoriatic arthritis patients on TNF-α blockers: results of an Italian multicenter study on minimal disease activity and drug discontinuation rate.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory arthropathy, associated with skin and/or nail psoriasis. Real world data on efficacy and safety of TNF-α blockers in the elderly with PsA are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness, through the achievement of minimal disease activity (MDA), drug discontinuation rate, and safety in elderly patients with PsA on TNF-α blockers.