PtpA and PknG Proteins Secreted by subsp. are Recognized by Sera from Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Case-Control Study.

Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can result from complex interactions between the affected person's genetic background and environment. Viral and bacterial infections may play a pathogenetic role in RA through different mechanisms of action. We aimed to evaluate the presence of antibodies (Abs) directed against two proteins of subsp.

Methotrexate therapy is not associated with increased liver stiffness and significant liver fibrosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A cross-sectional controlled study with real-time two-dimensional shear wave elastography.

Objective: To explore the significance of the association between treatment with methotrexate (MTX) and liver stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: We enrolled 140 consecutive RA patients under MTX treatment (MTX-treated RA; mean treatment duration: 6.2 years; mean MTX cumulative dose: 4.

AIF-1 gene does not confer susceptibility to Behçet's disease: Analysis of extended haplotypes in Sardinian population.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a polygenic immune-mediated disorder characterized by a close association with the HLA-B*51 allele. The HLA region has a strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) and carries several genetic variants (e.g.

Coronary flow reserve in systemic rheumatic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Coronary flow reserve (CFR), a measure of both obstructive coronary artery disease and microvascular dysfunction, has been evaluated in systemic rheumatic diseases (RDs), but a comprehensive critical appraisal of the available evidence is lacking. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies with small sample size investigating the associations between the presence of RDs and CFR to increase statistical power and accuracy. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, from inception to March 2018, were searched for studies reporting on CFR in RDs in comparison to healthy subjects.

Identification of a HERV-K env surface peptide highly recognized in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients: a cross-sectional case-control study.

Endogenous retroviruses (HERV) are believed to be pathogenic in several autoimmune diseases. Among them, HERV-K viruses have been reported recently to be involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study we have explored the role of humoral immune response against HERV-K as a potential pathogenetic mechanism in RA.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan antibodies are associated to rheumatoid arthritis in Sardinian patients.

Little is known regarding the environmental factors at play in igniting rheumatoid arthritis (RA) autoimmunity, although an association between Mycobacteria and RA has been documented. This pilot study focused on examining a possible involvement of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MAP) in RA.

Hemarthrosis as acute presentation of acquired hemophilia in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: successful treatment and long-lasting remission.

Hemorrhagic events due to production of antibodies directed against coagulation factors are rarely observed in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report the case of a patient with clinically quiescent SLE who developed factor VIII inhibitor in acquired hemophilia presenting as hemarthrosis. Initial treatment with FVII, FVIII and FIX plasma concentrate, metilprednisolone and immunoglobulins i.

Anti-cardiolipin antibody from a patient with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) recognizes only an epitope expressed by cardiolipin/beta 2-glycoprotein-I (beta 2GPI) complex and induces APS.

Objective: As the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by antibodies which bind negatively charged phospholipids either directly or mainly through different target epitopes located on the beta-2-glycoprotein-I (beta 2GPI) molecule, the aim of this study is to describe an additional target epitope for anti-cardiolipin binding.

Methods: The binding characteristics of affinity purified anti-cardiolipin antibodies from a patient with monoclonal gammopathy associated with clinically overt APS were studied; inhibition studies were also carried out. These antibodies were used for the active induction of experimental APS.

Molecular and biochemical data on some glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variants from southern Sardinia.

Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD; E.C.1.

Prevalence and clinical associations of anticardiolipin antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus: a prospective study.

The main objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence of IgG and IgM anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) isotypes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in order to analyze their possible association with the clinical manifestations of the disease. Clinical features of 64 consecutive and unselected SLE patients were prospectively studied. Sera from the same patients taken during each clinical manifestation were tested for the presence of aCL.

Safety of flurbiprofen in subjects with G-6-PD deficiency. In vivo and in vitro results.

The safety of flurbiprofen, a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug was tested in individuals with G-6-PD deficiency. The study was carried out in vitro evaluating the erythrocyte levels of reduced glutathione under basal conditions and after incubation with the drug or acetylphenyl-hydrazine. In the red cells marked with 51Cr, survival was evaluated in vivo before and during flurbiprofen administration.

Tolmetin and G-6-PD erythrocyte deficiency: research in vitro.

In thirty-two patients, divided into four groups: normal, G-6-PD deficient, beta-thalaxemic heterozygote and carriers of both anomalies, the variations in erythrocyte GSH were studied after incubation with APH and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug: tolmetin sodium. The results obtained show a considerable fall in GSH after incubation with APH above all in the G-6-PD deficient patients and in the carriers of both anomalies. On the other hand, after incubation with the drug under examination there were no significant variations in the erythrocyte GSH.