Factors associated with poor outcomes in SLE patients with COVID-19: Data from .

Objectives: To evaluate factors associated with COVID-19 severity outcomes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data of a prospective, multi-stage cohort study-"The ReumaCoV Brazil"-designed to monitor patients with immune-mediated rheumatologic disease (IMRD) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. SLE adult patients with COVID-19 were compared with those without COVID-19.

Resistance exercises improve physical function in chronic Chikungunya fever patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Chikungunya fever is an arboviral disease, caused by an alphavirus, the Chikungunya virus, characterized by fever and joint pain that is generally disabling in the acute phase and may last from months to years, with the potential to evolve into chronic musculoskeletal symptoms, as polyarthralgia and arthritis, which can lead to significant impairment of physical function. The non-pharmacological treatment is very important for these patients, and resistance exercises may be one rehabilitation option.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a resistance exercise protocol on the physical function, pain, and quality of life of patients with chronic Chikungunya fever.

PRESUMED TUBERCULOUS MULTIFOCAL RETINITIS IN PATIENTS UNDER TREATMENT WITH BIOLOGIC AGENTS.

Purpose: To report unique retinal fundus lesions and treatment outcomes of intraocular tuberculosis in patients under anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment.

Methods: Retrospective review of two patients with laboratorial evidence of tuberculosis who had bilateral ocular signs and symptoms not attributable to other diseases. Multimodal imaging was analyzed at the time of presentation and after the treatment initiation.

Reassessing the Role of the Active TGF-1 as a Biomarker in Systemic Sclerosis: Association of Serum Levels with Clinical Manifestations.

. To determine active TGF-1 (aTGF-1) levels in serum, skin, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) culture supernatants and to understand their associations with clinical parameters in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. .

High frequency of asymptomatic hyperparathyroidism in patients with fibromyalgia: random association or misdiagnosis?

Unlabelled: Fibromyalgia (FM) and hyperparathyroidism may present similar symptoms (musculoskeletal pain, cognitive disorders, insomnia, depression and anxiety), causing diagnostic confusion.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of asymptomatic hyperparathyroidism in a sample of patients with FM and to evaluate the association of laboratory abnormalities to clinical symptoms.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with 100 women with FM and 57 healthy women (comparison group).

Cytokine Profile in Gout: Inflammation Driven by IL-6 and IL-18?

Introduction: Gout is considered to be an autoinflammatory disease and the presence of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals stimulates activation of NPRL3 inflammasome and subsequently caspase-1, generating production of active IL-1β and IL-18. However, the association between serum cytokines levels and clinical manifestations of the disease is not yet well understood. We evaluated the serum profile of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17A, IL-18, IL-22, and IL-23) and described their relationship with clinical and laboratory data.

Clinical and cytokine profile evaluation in Northeast Brazilian psoriasis plaque-type patients.

Psoriasis is a common, enigmatic, and recurrent disease. The precise etiology and pathogenesis of psoriasis are still unclear. Psoriasis has been treated as an inflammatory disorder related to an underlying Th1/Th17-dominated immune response.

Increased IL-35 serum levels in systemic sclerosis and association with pulmonary interstitial involvement.

The objective of this study is to assess the serum IL-35 level and its association with clinical manifestations in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). IL-35 serum levels were measured by ELISA from 56 patients with SSc and 53 healthy controls. Association of IL-35 serum levels were sought with clinical parameters.

Increased Serum Interleukin-9 Levels in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Pathogenic Role or Just an Epiphenomenon?

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the levels of IL-9 in patients with SLE and RA compared with controls and the association of IL-9 levels with clinical and laboratory parameters. IL-9 levels were assessed in 117 SLE patients, 67 RA patients, and 24 healthy controls by ELISA. Clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded.

The Role of PPAR Gamma in Systemic Sclerosis.

Fibrosis is recognized as an important feature of many chronic diseases, such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology, characterized by immune dysregulation and vascular injury, followed by progressive fibrosis affecting the skin and multiple internal organs. SSc has a poor prognosis because no therapy has been shown to reverse or arrest the progression of fibrosis, representing a major unmet medical need. Recently, antifibrotic effects of PPARγ ligands have been studied in vitro and in vivo and some theories have emerged leading to new insights.

Interferons and systemic sclerosis: correlation between interferon gamma and interferon-lambda 1 (IL-29).

Background: Interferon (IFN)-λ1 is a newly described cytokine, member of type III interferons family, which is known for its antiviral, anti-proliferative and antitumor activity. Recent studies indicated that this cytokine has also immune-regulatory function, but its role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases is not established yet. We evaluated serum levels of IFN-λ1 in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients and healthy controls and its association with IFN-γ and clinical manifestations.

[Epidemiologic profile of juvenile-onset compared to adult-onset spondyloarthritis in a large Brazilian cohort].

Objective: To analyze the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of juvenile-onset spondyloarthritis (SpA) (< 16 years) and compare them with a group of adult-onset (≥ 16 years) SpA patients.

Patients And Methods: Prospective, observational and multicentric cohort with 1,424 patients with the diagnosis of SpA according to the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) submitted to a common protocol of investigation and recruited in 29 reference centers participants of the Brazilian Registry of Spondyloarthritis (RBE - Registro Brasileiro de Espondiloartrites). Patients were divided in two groups: age at onset<16 years (JOSpA group) and age at onset ≥ 16 years (AOSpA group).

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists (PPARs): a promising prospect in the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriasis is a polygenic, inflammatory and progressive disease, characterized by an abnormal differentiation and hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, associated with impaired immunologic activation and systemic disorders, while psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory articular disease. Pathophysiology of psoriasis comprises a dysfunction of the immune system cells with an interactive network between cells and cytokines supporting the initiation and perpetuation of disease and leading to inflammation of skin, enthesis and joints. Recent studies have shown an important role of systemic inflammation in the development of atherosclerosis.

25-Hydroxyivitamin D3 levels in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and its association with clinical parameters and laboratory tests.

Introduction: The immunoregulatory role of vitamin D has been the object of a growing number of studies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Objectives: To determine the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH) D] in patients with SLE, and to assess the association of 25(OH)D insufficiency/deficiency with clinical parameters and laboratory tests.

Methods: Cross-sectional, prospective study performed at the SLE Clinic, Department of Rheumatology, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco with convenience sampling, including 78 patients with SLE and 64 volunteers (comparison group), matched by gender and age.

Comorbidities in patients with osteoarthritis: frequency and impact on pain and physical function.

Introduction: As the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) increases with age, the coexistence of other chronic diseases is common.

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of comorbidities in OA patients and to measure their impact on pain and physical function of those patients.

Methods: Cross-sectional study in OA patients of a public rheumatology clinic.

The importance of vitamin D levels in autoimmune diseases.

In addition to its role in calcium homeostasis, it is believed that the active form of vitamin D has immunomodulatory effects on cells of the immune system, particularly T lymphocytes, as well as on the production and action of several cytokines. The interaction of vitamin D with the immune system has been the target of a growing number of publications in recent years. Current studies have linked the deficiency of vitamin D with different autoimmune diseases, including insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Evaluation of an interferon gamma assay in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The tuberculin skin test is not an ideal screening test for the patients with rheumatoid arthritis to identify cases of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) prior to the start of treatment with anti-TNFs, as it responds inadequately to late hypersensitivity, which is fundamental for producing a response to the inoculated antigen. Assays based on detection of the production of IFNγ in vitro by mononuclear peripheral cells stimulated by specific antigens are more specific than PPD in detecting LTBI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of T-SPOT.

Childhood systemic lupus erythematosus in Latin America. The GLADEL experience in 230 children.

To evaluate disease characteristics of childhood onset SLE in Latin America and to compare this information with an adult population in the same cohort of GLADEL. A protocol was designed as a multicenter, multinational, inception cohort of lupus patients to evaluate demographic, clinical, laboratory and serological variables, as well as classification criteria, disease activity, organ damage and mortality. Descriptive statistics, chi square, Fisher's exact test, Student's t test and multiple logistic regression were used to compare childhood and adult onset SLE.