Mobile App Intervention Increases Adherence to Home Exercise Program After Whiplash Injury-A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT).

Objective: Can mobile app intervention via push notifications increase adherence to exercise and reduce disability and pain after a whiplash injury?

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with concealed allocation, blinding of some assessors, and an intention-to-treat analysis. Participants who sustained whiplash injury at most 3 months prior were divided into active and control groups. Both groups completed a two-part physiotherapist-supervised physical therapy program (3-week break in between, ten sessions each, 5x/week).

The Croatian Primary Sjögren's Disease Oral Health Study: Oral Status and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life.

To determine salivary flow rate, oral and periodontal status, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), objective and subjective indexes, and serum antibody reactivity in patients with primary Sjögren's disease (pSD). Thirty-one patients with pSD and 31 control subjects participated in this cross-sectional, single-center study. The unstimulated whole salivary flow rate (UWSFR) and stimulated whole salivary flow rate (SWSFR), salivary pH, DMFT index (DMFT = D-decayed, M-missing, F-filled tooth), periodontal pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), interincisal distance, OHRQoL, objective European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) SS Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) and subjective (EULAR SS Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI), 6-items-VAS-SS (Visual Analog Scale), Profile of Fatigue) indexes were analyzed.

Association of inflammatory biomarkers and disease activity with subclinical myocardial dysfunction in psoriatic arthritis.

We examined the role of adipokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines in psoriatic arthritis-associated subclinical myocardial dysfunction, and the relationship between these variables and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) disease activity. Fifty-five PsA patients without cardiovascular risk factors and 25 controls underwent standard and speckle tracking echocardiography with global longitudinal strain (GLS) calculated. Standard anthropometric data and Disease Activity in Psoriatic arthritis (DAPSA) scores were recorded, with low disease activity defined as DAPSA ≤ 14 and moderate and high disease activity DAPSA > 14.

Salivary Flow Rate and Oral Status in Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome and Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Determination of salivary flow rate and oral status in patients with primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS) and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) and comparison with control subjects. Thirty-one pSS patients, 28 dcSSc patients, and 28 control subjects participated in this single-center, cross-sectional study. Unstimulated whole salivary flow rate (UWSFR) and stimulated whole salivary flow rate (SWSFR), salivary pH, DMFT index (D-decayed, M-missing, F-filled tooth), periodontal pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), interincisal distance, and OHRQoL (oral health-related quality of life) were analyzed in all three groups of subjects.

Beneficial effects of Helicobacter pylori eradication in systemic sclerosis patients.

Objective: Previous studies have shown that Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is associated with increased activity and severity of systemic sclerosis (SSc), hence we aimed to evaluate the effect of HP eradication on various symptoms and inflammatory indices.

Methods: The SSc patients without dyspeptic symptoms were prospectively enrolled in this 18-month cross-sectional study. Patients were divided into two groups based on determination of HP infection.

Association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with rheumatoid arthritis in Split-Dalmatia County in southern Croatia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Sinj Region (SR) and the rest of the Split-Dalmatia County (SDC) in Croatia and to determine their relationship with disease severity.

Methods: A total of 74 RA patients and 80 healthy controls from the SR, and 74 RA patients and 80 healthy controls from the rest of the SDC were genotyped using sequence-specific oligonucleotide primed PCR. High-resolution typing of HLA-DRB1*04 alleles was performed using the single specific primed polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP) method.

The Levels of Serum Serotonin Can Be Related to Skin and Pulmonary Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis.

: The most prominent feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc), besides vasculopathy and autoimmune disorders, is excessive fibrosis. Serotonin affects hemostasis and can induce vasoconstriction, which is presumed to be one of the pathophysiological patterns in SSc that leads to fibrosis. Our aim was to explore the possible association of serotonin with some of the clinical features of SSc in our cohort of patients.

Reduced salivary flow and caries status are correlated with disease activity and severity in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To analyze the correlations of saliva production and pH value with disease activity, disease severity, and oral health-related quality of life in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) without concomitant Sjögren's syndrome (SS) or SS-related antibodies.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 28 patients with dcSSc and matching healthy controls. Sialometric assessment and caries status were compared between the two groups.

Low dose intravenous immunoglobulin in addition to cyclophosphamide in systemic sclerosis : Single centre experience.

Aim: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare chronic disease characterized by pathologic collagen deposits in the skin and internal organs. Although it is considered to be an autoimmune disease, immunosuppressants have a limited effect on severe SSc. Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have shown favorable effects in patients with SSc by suppressing the action of profibrotic cytokines, so they could have additional effect on standard treatment such as cyclophosphamide (CYC).

Dietary Habits in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are often interested in which diets to follow. Our aim was to investigate which dietary habits were common among our patients, and which of them were in correlation with laboratory parameters of disease activity, such as complement values and 24-h proteinuria. This study included 76 patients with SLE in clinical remission with a 6-month flare free period.

Expression of apoptotic and proliferation factors in gastric mucosa of patients with systemic sclerosis correlates with form of the disease.

Despite high prevalence of patients with gastric disease in systemic sclerosis (SSc), its pathogenesis is still poorly understood. We immunohistochemically analysed biopsies of gastric mucosa (GM) in 5 controls and 15 patients with different forms of SSc: limited cutaneous (lc), diffuse cutaneous moderate (sys1) and severe (sys2). The number of positive cells was analysed by a Kruskall-Wallis test, P < 0.

Biomarkers of skin and lung fibrosis in systemic sclerosis.

: Excessive fibrosis is the hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and numerous experts are investing efforts into identifying parameters that could predict disease course and prognosis. Here, we review the available and potential biomarkers of lung and skin fibrosis in SSc.: Specific autoantibodies are important for the determination of clinical subsets of SSc, making them routine in clinical practice.

Association of low socioeconomic status and physician assessment of disease severity with oral health-related quality of life in patients with systemic sclerosis: a pilot study from Croatia, a country in transition.

Objective: This study was performed to identify a possible association of the clinical parameters of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and the socioeconomic status (SES) with oral health-related quality of life (OHrQoL) as measured by the Oral Health Impact Profile 49 (OHIP 49), taking into account the effect of educational level (as a proxy of SES) on oral health.

Methods: Subjects were recruited from the Croatian SSc Center of Excellence cohort. Detailed dental and clinical examinations were performed according to standardized protocols.

Association between vitamin D, oestradiol and interferon-gamma in female patients with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives To investigate possible associations between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), oestradiol (E) and IFN-gamma (IFNγ) in female patients with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Female patients with inactive SLE and age-matched healthy controls were recruited into this cross-sectional study. Serum concentrations of 25(OH)D E and IFNγ were measured by radioimmunoassay with gamma-counters and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

[FIBROMYALGIA: IS IT A RHEUMATIC DISEASE?].

Fibromylagia (FM) is a complex chronic condition usually presenting with symptoms of widespread pain and fatigue, as well as sleep and cognitive disorders. The diagnosis is made by exclusion of other diseases and according to the EULAR criteria. The treatment of the disease is multidisciplinary and associated with a better understanding of the disease pathophysiology.

[Long-term glucocorticoid therapy and the rapid development of squamous cell carcinoma in systemic sclerosis: Is there a connection?].

Systemic sclerosis (SSC) is an autoimmune disease associated with the risk of malignancies, especially lung cancer, among which adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most frequent. A 63-year-old female patient with SSC was hospitalized due to blackouts, poor general condition, and changes in her fingers. Because of subsequent epileptic seizures resulting in weakness of the left side of her body, computerized tomography (CT) of the neurocranium was performed which showed metastatic lesions.

[Polymyositis and systemic sclerosis overlap - A case report and a review of the literature].

Polymyositis (PM) is an autoimmune disease which affects skeletal muscles. In young age, it usually occurs as an idiopathic disorder associated with specific autoantibodies (anti-Jo), while in older age it is often associated with neoplasms. It can present with symptoms of other autoimmune diseases, such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), a rare progressive disease characterized by collagen deposits in various tissues and organs.

[RETROSPECTIVE DATA ANALYSIS OF THE PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY JOINT DISEASES TREATED WITH GOLIMUMAB IN CROATIA].

Golimumab is a human monoclonal antibody which inhibits tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and is approved for the treatment of inflammatory arthritides (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis) when the conventional non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies fail to cause remission or low disease activity. In this retrospective study there were included patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis who were treated in Croatia with golimumab, from June 2011 to June 2013. included and these retrospective data are compared with similar data from clinical trials and other available databases.