Proteomic profiling of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid uncovers protein clusters linked to survival in idiopathic forms of interstitial lung disease.

Background: Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs), such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features, present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to their heterogeneous nature. This study aimed to identify intrinsic molecular signatures within the lung microenvironment of these IIPs through proteomic analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).

Methods: Patients with IIP (n=23) underwent comprehensive clinical evaluation including pre-treatment bronchoscopy and were compared with controls without lung disease (n=5).

Decisional Control Preferences in Managing Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas.

Objectives: To evaluate patient preferences for decision-making role in the management of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas and to identify individual characteristics associated with those preferences.

Background: Management of IPMNs is rooted in uncertainty with current guidelines failing to incorporate patients' preferences and values.

Methods: A representative sample of participants aged 40-70 were recruited to evaluate a clinical vignette where they were given the option to undergo surveillance or surgical resection of their IPMN.

CITRULLINATED AND MALONDIALDEHYDE-ACETALDEHYDE MODIFIED FIBRINOGEN ACTIVATES MACROPHAGES AND PROMOTES PROFIBROTIC RESPONSES IN HUMAN LUNG FIBROBLASTS.

The objective of this study was to assess fibrinogen (FIB) co-modified with citrulline (CIT) and/or malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde (MAA) initiates macrophage-fibroblast interactions leading to extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition that characterizes rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). Macrophages (Mϕ) were stimulated with native-FIB, FIB-CIT, FIB-MAA or FIB-MAA-CIT. Supernatants (SN) (Mϕ-SN [U-937-derived] or MϕP-SN [PBMC-derived]) or direct antigens were co-incubated with human lung fibroblasts (HLFs).

MUC5B Promoter Variant and Survival in Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease.

Objective: Investigate the association between the MUC5B rs35705950 promoter variant and survival in RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).

Methods: We studied participants in the Veteran Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis (VARA) registry with validated ILD diagnoses. Participants were followed until death or end of study period.

Escalation to Biologics After Methotrexate Among US Veterans With Rheumatoid Arthritis Grouped by Rural Versus Urban Areas.

Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) outcomes are well recognized. However, whether disparities in RA treatment selection and outcomes differ by urban versus rural residence, independent of race, have not been studied. Our objective was to evaluate whether biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) initiation after methotrexate administration differs by rural versus urban residence among veterans with RA.

A Remote Behaviorally Designed Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: Results of a Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: We evaluated a behaviorally designed intervention utilizing gamification and social support to improve physical activity and reduce symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee (KOA).

Methods: Veterans with KOA, aged 40-80 years, were enrolled in this randomized controlled trial. Participants received a Fitbit and completed a 2- to 4-week baseline period.

Is Support in the Anxiety of the Beholder? How Anxiety Interacts with Perceptions of Instructor Support in Introductory Biology Classes.

High levels of student anxiety are negatively related to degree persistence, academic achievement, and student perceptions of instructor support. Anxiety levels vary along many axes-among classes, within students in the same class, and over time-creating a dynamic emotional landscape in classrooms. In this study, we examined the relationship between student anxiety levels and perceptions of instructor support within three introductory biology classes at two timepoints during a semester.

The Risk of Lung Cancer in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate lung cancer risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and RA-interstitial lung disease (ILD).

Methods: We performed a retrospective, matched cohort study of RA and RA-ILD within the Veterans Health Administration (VA) between 2000 and 2019. Patients with RA and RA-ILD were identified with validated administrative-based algorithms, then matched (up to 1:10) on age, gender, and VA enrollment year to individuals without RA.

Efficacy and Safety of Allopurinol and Febuxostat in Patients With Gout and CKD: Subgroup Analysis of the STOP Gout Trial.

Rationale & Objective: We conducted a prespecified examination of the efficacy and safety of allopurinol and febuxostat administered using a treat-to-target strategy in trial participants with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Study Design: Prespecified subcohort analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Setting & Participants: A substudy of the STOP Gout Trial in participants with CKD.

Proteomic profiling of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid uncovers protein clusters linked to survival in idiopathic forms of interstitial lung disease.

Background: Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to their heterogeneous nature. This study aimed to identify intrinsic molecular signatures within the lung microenvironment of these IIPs through proteomic analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).

Methods: Patients with IIP (n=23) underwent comprehensive clinical evaluation including pre-treatment bronchoscopy and were compared to controls without lung disease (n=5).

Antibodies to Malondialdehyde-Acetaldehyde Adduct Are Associated With Prevalent and Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease in US Veterans.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the associations of protein-specific anti-malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde (MAA) antibodies with prevalent and incident rheumatoid arthritis-interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).

Methods: Within a multicenter, prospective cohort of US veterans with RA, RA-ILD was validated by medical record review of clinical diagnoses, chest imaging, and pathology. Serum antibodies to MAA-albumin, MAA-collagen, MAA-fibrinogen, and MAA-vimentin (IgA, IgM, and IgG) were measured by a standardized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Plasma Matrix Metalloproteinase Concentrations and Risk of Interstitial Lung Disease in a Prospective Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort.

Objective: To evaluate the associations of plasma matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) with prevalent and incident interstitial lung disease (ILD) in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Within a multicenter, prospective cohort of US veterans with RA, we performed a cross-sectional study of prevalent ILD and cohort study of incident ILD. ILD diagnoses were validated by medical record review of provider diagnoses and chest imaging and/or pathology reports.

Development and Internal Validation of a Clinical and Genetic Risk Score for Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease.

Objective: Although clinical and genetic risk factors have been identified for rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD), there are no current tools allowing for risk stratification. We sought to develop and validate an ILD risk model in a large, multicentre, prospective RA cohort.

Methods: Participants in the Veterans Affairs RA (VARA) registry were genotyped for 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

A population-based analysis of rheumatology care patterns for inflammatory arthritis during COVID-19 in Alberta, Canada.

Objective: The aim of the study was to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inflammatory arthritis (IA) rheumatology care in Alberta, Canada.

Methods: We used linked provincial health administrative datasets to establish an incident cohort of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) seen at least once by a rheumatologist. We examined incidence rates (IR) per 100,000 population, and patterns of follow-up care between 2011 and 2022.

Associations Between Adiponectin and the Development of Diabetes in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Purpose: We evaluated associations between adiponectin and the risk of diabetes among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a systemic inflammatory disease associated with metabolic disturbance.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included adults with RA from the Veterans Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry. Adiponectin and inflammatory cytokines/chemokines were measured at enrollment on stored serum samples.

Lower body mass and lower adiposity are associated with differential responses to two treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis.

Purpose: To determine if body mass index (BMI) and adipokine levels identify rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients most likely to benefit from initiation of tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) after methotrexate inadequate response.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Comparison of Active Treatments (RACAT) trial and the (TEAR) trial. Both studies compared treatment strategies starting with conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) (triple therapy) versus etanercept plus methotrexate.

Frailty and Risk of Serious Infections in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated With Biologic or Targeted-Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs.

Objective: It remains unknown whether frailty status portends an increased risk of adverse outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) initiating biologic or targeted-synthetic (b/ts) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between frailty and serious infections in a younger population of patients (<65 years old) with RA who initiated b/tsDMARDs.

Methods: Using MarketScan data, we identified new users of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), non-TNFi biologic DMARDs, or Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) between 2008 and 2019 among those with RA.

A resource of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines including clinical, genomic, and cellular data from genetically isolated families with mood and psychotic disorders.

Genome-wide (GWAS) and copy number variant (CNV) association studies have reproducibly identified numerous risk alleles associated with bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and schizophrenia (SCZ), but biological characterization of these alleles lags gene discovery, owing to the inaccessibility of live human brain cells and inadequate animal models for human psychiatric conditions. Human-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a renewable cellular reagent that can be differentiated into living, disease-relevant cells and 3D brain organoids carrying the full complement of genetic variants present in the donor germline. Experimental studies of iPSC-derived cells allow functional characterization of risk alleles, establishment of causal relationships between genes and neurobiology, and screening for novel therapeutics.

Expansion of distinct peripheral blood myeloid cell subpopulations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Objectives: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is associated with significant mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with key cellular players remaining largely unknown. This study aimed to characterize inflammatory and myeloid derived suppressor cell (MDSC) subpopulations in RA-ILD as compared to RA, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) without autoimmunity, and controls.

Methods: Peripheral blood was collected from patients with RA, RA-ILD, IPF, and controls (N = 60, 15/cohort).