Mortality in patients with Sjögren Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study Identifying Key Predictors.

Objective: To quantify the mortality risk in a large, well-characterized cohort of Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients and to identify independent predictors of mortality in this population.

Methods: We included 314 patients diagnosed with SjD according to the 2002 American-European Consensus Group criteria from a prospective, multicenter SjögrenSER-PROS cohort. Detailed data on systemic manifestations, serological markers, disease activity, and mortality was collected after 9 years of follow up.

Sustained Drug-Free Remission in Giant Cell Arteritis.

Objetive: To evaluate the frequency and timing of sustained drug-free remission (SDFR) in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) and to identify potential predictive factors of this outcome.

Methods: Retrospective review of all patients included in the large Spanish multicentre registry for GCA (ARTESER) with at least two years of follow-up. SDFR was defined as the absence of typical signs, symptoms, or other features of active GCA for ≥12 months after discontinuation of treatment.

18F-FDG-PET/CT Scan for Detection of Large Vessel Involvement in Giant Cell Arteritis: Arteser Spanish Registry.

Imaging studies have transformed the diagnosis of large vessel vasculitis (LVV) involvement in giant cell arteritis (GCA). A positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) has emerged as a valuable tool for assessing LVV. We aimed to determine the utility of an 18F-FDG-PET/CT scan in detecting LVV in GCA in the ARTESER registry.

Metagenomic insights into the prokaryotic communities of heavy metal-contaminated hypersaline soils.

Saline soils and their microbial communities have recently been studied in response to ongoing desertification of agricultural soils caused by anthropogenic impacts and climate change. Here we describe the prokaryotic microbiota of hypersaline soils in the Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area of Southwest Spain. This region has been strongly affected by mining and industrial activity and feature high levels of certain heavy metals.

The Hypersaline Soils of the Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area as a Source for Uncovering a New Taxon: sp. nov.

The hypersaline soils of the Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area are an extreme environment with high levels of some heavy metals; however, it is a relevant source of prokaryotic diversity that we aim to explore. In this study, six strains related to the halophilic genus were isolated from this habitat. The phylogenetic study based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and the fingerprinting analysis suggested that they constituted a single new species within the genus .

Specific-cytokine associations with outcomes in knee osteoarthritis subgroups: breaking down disease heterogeneity with phenotyping.

Background: Despite existing extensive literature, a comprehensive and clinically relevant classification system for osteoarthritis (OA) has yet to be established. In this study, we aimed to further characterize four knee OA (KOA) inflammatory phenotypes (KOIP) recently proposed by our group, by identifying the inflammatory factors associated with KOA severity and progression in a phenotype-specific manner.

Methods: We performed an analysis within each of the previously defined four KOIP groups, to assess the association between KOA severity and progression and a panel of 13 cytokines evaluated in the plasma and synovial fluid of our cohort's patients.

Characterization of sp. nov. and reclassification of a species based on a taxogenomic approach.

An extremely halophilic archaeon, strain S1AR25-5A, was isolated from a hypersaline soil sampled in Odiel Saltmarshes Natural Area (Huelva, Spain). The cells were Gram-stain-negative, motile, pleomorphic rods. Cell growth was observed in the presence of 15-30 % (w/v) NaCl [optimum, 25 % (w/v) NaCl], at pH 6.

Immunoglobulins in systemic sclerosis management. A large multicenter experience.

Objective: To analyze the effectiveness and safety of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) given in routine care to patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: A retrospective multicenter observational study was conducted in SSc patients treated with IVIG. We collected data on epidemiological parameters and clinical outcomes.

Mortality risk factors in primary Sjögren syndrome: a real-world, retrospective, cohort study.

Background: What baseline predictors would be involved in mortality in people with primary Sjögren syndrome (SjS) remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the baseline characteristics collected at the time of diagnosis of SjS associated with mortality and to identify mortality risk factors for all-cause death and deaths related to systemic SjS activity measured by the ESSDAI score.

Methods: In this international, real-world, retrospective, cohort study, we retrospectively collected data from 27 countries on mortality and causes of death from the Big Data Sjögren Registry.

A step into the rare biosphere: genomic features of the new genus and the new species from hypersaline soils.

Hypersaline soils are a source of prokaryotic diversity that has been overlooked until very recently. The phylum , which includes the genus , is one of the 26 phyla that inhabit the heavy metal contaminated soils of the Odiel Saltmarshers Natural Area (Southwest Spain), according to previous research. In this study, we isolated a total of 32 strains closely related to the genus by the traditional dilution-plating technique.

Biotin pathway in novel sp. nov., isolated from hypersaline soils and reclassification of the genus as .

Hypersaline soils are extreme environments that have received little attention until the last few years. Their halophilic prokaryotic population seems to be more diverse than those of well-known aquatic systems. Among those inhabitants, representatives of the family (phylum ) have been described to be abundant, but very few members have been isolated and characterized to date.

Optimisation of tocilizumab therapy in giant cell arteritis. A multicentre real-life study of 471 patients.

Objectives: Tocilizumab (TCZ) is the only biologic therapy approved for giant cell arteritis (GCA). There is general agreement on the initial/maintenance dose, duration of TCZ therapy is not well established. In GiACTA trial, after one year on TCZ, most patients had GCA relapse after withdrawal.

Glucocorticoids' treatment impairs the medium-term immunogenic response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients.

Limited data exists on SARS-CoV-2 sustained-response to vaccine in patients with rheumatic diseases. This study aims to evaluate neutralizing antibodies (nAB) induced by SARS-CoV-2 vaccine after 3 to 6 months from administration in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients, as a surrogate of sustained-immunological response. This cross-sectional study compared nAB titre of 39 SLE patients and 37 Healthy individuals with no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, who had all received a complete regimen of a mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine within the last 3 to 6 months.

Tocilizumab in visual involvement of giant cell arteritis: a multicenter study of 471 patients.

Background: Visual involvement is the most feared complication of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Information on the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ) for this complication is scarce and controversial.

Objective: We assessed a wide series of GCA treated with TCZ, to evaluate its role in the prevention of new visual complications and its efficacy when this manifestation was already present before the initiation of TCZ.

Biomarker candidates for progression and clinical management of COVID-19 associated pneumonia at time of admission.

COVID-19 pathophysiology is currently not fully understood, reliable prognostic factors remain elusive, and few specific therapeutic strategies have been proposed. In this scenario, availability of biomarkers is a priority. MS-based Proteomics techniques were used to profile the proteome of 81 plasma samples extracted in four consecutive days from 23 hospitalized COVID-19 associated pneumonia patients.

Tocilizumab in refractory giant cell arteritis. Monotherapy versus combined therapy with conventional immunosuppressive drugs. Observational multicenter study of 134 patients.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of TCZ in monotherapy (TCZ) vs. combined with conventional immunosuppressive drugs (TCZ) in Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) in a clinical practice scenario.

Methods: Multicenter study of 134 patients with refractory GCA.

Digestive involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome: analysis from the Sjögrenser registry.

Objectives: Digestive involvement (DI) has been reported in 10-30% of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients, and few studies have systematically analysed the prevalence of DI in pSS patients. The aim of this study was to describe DI prevalence in pSS patients from the Sjögrenser Study, and to analyse its clinical associations.

Methods: All patients included in the Sjögrenser study, a Spanish multicentre randomised cohort, containing demographic, clinical and histologic data, have been analysed retrospectively.

Do all antiphospholipid antibodies confer the same risk for major organ involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus patients?

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association between the different antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and both systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) manifestations.

Methods: Patients from the RELESSER registry, a Spanish retrospective, cross-sectional, forty-five hospital registry of adult SLE patients, were included.

Results: Out of a total of 3,658 SLE patients, 1372 were aPL positive (555 of them fulfilled criteria for APS).

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) implies a more severe disease with more damage accrual and higher mortality.

Introduction: Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) have been associated with organ damage and certain features in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) patients. Our aim was to investigate the differences between SLE patients according to the presence of aPL and/or clinical antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Materials And Methods: Patients from the RELESSER-T registry were included.

Tocilizumab in giant cell arteritis: differences between the GiACTA trial and a multicentre series of patients from the clinical practice.

Objectives: A potential point of concern among clinicians is whether results derived from the clinical trials can be reasonably applied or generalised to a definable group of patients seen in real world. It can be the case of the GiACTA study that is a phase III randomised controlled trial of tocilizumab (TCZ) in giant cell arteritis (GCA). To address this question, we compared the clinical features and the responses to TCZ from the GiACTA trial patients with those from a series of GCA seen in the daily clinical practice.

Leon . 2017 is a later heterotypic synonym of Leon . 2016. Reclassification of Menes . 2016 as comb. nov.

A comparative taxonomic study of and species was carried out using a phylogenomic approach based on comparison of the core genome, orthologous average nucleotide identity (OrthoANIu), Genome-to-Genome Distance Calculator (GGDC) and average amino acid identity (AAI). Phylogenomic analysis based on 976 core translated gene sequences obtained from their genomes showed that SP30, UAH-SP71, SSL50, M19-40 and DSM 21056 formed a robust cluster, clearly separated from the remaining species of closely related taxa. AAI between DSM 21056 and the species of the genus was ≥73.

Characterization of sp. nov., A New Halophilic Bacterium Isolated from the High-Altitude Hypersaline Lake Socompa, Argentina.

The genus belongs to the family and includes Gram-stain-negative, motile by a polar flagellum, and facultatively anaerobic curved rods. They are halophilic bacteria commonly found in hypersaline aquatic habitats and salted foods. This genus includes five species and two subspecies.

Clinical and ultrasonographic features associated to response to intraarticular corticosteroid injection. A one year follow up prospective cohort study in knee osteoarthritis patient with joint effusion.

Objectives: Intraarticular injection is used for pain relief in knee osteoarthritis (OA), but there is not a well defined profile of patient who could get more benefit from it. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of pain relief at one year after corticosteroids intraarticular injection and to identify clinical factors associated to response in patients with knee osteoarthritis with joint effusion.

Methods: One-year prospective cohort study of patients with knee OA with joint effusion confirmed by ultrasound.