Predictors of response to bDMARDs and tsDMARDs in psoriatic arthritis: a pilot study on the role of musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Objectives: This pilot study aimed to identify early predictors of drug retention in patients with clinically active peripheral psoriatic arthritis who initiated or switched to therapy with biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs and tsDMARDs).

Methods: Clinical and ultrasound assessments were conducted at baseline (t0) and subsequently at 1 (t1), 3 (t3), and 6 (t6) months. Ultrasound evaluations targeted joints/entheses according to PsASon-Score13 and the most clinically involved joint/enthesis/tendon or the two most clinically involved joints/entheses/tendons (MIJET and 2MIJET).

Four-year effectiveness, safety and drug retention rate of secukinumab in psoriatic arthritis: a real-life Italian multicenter cohort.

Objectives: to evaluate over a 48-month follow-up period the: 1) long-term effectiveness and safety; 2) drug retention rate (DRR); 3) impact of comorbidities and bDMARDs line on MDA and DAPSA remission/low disease activity (LDA) of secukinumab in a multicenter Italian cohort of PsA patients.

Methods: Consecutive PsA patients receiving secukinumab were followed prospectively in Italian centers between 2016 and 2023. Disease characteristics, previous/ongoing treatments, comorbidities and follow-up duration were recorded.

Four-year real-world experience of secukinumab in a large Italian cohort of axial spondyloarthritis.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate in a real-life Italian multicenter cohort of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) (1) the 4-year effectiveness and safety of secukinumab, (2) the drug retention rate (DRR), and (3) the impact of the line of bDMARDs treatment, subtype of axSpA, and sex on achieving low disease activity (LDA) and very low disease activity (VLDA).

Methods: Consecutive axSpA patients receiving secukinumab between 2016 and 2023 were prospectively evaluated. Data on disease characteristics, previous/ongoing treatments, comorbidities, and follow-up duration were collected.

Fertility issues in women of childbearing age with spondyloarthritis.

The topic of fertility in women with spondyloarthritis (SpA) has been scarcely investigated to date. Recent systematic reviews and registry studies have brought renewed attention to the plight of women of childbearing age with rheumatic diseases, in particular SpA. Fertility may be impacted by physical impairment, hormonal imbalances and psychological distress.

Assessment of Neuropathic Pain in Erosive Hand Osteoarthritis.

Erosive hand osteoarthritis (EHOA) is an aggressive form of hand osteoarthritis (OA) and a severely disabling condition. Patients affected by OA frequently lament symptoms suggestive of neuropathic pain (NP). The aim of our study was to ascertain the presence and severity of NP in patients with EHOA and correlate its presence with EHOA clinical characteristics.

Relapses of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in adulthood: A monocentric experience.

Introduction: Our aim was to describe a monocentric cohort of young adult patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), assessing the risk of relapse after transition to adult care.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study and collected clinical, serological, and demographic data of young adult patients (18-30 years old) referred to the Transition Clinic of a single Italian centre between January 2020 and March 2023. Patients with systemic-onset JIA were excluded.

Comorbidities in the Spondyloarthritis GISEA Cohort: an average treatment effect analysis on patients treated with bDMARDs.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), anti-interleukin-17 or interleukin-12/23 monoclonal antibodies (anti-IL) on comorbidities in a cohort of patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA), using an average treatment effect (ATE) analysis.

Methods: SpA patients from the multicentre Italian GISEA Registry were divided into groups according to pharmacological exposure: no treatment (G0), TNFi (G1) and non-responders to TNFi switched to anti-IL (G2). In each group, we recorded the prevalence and incidence of infectious, cardiopulmonary, endocrinological, gastrointestinal, oncologic, renal and neurologic comorbidities.

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination on inflammatory arthritis: a cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as short- (within 48 hours) and long-term (within 30 days) adverse events (AEs) of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, including arthritis flares in a large cohort of patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study comprising 362 patients: 94 (26%) rheumatoid arthritis, 158 (43.6%) psoriatic arthritis and 110 (30.

Treat-to-target in real-life psoriatic arthritis patients: achieving minimal disease activity with bDMARDs/tsDMARDs and potential barriers.

Objective: (1) to describe the frequency of minimal disease activity (MDA) in a real-life psoriatic arthritis (PsA) cohort, (2) to longitudinally explore predictors of MDA; (3) to examine frequency and predictors of low disease activity (LDA) in patients with axial involvement (axPsA).

Methods: consecutive PsA patients in stable biological/targeted-synthetic Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (bDMARDs/tDMARDs) who attended our center were enrolled. Disease activity indices, including MDA and ankylosing spondylitis disease activity score-LDA (ASDAS-LDA) for axPsA, were evaluated at baseline and every 6 months, up to 36 months or bDMARDs/tsDMARDs discontinuation.

Spondyloarthritis with inflammatory bowel disease: the latest on biologic and targeted therapies.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) encompasses a heterogeneous group of chronic inflammatory diseases that can affect both axial and peripheral joints, tendons and entheses. Among the extra-articular manifestations, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with considerable morbidity and effects on quality of life. In everyday clinical practice, treatment of these conditions requires a close collaboration between gastroenterologists and rheumatologists to enable early detection of joint and intestinal manifestations during follow-up and to choose the most effective therapeutic regimen, implementing precision medicine for each patient's subtype of SpA and IBD.

Seasonal variation and disease distribution of cytophagocytic mononuclear cells in synovial fluid: A medical record study.

Cytophagocytic mononuclear (CPM) cells, previously known as Reiter's cells, are macrophages containing apoptotic polymorphonuclear leucocytes. Although they can be found in synovial fluid (SF) from different arthropathies, their role remains unclear. This study was performed to determine the frequency and disease distribution of CPM cells in SF in a large cohort of patients with rheumatic diseases over a 12-year period.

Relationship between sex and clinical and imaging features of early axial spondyloarthritis: results from a 48 month follow-up (Italian arm of the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early (SPACE) study).

Objectives: To assess the association between sex and clinical and disease activity indices, and X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features, in early-stage axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Method: Baseline data analysis was conducted on the Italian SPACE cohort, including patients with chronic back pain (duration ≥ 3 months and ≤ 2 years; onset < 45 years). Patients underwent MRI and X-rays of the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) to establish the diagnosis of axSpA, according to Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society criteria and physician's judgement.

Fetuin-A: A Novel Biomarker of Bone Damage in Early Axial Spondyloarthritis. Results of an Interim Analysis of the SPACE Study.

Our study aimed to evaluate the association between fetuin-A levels and the presence of radiographic sacroiliitis and syndesmophytes in patients with early axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and to identify potential predictors of radiographic damage in the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) after 24 months. Patients diagnosed with axSpA in the Italian cohort of the SpondyloArthritis-Caught-Early (SPACE) study were included. Physical examinations, laboratory tests (including fetuin-A), SIJ,+ and spinal X-rays and MRIs at T0 (diagnosis) and at T24 were considered.

The impact of diet on disease activity in spondyloarthritis: A systematic literature review.

Objectives: Our study aimed to systematically review the evidence about the effect of diet or dietary supplements on spondyloarthritis (SpA) disease activity.

Methods: a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and SCOPUS according to the "PEO" format (Population, Exposure, Outcome). The population was SpA (axial or peripheral, axSpA/pSpA, including Psoriatic Arthritis-PsA); the intervention any kind of diet/dietary supplement; the outcome disease activity.

Predictors of disease activity in gout: a 12-month analysis of the ATTACk (Achieving improvement in the management of crystal-induced arthritis) multicentre cohort study.

Objectives: Gout treatment is largely suboptimal in clinical practice. We aimed to assess the predictors of disease-activity at 12 months in a real-life setting.

Methods: Consecutive patients referred to Rheumatology Units for suspected acute crystal-induced arthritis were enrolled in a multicentre-cohort study.

Acute joint swelling in psoriatic arthritis: Flare or "psout"-A 10-year-monocentric study on synovial fluid.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a multifaceted inflammatory disease associated with psoriasis that can affect peripheral joints, entheses, and the axial skeleton with a variable clinical course. Acute episodes of joint swelling in PsA patients can have different causes and require specific treatments. We aimed to describe the acute joint swelling in PsA patients via synovial fluid (SF) analyses, assessing in particular the presence of pathogenic crystals, to determine whether it is a flare or an acute episode of gout ("psout") during the course of the disease.

Effectiveness and safety of secukinumab in axial spondyloarthritis: a 24-month prospective, multicenter real-life study.

Objectives: To evaluate, in a multicentric Italian cohort of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients on Secukinumab (SEC) followed for 24 months: (1) the long-term effectiveness and safety of SEC; (2) the drug retention rate and low disease activity (LDA) measured as Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) < 4/Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) < 2.1 and very low disease activity (VLDA) measured as BASDAI < 2/ASDAS < 1.3; (3) any differences in outcomes according to line of biological treatment (naïve/non-naïve), gender (male/female), subtype of axSpA [radiographic axSpA (r-axSpA)/non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA)].

Identification in synovial fluid of a new potential pathogenic player in arthropathies.

STING (stimulator of interferon genes) has been recognized as an important signaling molecule in the innate immune response to cytosolic nucleic acids. Although it has been proposed that STING signaling pathway may play a pathogenic role in developing autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, its involvement in rheumatic disease processes remains to be elucidated. Here, we evaluated STING protein levels, expression and relationship with inflammatory parameters in synovial fluid (SF) of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), gout, calcium pyrophosphate crystal-induced arthritis (CPP-IA), osteoarthritis (OA), and OA with CPP crystals (OA + CPP).

Secukinumab Drug Survival in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Patients: A 24-Month Real-Life Study.

Background: Secukinumab effectiveness has been demonstrated in both psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, it is unknown whether patients with arthritis may carry a risk factor for withdrawal.

Objective: To identify predictors of secukinumab survival, including the presence of arthritis, in PsO and PsA.

Erosive hand osteoarthritis: latest findings and outlook.

Osteoarthritis (OA) most commonly affects knee joints, and the next most commonly affected sites are the hands and hips. Three distinct hand OA phenotypes have been described: erosive hand OA (EHOA), nodal hand OA - also known as non-erosive hand OA (non-EHOA) - and first carpometacarpal joint OA. EHOA predominantly affects women and is the most aggressive form of hand OA, characterized by a severe clinical onset and progression, leading to joint damage, disability and reduction of quality of life.

Impact of disease duration and gender on the sensitivity and specificity of 2015 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for gout. Cross-sectional results from an Italian multicentric study on the management of crystal-induced arthritis (ATTACk).

Objectives: We aimed to assess the performance of the 2015 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) gout classification criteria in an Italian cohort of patients with crystal-induced arthritis stratified by disease duration and gender in a real-life setting.

Methods: Consecutive patients referred to Rheumatology Units for suspected acute crystal-induced arthritis were enrolled in a multicentre cohort study by the Italian Society of Rheumatology which was designed to improve the management of crystal-induced arthritis (ATTACk). To test the performance of the criteria (sensitivity and specificity), the presence of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in synovial fluid (SF) was used as gold standard.