Serum S100A8/A9 and MMP-9 levels are elevated in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with cognitive impairment.

Objective: Cognitive impairment (CI) is one of the most common manifestations of Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (NPSLE). Despite its frequency, we have a limited understanding of the underlying immune mechanisms, resulting in a lack of pathways to target. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating differences in serum analyte levels in SLE patients based on their cognitive performance, independently from the attribution to SLE, and exploring the potential for various serum analytes to differentiate between SLE patients with and without CI.

Different Immunologic Profiles Are Associated With Distinct Clinical Phenotypes in Longitudinally Observed Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the immunologic profile associated with disease flares in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to investigate the clinical significance of any differences observed between patients during and following a flare.

Methods: Multiparameter flow cytometry was used to examine 47 immune populations within the peripheral blood of 16 healthy controls, 25 patients with clinically quiescent SLE, and 46 patients with SLE experiencing a flare at baseline and at 6- and 12-month follow-up visits. Unsupervised clustering was used to identify patients with similar immune profiles and to track changes over time.

Systemic lupus erythematosus and damage: What has changed over the past 20 years?

The young age of onset and chronic/relapsing nature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) make SLE patients prone to develop and accrue organ damage as a result of long-standing disease activity and side effects of treatment. There is a growing interest in objectifying damage and identifying its risk factors. Still, the lack of therapeutic alternatives has led to difficulties in avoiding immunosuppressives particularly corticosteroids, which have been implicated in a large spectrum of organ damage in SLE patients.

Interferon and interferon-induced cytokines as markers of impending clinical progression in ANA individuals without a systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease diagnosis.

Background: Elevated levels of interferons (IFNs) are a characteristic feature of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) and may be useful in predicting impending symptomatic progression in anti-nuclear antibody-positive (ANA) individuals lacking a SARD diagnosis. Typically, these are measured by their effect on gene expression in the blood, which has limited their utility in clinical settings. Here, we assessed whether the measurement of serum IFN-α or selected IFN-induced cytokines accurately mirrors IFN-induced gene expression in ANA individuals and investigated their utility as biomarkers of clinical progression.

Systemic lupus erythematosus phenotypes formed from machine learning with a specific focus on cognitive impairment.

Objective: To phenotype SLE based on symptom burden (disease damage, system involvement and patient reported outcomes), with a specific focus on objective and subjective cognitive function.

Methods: SLE patients ages 18-65 years underwent objective cognitive assessment using the ACR Neuropsychological Battery (ACR-NB) and data were collected on demographic and clinical variables, disease burden/activity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), depression, anxiety, fatigue and perceived cognitive deficits. Similarity network fusion (SNF) was used to identify patient subtypes.

Altered Balance of Pro-Inflammatory Immune Cells to T Regulatory Cells Differentiates Symptomatic From Asymptomatic Individuals With Anti-Nuclear Antibodies.

Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (SARDs) are characterized by the production of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAs). ANAs are also seen in healthy individuals and can be detected years before disease onset in SARD. Both the immunological changes that promote development of clinical symptoms in SARD and those that prevent autoimmunity in asymptomatic ANA individuals (ANA NS) remain largely unexplored.

Serological abnormalities that predict progression to systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases in antinuclear antibody-positive individuals.

Objective: We investigated the autoantibody (autoAb) profiles in ANA+ individuals lacking systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD) and early SARD patients to determine the key differences between these groups and identify factors that are associated with an increased risk of symptomatic progression within the next 2 years in ANA+ individuals.

Methods: Using custom antigen (Ag) microarrays, 144 IgM and IgG autoAbs were surveyed in 84 asymptomatic and 123 symptomatic (48 UCTD and 75 SARD patients) ANA+ individuals. AutoAbs were compared in ANA+ individuals lacking a SARD diagnosis with ≥2 years follow-up (n = 52), including all those who demonstrated progression (n = 14) during this period, with changes over time assessed in a representative subset.

Concordance and correlation of activity indices in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in northwestern Colombia: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: To determine the correlation and concordance between different clinimetric scores in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in two high-complexity reference centers in northwestern Colombia.

Method: A cross-sectional study in adults diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis was conducted according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism Classification Criteria, between January and June, 2013. The correlation was evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficient, and concordance with quadratic weighted kappa with the respective confidence intervals, for which patients were classified into different categories of disease activity.

Noninfective endocarditis in microscopic polyangiitis: Report of a case with a successful response to immunosuppressive therapy.

Although antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis has a variety of clinical manifestations, valvular compromise is not common, especially in anti-myeloperoxidase (anti-MPO) antibody (perinuclear [P]-ANCA) vasculitis. We report the case of a 38-year-old woman with ANCA-associated vasculitis who was diagnosed with valve vegetation, that resolved with immunosuppressive therapy.

Pathophysiological Relationship between Infections and Systemic Vasculitis.

The development of autoimmune disorders requires a combination of genetic, immunological, and environmental factors. Infectious agents, such as viruses and bacteria, can trigger autoimmunity through different mechanisms, and for systemic vasculitis in particular, microbial agents have been suggested to be involved in its pathogenesis. Although the exact mechanisms have not been fully elucidated, different theories have been postulated.

Predictive factors for low rate of remission in a population of Colombian patients with severe proliferative lupus nephritis.

The objective of this study is to determine the predictive risk factors of failure to achieve remission within 12 months in a group of patients with proliferative lupus nephritis from Northwestern Colombia. Pragmatic clinical study with retrospective analysis was conducted. We included subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus as defined by the American College of Rheumatology with biopsy-proven nephritis.