SLESIS-R: an improved score for prediction of serious infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus based on the RELESSER prospective cohort.

Objective: To develop an improved score for prediction of severe infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), namely, the SLE Severe Infection Score-Revised (SLESIS-R) and to validate it in a large multicentre lupus cohort.

Methods: We used data from the prospective phase of RELESSER (RELESSER-PROS), the SLE register of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology. A multivariable logistic model was constructed taking into account the variables already forming the SLESIS score, plus all other potential predictors identified in a literature review.

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease using unstructured healthcare data and machine learning.

Objectives: Real-world data regarding rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its association with interstitial lung disease (ILD) is still scarce. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of RA and ILD in patients with RA (RAILD) in Spain, and to compare clinical characteristics of patients with RA with and without ILD using natural language processing (NLP) on electronic health records (EHR).

Methods: Observational case-control, retrospective and multicentre study based on the secondary use of unstructured clinical data from patients with adult RA and RAILD from nine hospitals between 2014 and 2019.

Pregnancy outcomes in 1869 pregnancies in a large cohort from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Register (RELESSER).

Introduction: Obstetric complications are more common in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) than in the general population.

Objective: To assess pregnancy outcomes in women with SLE from the RELESSER cohort after 12 years of follow-up.

Methods: A multicentre retrospective observational study was conducted.

What do patients on methotrexate need and expect at the clinic? An online patient survey.

To verify, via a survey, the experience and needs of patients receiving methotrexate (MTX), their general management and the quality of the information provided by the rheumatologist. We conducted a 51-item online survey between May and July 2020 addressed to persons diagnosed with an immune-mediated disease and treated with MTX (regardless of the route of administration). Recruitment was done via Twitter.

Conserved GTPase mechanism in bacterial FtsZ and archaeal tubulin filaments.

Self-assembling protein filaments are at the heart of cell function. Among them, tubulin-like proteins are essential for cell division, DNA segregation and cytoskeletal functions across the domains of life. FtsZ and tubulin share their core structures, a characteristic nucleotide-binding pocket and similar protofilament architecture.

The Search for Antibacterial Inhibitors Targeting Cell Division Protein FtsZ at Its Nucleotide and Allosteric Binding Sites.

The global spread of bacterial antimicrobial resistance is associated to millions of deaths from bacterial infections per year, many of which were previously treatable. This, combined with slow antibiotic deployment, has created an urgent need for developing new antibiotics. A still clinically unexploited mode of action consists in suppressing bacterial cell division.

Use of parenteral methotrexate in rheumatic diseases: A systematic review.

Objective: To analyse the efficacy, adherence, patient satisfaction, safety, pharmacodynamics and cost-effectiveness of parenteral methotrexate (MTX) in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Methods: A systematic review of literature was carried out in Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central from the beginning until June 2019. Studies including adult patients with rheumatic diseases being treated with parenteral MTX were identified and data on efficacy, adherence, satisfaction, safety, pharmacokinetics, and cost-effectiveness analysed.

FtsZ filament structures in different nucleotide states reveal the mechanism of assembly dynamics.

Treadmilling protein filaments perform essential cellular functions by growing from one end while shrinking from the other, driven by nucleotide hydrolysis. Bacterial cell division relies on the primitive tubulin homolog FtsZ, a target for antibiotic discovery that assembles into single treadmilling filaments that hydrolyse GTP at an active site formed upon subunit association. We determined high-resolution filament structures of FtsZ from the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in complex with different nucleotide analogs and cations, including mimetics of the ground and transition states of catalysis.

Antimalarials exert a cardioprotective effect in lupus patients: Insights from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Register (RELESSER) analysis of factors associated with heart failure.

Background/objectives: Factors associated with chronic heart failure (CHF) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have received little attention. Recent data on the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection have cast doubt on its cardiac safety. The factors associated with CHF, including therapy with antimalarials, were analyzed in a large multicenter SLE cohort.

A tribute to Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor.

Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor and friend, passed away in 2019.

Patient's experiences of the barriers and facilitators to Methotrexate.

Objective: To investigate the barriers and facilitators of adherence to methotrexate (MTX) in people with rheumatic diseases and to explore the experience of shared decision-making.

Methods: A qualitative study was carried out. People diagnosed with inflammatory arthritides or systemic autoimmune diseases and who were treated with MTX were invited to participate in focus groups.

Relevance of gastrointestinal manifestations in a large Spanish cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: what do we know?

Objective: SLE can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. GI symptoms are reported to occur in >50% of SLE patients. To describe the GI manifestations of SLE in the RELESSER (Registry of SLE Patients of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology) cohort and to determine whether these are associated with a more severe disease, damage accrual and a worse prognosis.

Targeting the FtsZ Allosteric Binding Site with a Novel Fluorescence Polarization Screen, Cytological and Structural Approaches for Antibacterial Discovery.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics makes previously manageable infections again disabling and lethal, highlighting the need for new antibacterial strategies. In this regard, inhibition of the bacterial division process by targeting key protein FtsZ has been recognized as an attractive approach for discovering new antibiotics. Binding of small molecules to the cleft between the N-terminal guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding and the C-terminal subdomains allosterically impairs the FtsZ function, eventually inhibiting bacterial division.

Use of Parenteral Methotrexate in Rheumatic Diseases: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To analyse the efficacy, adherence, patient satisfaction, safety, pharmacodynamics and cost-effectiveness of parenteral methotrexate (MTX) in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Methods: A systematic review of literature was carried out in Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central from the beginning until June 2019. Studies including adult patients with rheumatic diseases being treated with parenteral MTX were identified and data on efficacy, adherence, satisfaction, safety, pharmacokinetics, and cost-effectiveness analysed.

Imidazole and Imidazolium Antibacterial Drugs Derived from Amino Acids.

The antibacterial activity of imidazole and imidazolium salts is highly dependent upon their lipophilicity, which can be tuned through the introduction of different hydrophobic substituents on the nitrogen atoms of the imidazole or imidazolium ring of the molecule. Taking this into consideration, we have synthesized and characterized a series of imidazole and imidazolium salts derived from -valine and -phenylalanine containing different hydrophobic groups and tested their antibacterial activity against two model bacterial strains, Gram-negative and Gram-positive . Importantly, the results demonstrate that the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of these derivatives can be tuned to fall close to the cytotoxicity values in eukaryotic cell lines.

Clinically significant renal involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome is associated with important morbidity: data from the Spanish Sjögrenser cohort.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, associated factors, and effects of primary overt renal disease on morbidity in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Methods: All patients in the Sjögrenser (registry of adult pSS patients of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology) cohort were retrospectively investigated for the presence of clinically significant renal involvement directly related to pSS activity.

Results: Of the 437 patients investigated, 39 (9%) presented overt renal involvement during follow-up.

Abatacept in interstitial lung disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis: national multicenter study of 263 patients.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of abatacept (ABA) in RA patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) (RA-ILD).

Methods: This was an observational, multicentre study of RA-ILD patients treated with at least one dose of ABA. ILD was diagnosed by high-resolution CT (HRCT).

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.

Long-term Outcome of Local Steroid Injections Versus Surgery in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Observational Extension of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

In a previous paper, we have demonstrated that: (1) local injection of corticosteroids for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is as effective as decompressive surgery, at 1-year follow-up; and (2) surgery has an additional benefit in the 2-year follow-up. In this study, we assess the long-term outcomes of both therapies in an observational extension of the patients originally enrolled in our randomized clinical trial. Patients were included in an open, randomized clinical trial, comparing injections versus surgery in CTS.

Efficacy of belimumab in Primary Sjögren's syndrome: A systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of belimumab in patients with Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Methods: The search included manuscripts assessing the efficacy or safety of belimumab in patients with pSS (American-European Consensus Criteria 2002) published between 2004 and 2017 in MEDLINE, EMBASE or Cochrane databases. Two reviewers independently selected the articles, extracted data and evaluated the quality of the evidence following Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) recommendation grades.