Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Incidence in Scleroderma Patients Treated with Bosentan for Digital Ulcers: Evidence from the Italian SPRING Registry.

Objective: Bosentan (BOS) is approved for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and preventing digital ulcers (DU) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Our study aimed to evaluate whether BOS prescribed for DU could reduce the incidence of PAH in a large SSc cohort from the SPRING registry.

Methods: Patients with SSc from the SPRING registry, meeting ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria with data on PAH onset, DU status, BOS exposure, and at least a one-year follow-up between 2015 and 2020, and no known PAH at baseline were included.

Longitudinal association between nailfold capillaroscopy and incident interstitial lung disease: A EUSTAR database analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate (1) the association between nailfold capillaroscopy pattern and 5-year risk for incident interstitial lung disease and (2) the association between transition in nailfold capillaroscopy pattern and risk of incident interstitial lung disease.

Methods: Data of adult patients from the EUSTAR database fulfilling the ACR-EULAR criteria with a disease duration ⩽5 years, having a scleroderma pattern at nailfold capillaroscopy with high-resolution computed tomography confirmed absence of interstitial lung disease (i.e.

Vitamin D serum levels in patients with systemic sclerosis and very early systemic sclerosis (VEDOSS).

Introduction: Vitamin D may be capable of interfering with the pathophysiological pathways involved in systemic sclerosis, by virtue of its well-known immunomodulatory effects. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the differences and the correlations between vitamin D levels in systemic sclerosis patients versus patients with very early systemic sclerosis.

Methods: One hundred twenty-six patients (80 definite systemic sclerosis and 46 very early systemic sclerosis) were included in this case control study.

Towards a comprehensive approach to the management and prognosis of systemic sclerosis's patients: The role of comorbidities in the SPRING-SIR registry.

Objectives: The current knowledge about the role of comorbidities in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of comorbidities and their impact on disease activity and prognosis in the Systemic sclerosis PRogression INvestiGation (SPRING) registry.

Methods: SSc patients from the SPRING registry, fulfilling the ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria, with complete data on baseline comorbidities were enrolled.

Association between markers of hepatitis B virus infection and risk of virological rebound in people with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: The aim of this analysis was to investigate the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection on the risk of HIV viral rebound (VR) after achieving suppression for the first time following initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the real-world setting.

Design: Patients living with HIV (PLWH) who were enrolled in the ICONA Foundation Study cohort and achieved viral suppression ≤50 copies/mL for the first time after starting ART were prospectively evaluated and divided in three exposure groups according to serology test results: (a) HIV-monoinfected; (b) HIV-positive/HBcAb-positive/HBsAg-negative; (c) HIV-positive/HBsAg-positive. The occurrence of VR, defined as two consecutive HIV-RNA values >50 copies/mL after achieving viral suppression for the first time (baseline), was investigated.

Practice pattern for the use of intravenous iloprost for the treatment of peripheral vasculopathy in systemic sclerosis: A case-control study from the Italian national multicenter "SPRING" (Systemic Sclerosis Progression InvestiGation) Registry.

Background: Intravenous iloprost has been widely used for the treatment of systemic sclerosis peripheral vasculopathy. No agreement has been found on the regimen and the dosage of intravenous iloprost in different scleroderma subset conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the modalities of intravenous iloprost administration within a large cohort of systemic sclerosis patients from the SPRING Registry and to identify any associated clinical-demographic, instrumental or therapeutic data.

Bone Mineral Density and Trabecular Bone Score Changes throughout Menopause in Women with HIV.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe the trajectories of bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS) changes throughout pre-menopause (reproductive phase and menopausal transition) and post-menopause (early and late menopause) in women with HIV (WWH) undergoing different antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) and explore the risk factors associated with those changes.

Methods: This was an observational longitudinal retrospective study in WWH with a minimum of two DEXA evaluations comprising BMD and TBS measurements, both in the pre-menopausal and post-menopausal periods. Menopause was determined according to the STRAW+10 criteria, comprising four periods: the reproductive period, menopausal transition, and early- and late-menopausal periods.

Polymyositis following varicella and mumps infection in adults: report of two cases.

Idiopathic immune myopathies (IIMs) are autoimmune diseases caused by immune-mediated muscle damage. The etiology remains unclear. Epidemiological and experimental studies, both in animals and humans, hint at viruses as major environmental factors able to trigger aberrant immune responses through many different mechanisms.

A Machine Learning Approach to Predict Weight Change in ART-Experienced People Living With HIV.

Introduction: The objective of the study was to develop machine learning (ML) models that predict the percentage weight change in each interval of time in antiretroviral therapy-experienced people living with HIV.

Methods: This was an observational study that comprised consecutive people living with HIV attending Modena HIV Metabolic Clinic with at least 2 visits. Data were partitioned in an 80/20 training/test set to generate 10 progressively parsimonious predictive ML models.

Evaluating immunological and inflammatory changes of treatment-experienced people living with HIV switching from first-line triple cART regimens to DTG/3TC B/F/TAF: the DEBATE trial.

Background: The aim of this randomized clinical trial (RCT) was to compare immunological changes in virally suppressed people living with HIV (PLWH) switching from a three-drug regimen (3DR) to a two-drug regimen (2DR).

Methods: An open-label, prospective RCT enrolling PLWH receiving a 3DR who switched to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (B/F/TAF) or dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) was performed. Blood was taken at baseline and months 6 and 12.

Impact of COVID-19 and vaccination campaign on 1,755 systemic sclerosis patients during first three years of pandemic. Possible risks for individuals with impaired immunoreactivity to vaccine, ongoing immunomodulating treatments, and disease-related lung involvement during the next pandemic phase.

Introduction: The impact of COVID-19 pandemic represents a serious challenge for 'frail' patients' populations with inflammatory autoimmune systemic diseases such as systemic sclerosis (SSc). We investigated the prevalence and severity of COVID-19, as well the effects of COVID-19 vaccination campaign in a large series of SSc patients followed for the entire period (first 38 months) of pandemic.

Patients And Method: This prospective survey study included 1755 unselected SSc patients (186 M, 1,569F; mean age 58.

Liver Involvement during SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is Associated with a Worse Respiratory Outcome in COVID-19 Patients.

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), may be complicated by life-threatening interstitial pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 infection may also damage several tissues and/or organs beyond the lungs, including the liver. However, controversy still exists as to whether SARS-CoV-2-induced liver alterations can have an impact on the outcome of COVID-19.

Systemic sclerosis and primary biliary cholangitis: Longitudinal data to determine the outcomes.

Background: Several studies described the cross-sectional characteristics of systemic sclerosis patients and coexisting primary biliary cholangitis, but longitudinal prognostic data are lacking.

Aims: To describe the systemic sclerosis-primary biliary cholangitis phenotype, including baseline characteristics and outcomes.

Methods: We performed a multicentre the European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group study of systemic sclerosis patients with primary biliary cholangitis or with primary biliary cholangitis-specific antibodies, matched with systemic sclerosis controls free from hepatobiliary involvement matched for disease duration and cutaneous subset.

Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion/Systolic Pulmonary Artery Pressure Ratio and Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 2 in the Systemic Sclerosis EUSTAR Cohort.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE)/systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and their association with mortality in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort.

Methods: Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) from the EUSTAR database with TAPSE, sPAP, and parameters required to calculate eGFR were included. Logistic regression and Cox regression analysis were performed to evaluate TAPSE/sPAP as a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and overall survival.

Inflammatory rheumatic diseases with onset after SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination: a report of 267 cases from the COVID-19 and ASD group.

Objectives: To better define the spectrum of new-onset post-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 vaccine inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) from a large multicentric observational study.

Methods: Consecutive cases of IRD encountered during a 12-month period and satisfying one of the following inclusion criteria: (a) onset of the rheumatic manifestations within 4 weeks from SARS-CoV-2 infection or (b) onset of the rheumatic manifestations within 4 weeks from the administration of one of the COVID-19 vaccines ws recruited.

Results: The final analysis cohort comprised 267 patients, of which 122 (45.

Liver Involvement in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: Role of Transient Elastography in the Assessment of Hepatic Fibrosis and Steatosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, multisystemic disorder of connective tissue characterized by widespread inflammation, vascular abnormalities, and both skin and visceral organ fibrosis. Tissue fibrosis is the final phase of a complex biological process of immune activation and vascular damage. The aim of the study was to assess hepatic fibrosis and steatosis in SSc patients by transient elastography (TE).

Cranial structure and condylar asymmetry of adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The aim of this prospective cross sectional study was to evaluate the cranial structure and condylar asymmetry of adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosed after 25 years of age compared to a healthy adult control group.

Methods: Eighteen adult patients (57.4 ± 11.

Phases of Wilson Lines in Conformal Field Theories.

We study the low-energy limit of Wilson lines (charged impurities) in conformal gauge theories in 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions. As a function of the representation of the Wilson line, certain defect operators can become marginal, leading to interesting renormalization group flows and for sufficiently large representations to complete or partial screening by charged fields. This result is universal: in large enough representations, Wilson lines are screened by the charged matter fields.

Exercise Training in Elderly Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.

Due to the aging of the population, in 70% of cases, a new cancer diagnosis equals a cancer diagnosis in a geriatric patient. In this population, beyond the concept of mortality and morbidity, functional capacity, disability, and quality of life remain crucial. In fact, when the functional status is preserved, the pathogenetic curve towards disability will stop or even regress.

Potential Role of Global Longitudinal Strain in Cardiac and Oncological Patients Undergoing Cardio-Oncology Rehabilitation (CORE).

Although shown to be effective in improving survival and quality of life in patients with cancer, some treatments are well-known causes of cardiotoxicity, such as anthracyclines, monoclonal antibodies against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and radiotherapy. To prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients living with cancer, cardiologists and oncologists promoted the development of cardio-oncology, an interdisciplinary field which aims to further improving life expectancy in these patients. Cardio-oncology rehabilitation (CORE), through correction of risk factors, prescription of drug therapies and structured exercise programs, tries to improve symptoms, quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and survival in patients with cancer.