Whole-Country and Regional Incidences of Giant Cell Arteritis in French Continental and Overseas Territories: A 7-Year Nationwide Database Analysis.

Objective: The incidence rate of giant cell arteritis (GCA) is poorly studied in France. Therefore, we conducted a national hospital database study to assess the overall and regional incidence rates of GCA in France, including overseas territories.

Methods: Through the national hospitalization database of all patients hospitalized in France, new incidental GCA was identified using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision medical codes (M31.

Impact of Glucocorticoid Cumulative Doses in a Real-Life Cohort of Patients Affected by Giant Cell Arteritis.

Objectives: To describe the impact of cumulative glucocorticoid (GC) doses on related adverse events (AEs) in giant cell arteritis (GCA) in a real-life setting.

Methods: The medical charts of the last 139 consecutive GCA patients followed in a tertiary centre were retrospectively analysed. The cumulative GC doses were calculated, and the main GC-related AEs were collected during the follow-up.

Tolerance of glucocorticoids in giant cell arteritis: a study of patient-reported adverse events.

Objective: To assess patients' self-reported glucocorticoid (GC)-related adverse events (AEs) in a GCA population.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to the 100 patients most recently diagnosed with GCA in a tertiary centre. This questionnaire included open- and close-ended questions on the disease and GC effects.

Impact of Giant Cell Arteritis and Its Treatment on the Patient's Quality of Life: A Single-Center Self-Assessment Study.

Little is known about the impact of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and its treatment on patient-reported physical, mental, and psychic quality of life (QoL). In this monocentric study, a questionnaire was sent to the 100 last patients diagnosed with GCA and followed-up in a single tertiary center. Their physical, mental and psychic status were self-assessed via close-ended questions, the 12-item short form survey (SF-12) and the 15-item geriatric depression scale (GDS).

Real-life analysis of the causes of death in patients consecutively followed for giant cell arteritis in a French centre of expertise.

Objectives: To describe, in a real-life setting, the direct causes of death in a cohort of consecutive patients with GCA.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed the deaths that occurred in a cohort of 470 consecutive GCA patients from a centre of expertise between January 2000 and December 2019. Among the 120 patients who died, we retrieved data from the medical files of 101 patients.

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with ophthalmologic involvement in giant-cell arteritis: A case-control study.

Purpose: To describe the characteristics and outcome of patients with giant-cell arteritis (GCA)-related ophthalmologic involvement at diagnosis.

Methods: In a retrospective single-center cohort of 409 consecutive patients with GCA, we retrieved 104 patients with visual symptoms at GCA diagnosis and we compared them to 104 age- and sex-matched controls without ophthalmologic involvement. Each visual symptom was associated to an ophthalmologic diagnosis that was centrally re-assessed by an ophthalmologist.

Different patterns and specific outcomes of large-vessel involvements in giant cell arteritis.

Large-vessel involvement (LVI) in giant cell arteritis (GCA) includes different clinical and imaging patterns that are rarely described separately at diagnosis and whose specific cardiovascular outcomes are unknown. We conducted a nationwide retrospective study and included GCA patients with LVI demonstrated on imaging at diagnosis between 2007 and 2017. We analyzed the prognosis of three different imaging patterns of LVI present at diagnosis, with some of them overlapping but with the first one present in all patients: 1) inflammation of the aorta and/or its branches; 2) dilation of the aorta; and 3) stenosis of the aortic branches.

Factors Associated with Relapse and Dependence on Glucocorticoids in Giant Cell Arteritis.

Objective: To identify characteristics and factors associated with relapse and glucocorticoid (GC) dependence in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 326 consecutive patients with GCA followed for at least 12 months. Factors associated with relapse and GC dependence were identified in multivariable analyses.

Interest of immunodeficiency screening in adult after admission in medical intensive care unit for severe infection, a retrospective and a prospective study: the Intensive Care Unit and Primary and Secondary Immunodeficiency (ICUSPID) study.

Background: Primary immunodeficiency (PID) in adults is rare and mostly revealed by infections.

Material And Methods: Adults without predisposing factors who were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) for infection were screened for PID.

Results: Six PID cases were diagnosed, mostly revealed by encapsulated bacterial infections.

Giant cell arteritis presenting as isolated inflammatory response and/or fever of unknown origin: a case-control study.

The objective of this study was to determine the proportion and characteristics of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) who present with isolated inflammatory response and/or fever of unknown origin (IFUO). Using a cohort of 693 consecutive patients in two centers with evidence of GCA on biopsy and/or imaging, we compared the characteristics and outcomes of patients with IFUO at diagnosis to a control group made up of the remaining patients with GCA. Sixty-one (9%) patients initially presented with IFUO.

Large-vessel involvement and aortic dilation in giant-cell arteritis. A multicenter study of 549 patients.

Objectives: Large-vessel involvement (LVI) can occur in giant-cell arteritis (GCA) and may represent a distinct disease subgroup with a higher risk for aortic dilation. This study aimed to better characterize the presentation and evolution of LVI in patients with GCA.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective multicenter study enrolled 248 GCA patients with LVI and 301 GCA patients without LVI on imaging.

Giant-cell arteritis: concordance study between aortic CT angiography and FDG-PET/CT in detection of large-vessel involvement.

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to assess the concordance of aortic CT angiography (CTA) and FDG-PET/CT in the detection of large-vessel involvement at diagnosis in patients with giant-cell arteritis (GCA).

Methods: We created a multicenter cohort of patients with GCA diagnosed between 2010 and 2015, and who underwent both FDG-PET/CT and aortic CTA before or in the first ten days following treatment introduction. Eight vascular segments were studied on each procedure.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Hypermobility Type: Impact of Somatosensory Orthoses on Postural Control (A Pilot Study).

Elhers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is the clinical manifestation of connective tissue disorders, and comprises several clinical forms with no specific symptoms and selective medical examinations which result in a delay in diagnosis of about 10 years. The EDS hypermobility type (hEDS) is characterized by generalized joint hypermobility, variable skin hyperextensibility and impaired proprioception. Since somatosensory processing and multisensory integration are crucial for both perception and action, we put forth the hypothesis that somatosensory deficits in hEDS patients may lead, among other clinical symptoms, to misperception of verticality and postural instability.

Is it relevant to screen young women hospitalized in psychiatric department for neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE)?: A prospective study of 100 psychiatric inpatients.

On the basis that diagnosis of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is sometimes difficult and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can present with isolated psychiatric symptoms, we initiated a survey in a psychiatric department to screen for NPSLE in young female inpatients.We prospectively studied consecutive young female patients referred to the department of psychiatry. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and antiextractable soluble nuclear antigens (ENA) in the serum of patients were screened.

Loss of Tau protein affects the structure, transcription and repair of neuronal pericentromeric heterochromatin.

Pericentromeric heterochromatin (PCH) gives rise to highly dense chromatin sub-structures rich in the epigenetic mark corresponding to the trimethylated form of lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me3) and in heterochromatin protein 1α (HP1α), which regulate genome expression and stability. We demonstrate that Tau, a protein involved in a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), binds to and localizes within or next to neuronal PCH in primary neuronal cultures from wild-type mice. Concomitantly, we show that the clustered distribution of H3K9me3 and HP1α, two hallmarks of PCH, is disrupted in neurons from Tau-deficient mice (KOTau).

Prefibrillar Tau oligomers alter the nucleic acid protective function of Tau in hippocampal neurons in vivo.

The accumulation of DNA and RNA oxidative damage is observed in cortical and hippocampal neurons from Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains at early stages of pathology. We recently reported that Tau is a key nuclear player in the protection of neuronal nucleic acid integrity in vivo under physiological conditions and hyperthermia, a strong inducer of oxidative stress. In a mouse model of tauopathy (THY-Tau22), we demonstrate that hyperthermia selectively induces nucleic acid oxidative damage and nucleic acid strand breaks in the nucleus and cytoplasm of hippocampal neurons that display early Tau phosphorylation but no Tau fibrils.

A major role for Tau in neuronal DNA and RNA protection in vivo under physiological and hyperthermic conditions.

Nucleic acid protection is a substantial challenge for neurons, which are continuously exposed to oxidative stress in the brain. Neurons require powerful mechanisms to protect DNA and RNA integrity and ensure their functionality and longevity. Beside its well known role in microtubule dynamics, we recently discovered that Tau is also a key nuclear player in the protection of neuronal genomic DNA integrity under reactive oxygen species (ROS)-inducing heat stress (HS) conditions in primary neuronal cultures.

Beneficial effects of exercise in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease-like Tau pathology.

Tau pathology is encountered in many neurodegenerative disorders known as tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease. Physical activity is a lifestyle factor affecting processes crucial for memory and synaptic plasticity. Whether long-term voluntary exercise has an impact on Tau pathology and its pathophysiological consequences is currently unknown.

Nuclear tau, a key player in neuronal DNA protection.

Tau, a neuronal protein involved in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease, which is primarily described as a microtubule-associated protein, has also been observed in the nuclei of neuronal and non-neuronal cells. However, the function of the nuclear form of Tau in neurons has not yet been elucidated. In this work, we demonstrate that acute oxidative stress and mild heat stress (HS) induce the accumulation of dephosphorylated Tau in neuronal nuclei.