The effect of antimalarials on the safety and persistence of treatment with biologic agents or Janus kinase inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: To test the association of use of antimalarials with the overall safety of treatment in RA patients receiving one or multiple courses of biologic (b)DMARDs or a Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi).

Methods: BiobadaBrasil is a multicentric registry-based cohort study of Brazilian patients with rheumatic diseases starting their first bDMARD or JAKi. The present analysis includes RA patients recruited from January 2009 to October 2019, followed up over one or multiple (up to six) courses of treatment (latest date, 19 November 2019).

Assessment of muscle mass using chest computed tomography-based quantitative and qualitative measurements in patients with systemic sclerosis: A retrospective study with cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

Background/ Purpose: Sarcopenia has been increasingly studied in systemic sclerosis (SSc), which is one of the most lethal autoimmune diseases, mainly due to lung involvement. Our objective was to study the associations of myopenia and/or myosteatosis with clinical features of SSc and subsequent adverse outcomes.

Methods: This is a retrospective study with cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, in which patients with SSc were consecutively included in the outpatient clinic of a tertiary university hospital between 2012 and 2021.

Changes in physical function over time in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A cohort study.

Introduction: Self-reported disability is potentially influenced by many factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this sense, we evaluated the association between self-reported disability and (1) clinical features, (2) muscle strength and (3) physical performance over time among patients with RA from two distinct patient cohorts.

Materials And Methods: Two independent prospective RA cohorts were analyzed.

Physical frailty in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic disease characterized by autoimmunity, vasculopathy and fibrosis of several organs, such as skin, lungs, and heart. During the disease course, patients with SSc are prone to accumulating multiple organ damage and increasing their vulnerability to adverse outcomes. This increased vulnerability to adverse outcomes when exposed to a stressor among people of the same age is known as frailty.

Morphological Parameters in Quadriceps Muscle Were Associated with Clinical Features and Muscle Strength of Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune, inflammatory and chronic disease that may lead to loss of muscle mass, muscle strength and decreased functionality. Our objectives are to assess the quadriceps muscle morphology by ultrasound (MU) and verify its associations with clinical features, muscle strength and physical function in RA patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, RA women (≥18 years) were included.

Dualities of the vitamin D in systemic sclerosis: a systematic literature review.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic disease characterized by autoimmunity, vasculopathy, and visceral and cutaneous fibrosis. Vitamin D has several functions in the immunological system, and different studies have suggested a potential role in triggering autoimmune diseases. Patients with SSc may present with low serum levels of vitamin D, but the association between hypovitaminosis D and disease onset or any clinical manifestation is still obscure.

Flow cytometry evaluation of CD14/CD16 monocyte subpopulations in systemic sclerosis patients: a cross sectional controlled study.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by vasculopathy and fibrosis, which can be subclassified into diffuse cutaneous (dSSc) and limited cutaneous (lSSc) subtypes. Previous studies suggest that an increase in monocytes can be a hallmark of various inflammatory diseases, including SSc. Our aim was to evaluate circulating blood monocyte subpopulations (classical, intermediate and non-classical) of SSc patients and their possible association with disease manifestations.

Practical screening tools for sarcopenia in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Introduction: In view of the method of diagnosing sarcopenia being complex and considered to be difficult to introduce into routine practice, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) recommends the use of the SARC-F questionnaire as a way to introduce assessment and treatment of sarcopenia into clinical practice. Only recently, some studies have turned their attention to the presence of sarcopenia in systemic sclerosis (SSc).There is no data about performance of SARC-F and other screening tests for sarcopenia in this population.

Cachexia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cohort study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that leads to altered body composition. The loss of lean mass with a preservation or increase in fat mass has been termed rheumatoid cachexia (RC), to contrast with classic cachexia, which is characterized by severe weight loss. There are limited data on the prevalence and progression of cachexia in RA over time, as well as on associated factors.

Prevalence of Psoriatic Arthritis Patients Achieving Minimal Disease Activity in Real-world Studies and Randomized Clinical Trials: Systematic Review with Metaanalysis.

Objective: To estimate the frequency of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) achieving minimal disease activity (MDA) status in real-world studies and randomized controlled trials (RCT).

Methods: A systematic literature search for 2009-2017 was performed in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and LILACS. Study selection and data extraction were performed by 2 independent researchers.

Vitamin D and Cytokine Profiles in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis.

Introduction: Hypovitaminosis D has been frequently described in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Cytokines are important mediators of tissue damage and clinical dysfunction in SSc and may be influenced by vitamin D levels.

Objective: To evaluate the serum levels of vitamin D and its correlation with the clinical features and cytokine profiles in SSc patients.

Overall mortality in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema related to systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: This multicentre study aimed to investigate the overall mortality of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to compare CPFE-SSc characteristics with those of other SSc subtypes (with interstitial lung disease-ILD, emphysema or neither).

Methods: Chest CTs, anamnestic data, immunological profile and pulmonary function tests of patients with SSc were retrospectively collected. Each chest CT underwent a semiquantitative assessment blindly performed by three radiologists.

Muscle wasting in osteoarthritis model induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection.

This study aimed to investigate the molecular pathways involved in muscle wasting in an animal model of osteoarthritis (OA) induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) in rats. Reduction of protein syntheses, increased proteolysis and impaired muscle regeneration are important pathways related to muscle wasting, and myogenin, MyoD, myostatin and MuRF-1 are some of their markers. Female Wistar rats were allocated into two groups: OA (submitted to the ACLT) and SHAM (submitted to surgery without ACLT).

Neuromuscular fatigue is weakly associated with perception of fatigue and function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

To assess electromyographic parameters of neuromuscular fatigue in knee extensors and their association with clinical, functional and emotional features in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thirty-eight female patients with RA participated. Electromyography parameters (changes in signal amplitude, represented by the root mean square, and frequency content, represented by median frequency-MDF) were assessed during a submaximal (60%) isometric contraction of the knee extensors, sustained for 60 s.

Rheumatoid arthritis seems to have DMARD treatment decision influenced by fibromyalgia.

Objective: To compare DMARD use in patients with and without FM over time, including overtreatment and undertreatment rates in both groups.

Methods: A prospective cohort study with patients attending an RA outpatient clinic was conducted. Participants were consecutively recruited between March 2006 and June 2007 and were followed through December 2013.

Rheumatoid arthritis seems to have DMARD treatment decision influenced by fibromyalgia.

Objective: To compare DMARD use in patients with and without FM over time, including overtreatment and undertreatment rates in both groups.

Methods: A prospective cohort study with patients attending an RA outpatient clinic was conducted. Participants were consecutively recruited between March 2006 and June 2007 and were followed through December 2013.

Assessment of anti-Müllerian hormone levels in premenopausal patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: The ovarian reserve of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may be affected by disease activity and medication use. Studies have found that patients with SLE have similar fertility rates as healthy women of the same age. The goal of the present study was to investigate the ovarian reserve of patients with SLE by measuring anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, and compare it to that of healthy controls.

Daily practice feasibility and effectiveness of treating long-standing rheumatoid arthritis to target with synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: a prospective cohort study.

To prospectively study the daily practice feasibility and effectiveness of treat-to-target (T2T) strategy with synthetic drugs aiming to maintain and achieve disease remission or low activity based on DAS28 and CDAI in long-standing rheumatoid (RA) patients. Two hundred and forty-one consecutive RA patients from Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre were followed for 14 (±5.3) months.

[Anti-Müllerian hormone levels as a predictor of ovarian reserve in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a review].

The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is secreted from granulosa cells of growing ovarian follicles and appears to be the best endocrine marker capable of estimating ovarian reserve. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women of reproductive age and may negatively affect their fertility due to disease activity and the treatments used. Recently, several studies assessed AMH levels to understand the real impact of SLE and its treatment on fertility.

Assessing rheumatoid arthritis disease activity with ultrasound.

In practice, composite indices are used for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity evaluation. Despite valid and widely used, not rarely composite indices miss accuracy. Ultrasound (US) is more precise than clinical examination in synovitis appraisal.

Malalignment and subchondral bone turnover in contralateral knees of overweight/obese women with unilateral osteoarthritis: implications for bilateral disease.

Objective: To explore whether the risk of incident tibiofemoral (TF) osteoarthritis (OA) in the radiographically normal contralateral knee of overweight/obese women with unilateral knee OA is mediated by malalignment and/or preceded by increased turnover of subchondral bone.

Methods: We used data of post hoc analyses from a randomized controlled trial. Cross-sectional analyses evaluated the baseline association between frontal plane alignment and bone turnover in the medial TF compartment in 78 radiographically normal contralateral knees.

Association of nociceptive responsivity with clinical pain and the moderating effect of depression.

Unlabelled: The role of central sensitization (CS) in clinical pain reported by FMS patients is unclear. In this report, we sought to establish evidence of a prospective association between clinical pain and an objective measure of spinal nociception (nociceptive flexion reflex [NFR] threshold) and explore whether depression moderates this relationship. We collected measures that included the NFR threshold (in the range of 0-60 milliamperes (mA); a lower threshold represents greater nociceptive responsivity) and clinical variables (ie, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ)-total, FIQ-pain, depression and current pain intensity) at 3 time points (baseline, weeks 6 and 12).

Varus malalignment negates the structure-modifying benefits of doxycycline in obese women with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To estimate the extent to which varus malalignment, a source of abnormal intra-articular stresses in the medial tibiofemoral compartment and risk factor for progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA), may have diminished the structure-modifying benefit of doxycycline in knee OA.

Methods: Post hoc treatment group comparisons from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the effect of doxycycline (100mg, twice daily) on medial joint space narrowing (JSN) in subgroups of varus and non-varus OA knees. Subjects (N=379 with X-ray follow-up) were obese 45-64-year-old women with unilateral knee OA at baseline.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy attenuates nociceptive responding in patients with fibromyalgia: a pilot study.

Objective: To explore the possibility that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) influences fibromyalgia symptoms via descending inhibition of nociception, we evaluated the effects of CBT on the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold, an objective measure of spinal nociceptive transmission.

Methods: Female fibromyalgia patients (n = 32) were randomized to 6 weekly sessions of telephone-delivered CBT or usual care (UC). Assessments of the NFR threshold and clinical outcomes were conducted at baseline, week 6 (post-CBT), and week 12.