Publications by authors named "Berta Lopez-Montesinos"

Background: To assess the psychosocial impact of moderate-severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) on patients and their families, among those who had been treated with at least one anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF-α), according to routine clinical practice in Spain.

Patients And Methods: A 24-month observational, multicentric, cross-sectional and retrospective study was performed. Children diagnosed with JIA were enrolled at three tertiary-care Spanish hospitals.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to understand the clinical experiences of childhood-onset non-infectious uveitis by analyzing data from 507 patients across 21 hospitals in a national registry.
  • Most cases were classified as immune disease-associated uveitis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis, predominantly affecting young females, while idiopathic uveitis and pars planitis occurred more in older children without a strong sex bias.
  • The findings highlighted a variety of ocular complications linked to different types of uveitis, with juvenile idiopathic arthritis cases showing better visual outcomes, whereas idiopathic uveitis and pars planitis were associated with more severe complications and the need for systemic treatments.
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Article Synopsis
  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a common chronic condition in children that can lead to serious long-term issues if not properly treated, highlighting the need for early intervention.
  • A study in Spain assessed the costs associated with moderate-to-severe JIA in children, including both direct costs (like medication and doctor visits) and indirect costs (like travel and lost work hours for caregivers).
  • Results showed that the average annual cost for treating JIA was €7516.40, with medication being the largest expense, mostly consisting of biologic treatments like adalimumab and etanercept.
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Unlabelled: Tumor-necrosis-factor-α inhibitors (anti-TNF-α) are associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease, primarily due to reactivation of latent TB infection (LTBI). We assessed the performance of parallel LTBI screening with tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assays (QFT-GIT) before anti-TNF-α treatment in children with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders in a low TB-burden setting. We conducted a multicenter cohort study involving 17 pediatric tertiary centers in Spain.

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The Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR) is a new parent/patient reported outcome measure that enables a thorough assessment of the disease status in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We report the results of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the parent and patient versions of the JAMAR in the Castilian Spanish language. The reading comprehension of the questionnaire was tested in 10 JIA parents and patients.

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Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of canakinumab treatment in active hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with periodic fever syndrome (HIDS).

Methods: This was a 3-part open-label study with an initial 6-month treatment period in which patients with HIDS (n = 9) received canakinumab subcutaneously at a dose of 300 mg (or 4 mg/kg for those weighing ≤40 kg) every 6 weeks (period 1 [P1]), followed by a 6-month withdrawal period (period 2 [P2]), and then a 24-month extension treatment period with canakinumab at the same dose (period 3 [P3]). The primary end point was reduction in the frequency of attacks during treatment periods as compared to the historical period (HP; defined as the period in which patients did not receive drugs other than nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and/or steroids).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate how effective tocilizumab (TCZ) is for treating uveitis in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) that didn't improve with standard treatments.
  • It involved 25 patients, mostly female, who were assessed after receiving TCZ, showing significant improvement in key eye health indicators like anterior chamber cell numbers and central macular thickness after 6 months.
  • After a year of treatment, 76% of the patients had complete remission of uveitis, and there was a notable reduction in the need for corticosteroids, though some serious side effects were reported.
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Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS) and Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS) belong to the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) with CIAS1 gene mutations as a common molecular basis. Patients with FCAS have the least severe clinical phenotype but are characterized by the development of symptoms induced by a generalized exposure to cold appearing during the first months of childhood. It is important to make differential diagnosis between FCAS and acquired cold urticaria (ACU) and familial atypical cold urticaria (FACU).

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