Publications by authors named "G Defuentes"

Article Synopsis
  • Interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is a test used to detect latent tuberculosis (TB) before starting certain biological treatments for inflammatory rheumatism.
  • A case study of a 50-year-old woman highlights that she had a negative IGRA test before starting adalimumab for her axial spondyloarthritis, but later developed disseminated TB with severe symptoms.
  • The case emphasizes the limitations of IGRA in detecting active TB, the need for thorough risk assessment before biological treatments, and the possibility of false-negative IGRA results.
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Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare auto-immune disease, affecting principally women between 40 and 60 years old. It is caracterised by a cutaneous and visceral fibrosis, an alteration of the microvascular network and the presence of autoantibodies. SSc can be associated with another connectivite tissue disease or to other autoimmune diseases, thus defining the overlap syndrome.

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Introduction: Whipple's disease (WD) can mimic chronic inflammatory rheumatism leading to incorrect prescription of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFI). Several complicated cases of WD have been reported during TNFI treatment which is strongly suspected to modify the host-pathogen relationship. Tropheryma whipplei asymptomatic carriage is high in the general population, making the diagnosis of WD more difficult face to unexplained arthritis.

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