Long-term outcome of interstitial lung disease in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: a retrospective observational study.

Background/aims: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a potentially serious but underdiagnosed manifestation of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). This observational study investigated the prevalence and clinical course of ILD in pSS, together with prognostic factors.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective longitudinal study was performed using findings from baseline and follow-up pulmonary function tests and chest computed tomography.

Serum and urine lipidomic profiles identify biomarkers diagnostic for seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is defined as RA without circulating autoantibodies such as rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies; thus, early diagnosis of seronegative RA can be challenging. Here, we aimed to identify diagnostic biomarkers for seronegative RA by performing lipidomic analyses of sera and urine samples from patients with RA.

Methods: We performed untargeted lipidomic analysis of sera and urine samples from 111 RA patients, 45 osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and 25 healthy controls (HC).

Changes in the cholesterol profile of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors.

Objective: To assess the effects of biological and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) on lipid profiles in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This retrospective single-center observational study included patients with RA taking a tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor (TNFi), abatacept, tocilizumab, or a Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) for at least 6 months. Changes in lipid profile were assessed at 6 months after the start of treatment, and associations between changes in lipid profiles and clinical efficacy, concomitant medications, and comorbidities were evaluated.

Identification of MYH9 as a key regulator for synoviocyte migration and invasion through secretome profiling.

Objectives: 'Invasive pannus' is a pathological hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to investigate secretome profile of synovial fibroblasts of patients with RA (RA-FLSs), a major cell type comprising the invasive pannus.

Methods: Secreted proteins from RA-FLSs were first identified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

Factors associated with the composition of the gut microbiome in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis and its value for predicting treatment responses.

Background: We aimed to investigate the gut microbiota of patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have been managed with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) for a long time. We focused on factors that might affect composition of the gut microbiota. Furthermore, we investigated whether gut microbiota composition predicts future clinical responses to conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs) in patients with an insufficient response to initial therapy.

Kynurenine pathway can be a potential biomarker of fatigue in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a chronic autoimmune disease with low quality of life caused by various constitutional symptoms and glandular dysfunction. Although fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in pSS, its aetiology or biomarkers are poorly elucidated. We investigated potential relationship between severity of fatigue and the kynurenine pathway in pSS.

Dysbiotic but nonpathogenic shift in the fecal mycobiota of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is closely associated with the oral and gut microbiomes. Fungal cell wall components initiate inflammatory arthritis in mouse models. However, little is known regarding the role of the fungal community in the pathogenesis of RA.

Comparison of remission criteria in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: results from a nationwide registry.

Background: Biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARD) are widely used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), enabling patients to better achieve remission.

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate and compare remission rates in RA patients treated with different b/tsDMARDs during the period 2013-2019.

Design: A longitudinal observational analysis was performed on data from a nationwide RA registry.

Time-integrated Cumulative Parameters Predictive of Radiographic Progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Real-world Data From a Prospective Single-center Cohort.

Objective: With many chronic inflammatory diseases, outcomes are determined by assessing both disease activity at presentation and cumulative activity over time. Here, we investigated whether cumulative activity better reflects the radiographic progression (RP) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than measurement of activity at a single time point.

Methods: From a prospective cohort of RA patients, most of whom were treated with anti-rheumatic drugs, we selected 117 subjects for whom laboratory, clinical, and radiographic parameters potentially influencing RP were monitored serially for more than 1 year.

Lipidome profile predictive of disease evolution and activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Lipid mediators are crucial for the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, global analyses have not been undertaken to systematically define the lipidome underlying the dynamics of disease evolution, activation, and resolution. Here, we performed untargeted lipidomics analysis of synovial fluid and serum from RA patients at different disease activities and clinical phases (preclinical phase to active phase to sustained remission). We found that the lipidome profile in RA joint fluid was severely perturbed and that this correlated with the extent of inflammation and severity of synovitis on ultrasonography.

Hypergammaglobulinaemia predicts glandular and extra-glandular damage in primary Sjögren's syndrome: results from the KISS cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate whether temporal changes in immunoglobulin (Ig) levels and persistent hypergammaglobulinaemia cause glandular and extra-glandular damage in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Methods: Cumulative demographics and clinical and serological data from pSS patients in the Korean Initiative pSS cohort were evaluated. Persistent hypergammaglobulinaemia was defined as mean IgG levels of ≥1600 mg/dL over 3 years.

KOBIO, the First Web-based Korean Biologics Registry Operated With a Unified Platform Among Distinct Disease Entities.

The KOrean College of Rheumatology BIOlogics and targeted therapy (KOBIO) registry is a nationwide observational cohort that captures detailed data on exposure of patients to biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). This registry was launched in December 2012 with an aim to prospectively investigate clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis who initiated a biologic or targeted synthetic DMARD or switched to another. Demographic data, disease activity, current treatment, adverse events, terms based on Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities, and so on are registered for patients who are then followed up annually in a web-based unified platform.

Switching from TNFα inhibitor to tacrolimus as maintenance therapy in rheumatoid arthritis after achieving low disease activity with TNFα inhibitors and methotrexate: 24-week result from a non-randomized, prospective, active-controlled trial.

Background: Tapering or stopping biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs has been proposed for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in remission, but it frequently results in high rates of recurrence. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus (TAC) as maintenance therapy in patients with established RA in remission after receiving combination therapy with tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) and methotrexate (MTX).

Methods: This 24-week, prospective, open-label trial included patients who received TNFi and MTX at stable doses for ≥24 weeks and had low disease activity (LDA), measured by Disease Activity Score-28 for ≥12 weeks.

Predictors of joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: focus on short- and long-term effects of intra-articular glucocorticoid injections.

Background/aims: To investigate the short- and long-term efficacy of intra-articular glucocorticoid injections (IAGI) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This was a retrospective study of RA patients who had active arthritis in the hand or wrist joints and who received IAGI (or not) as an adjunct to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Short-term efficacy was assessed based on changes in the disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) after 3 months and long-term efficacy was assessed based on changes in the van der Heijde Sharp score (HSS) of hand radiographs over 2 years.

Development of Monitoring System for Assessing Rheumatoid Arthritis within 5 Minutes Using a Drop of Bio-Fluids.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity fluctuates over time. The disease activity score 28 (DAS28) is a widely used and validated scoring system for assessing RA activity; however, it requires time and expertise. This study aimed to develop a new molecular assay capable of rapidly and objectively assessing RA activity.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Injection of Stromal Vascular Fraction Derived from Autologous Adipose Tissues in Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Hand Disability: A Proof-Of-Concept Trial.

Background: Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) has recently emerged as a potential therapeutic modality, due to its multipotent cellular components in tissue regeneration. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a progressive autoimmune disease that results in hand disability by skin fibrosis and microangiopathies. We performed an open-label study to investigate the efficacy and safety of SVF injection in SSc patients (Clinical Trial number: NCT03060551).

Positive histopathologic assessment in salivary glands shows little impact on clinical features of established primary Sjögren's syndrome in a Korean population.

Objectives: The presence and severity of focal lymphocytic sialadenitis in minor salivary glands is a pathognomonic feature in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). However, it has not been determined whether performing minor salivary gland biopsy (MSGB) in a setting of serologically and clinically established pSS provides additional clinical value. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the necessity of MSGB in established pSS patients with anti-Ro/SSA antibodies.

Clinical influences of anticentromere antibody on primary Sjögren's syndrome in a prospective Korean cohort.

Background/aims: This study was performed to clarify influences of anticentromere antibody (ACA) on clinical phenotypes of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients in Korea.

Methods: We assessed 318 patients who met the 2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for pSS. All patients were selected from the Korean Initiative of primary Sjögren's Syndrome (KISS), a prospective cohort.

Angiogenic cytokines can reflect the synovitis severity and treatment response to biologics in rheumatoid arthritis.

Angiogenesis and synoviocyte hyperplasia, called 'pannus,' are pathologic hallmarks of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To determine the clinical significance of angiogenic cytokines in RA, the levels of pro-angiogenic cytokines, including VEGF, placenta growth factor (PlGF), and IL-6, were measured in the synovial fluid (SF, n = 54) and sera of RA patients (n = 157) using ELISA. Patients (n = 103) with disease activity score 28 (DAS28) > 3.

Contribution of Personality Traits, Psychological Factors, and Health-Related Quality of Life to Medication Adherence in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Purpose: This study sought to investigate the associations between personality traits and medication adherence and to identify predictors of good medication adherence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Materials And Methods: A total of 207 RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs were invited for an interview and questionnaire study. Medication adherence was measured using the Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology (CQR).

Effectiveness and safety of biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis: real-world data from the KOBIO Registry.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and safety of biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs) and to identify predictors of treatment responses to b/tsDMARDs in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Data from the nationwide cohort of elderly (≥ 65 years) patients enrolled in the KOBIO Registry were analysed. Clinical outcomes were assessed, including changes in the Simplified Disease Activity Index, after treatment.

Clinical characteristics and survival of 413 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in southeastern areas of South Korea: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Aims: To investigate demographic, clinical, laboratory, and immunological characteristics of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in southeastern areas of South Korea, and to perform survival analysis.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 413 patients with SLE diagnosed in 3 tertiary rheumatology centers in South Korea from 1992 to 2016 by reviewing their medical charts. All patients fulfilled the 1997 revised American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE.

Distinct clinical characteristics of anti-Ro/SSA-negative primary Sjögren's syndrome: data from a nationwide cohort for Sjögren's syndrome in Korea.

Objectives: To investigate clinical characteristics of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) who were negative for anti-Ro/SSA antibody but positive for minor salivary gland biopsy (MSGB) compared to patients who presented positivity for anti-Ro/SSA antibody.

Methods: The data of 355 patients from the Korean Initiative of primary Sjögren's Syndrome (KISS), a nationwide prospective cohort for primary SS in Korea, were analysed. All patients fulfilled the 2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria.