Unveiling the Hidden Links: Anatomical and Radiological Insights into Primary Hip Osteoarthritis.

Background: Hip osteoarthritis (HOA) is a disease with globally rising incidence that leads to disability and morbidity, overall, in older populations, and might be primary or secondary to numerous risk factors. The most common idiopathic HOA is generally a diagnosis of exclusion, with pathogenetic mechanisms largely still misunderstood. We aimed to investigate the correlation between femoral-acetabular and spinopelvic anatomical and computed tomography (CT) characteristics, and the presence of primary OA.

Geographical disparities in fibromyalgia severity: An Italian study.

Background: Geographic origin may represent a variable capable of influencing health status. This study aims to investigate the presence of differences of disease severity in Italian patients with fibromyalgia from different macro-regions.

Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study involved patients included in the Italian Fibromyalgia Registry.

Trajectory of Change in the Severity of Symptoms in Patients with Fibromyalgia over 24 Months: Exploratory Analyses of a Combination Pharmacological Intervention.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) fluctuate and vary in severity. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) in FM patients over a 24-month period and to investigate the mediating function of pain catastrophizing subdomains in unfavorable relationships with disease severity levels in patients with FM. Patients were evaluated at baseline, after 12 months, and after 24 months, using different patient-reported measures (FIQR, FASmod, PSD, and PCS) to distinguish different levels of FM disease severity.

"Inflammatory or non-inflammatory pain in inflammatory arthritis - How to differentiate it?".

Pain is a significant issue in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PSA) and can have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Despite optimal control of inflammatory disease, residual chronic pain remains a major unmet medical need in RA. Pain in RA can be secondary to inflammation but can also generate neuroendocrine responses that initiate neurogenic inflammation and enhance cytokine release, leading to persistent hyperalgesia.

Delay in fibromyalgia diagnosis and its impact on the severity and outcome: a large cohort study.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of the diagnostic delay on fibromyalgia (FM) severity.

Methods: Data were retrospectively extracted from a large database of patients with FM belonging to the Italian Fibromyalgia Registry (IFR) residents on the Marche Region. The diagnosis of FM was formulated according to the 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria.

Fibromyalgia: one year in review 2024.

Fibromyalgia (FM) remains a condition with a pathogenesis that is not completely understood, affecting a significant portion of the global population. This article summarises the main advances in FM during the last year. Even in 2023, research on FM was notably active.

Is Active Synovitis of Metacarpophalangeal Joints a Neuropathic Condition in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients? Results from an Ultrasound Study of Palmar Digital Nerves.

(1) : Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease, primarily characterized by pain. A significant proportion of patients report symptoms suggestive of neuropathic pain. The objectives of this study were to investigate the presence of an increased cross-sectional area (CSA) of the palmar digital nerves by ultrasound in patients with active synovitis of the metacarpophalangeal joints and to identify potential predictors of such an increase.

Standardization of interstitial lung disease assessment by ultrasound: results from a Delphi process and web-reliability exercise by the OMERACT ultrasound working group.

Objectives: Over the last years ultrasound has shown to be an important tool for evaluating lung involvement, including interstitial lung disease (ILD) a potentially severe systemic involvement in many rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD). Despite the potential sensitivity of the technique the actual use is hampered by the lack of consensual definitions of elementary lesions to be assessed and of the scanning protocol to apply. Within the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Ultrasound Working Group we aimed at developing consensus-based definitions for ultrasound detected ILD findings in RMDs and assessing their reliability in dynamic images.

Structured request form in musculoskeletal radiology examinations (CONCERTO): results of an expert Delphi consensus-structured radiology request form for correct classification of patients to undergo radiological examinations of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM), the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) and the Italian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology (SIOT).

Purpose: To describe a Delphi consensus for the realization of a structured radiology request form for patients undergoing musculoskeletal imaging.

Methods: A steering committee (four radiologists, a rheumatologist and an orthopedic surgeon) proposed a form to an expert panel (30 members, ten radiologists, ten rheumatologists and ten orthopedic surgeons). Through an online survey, the panelists voted on their level of agreement with the statements of the form using a 10-point Likert scale (1: no agreement; 10: total agreement) in a three-round process.

'Double target' ultrasound monitoring of biologic therapy in psoriatic arthritis.

Objectives: We aimed to 1) evaluate by power Doppler (PD) ultrasound (US) the response to therapy of the most inflamed joint and enthesis (target sites) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients starting a biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD); and 2) to investigate the correlation between the US response and clinical data.

Methods: Consecutive PsA patients with US synovitis and US 'active' enthesitis, starting a bDMARD, were included. The joint with the highest OMERACT-EULAR-US composite score and the enthesis with the highest PD grade (targets) were identified at baseline.

Central Sensitization in Psoriatic Arthritis: Relationship With Composite Measures of Disease Activity, Functional Disability, and Health-Related Quality of Life.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of central sensitization (CS) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and its association with disease activity and patient-reported outcome measures.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adults with PsA without coexisting fibromyalgia (FM). Patients underwent a clinimetric assessment to collect variables regarding disease activity, quality of life (QOL), functional ability, impact of disease, and CS.

Can Electroacupuncture Be Useful in Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia? A Case Report.

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) is characterized by a paradoxical increase in pain sensitivity following opioid exposure. Although animal models indicate that electroacupuncture (EA) is effective against pain sensitization, there are no reports of its clinical application in OIH treatment. This case report involves an adult patient with osteomalacia complicated by multiple vertebral fragility fractures.

The Psoriatic Arthritis 5-Thermometer Scales (PsA-5Ts): Measurement Properties of a New Multidimensional Composite Tool for the Quick Assessment of the Overall Health Status in Psoriatic Arthritis.

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous condition that is difficult to assess. The goal of this research was to evaluate the clinimetric properties of the Psoriatic Arthritis 5-Thermometer Scales (PsA-5Ts), a new patient-reported outcome (PRO) to measure the overall health status in PsA patients.

Methods: The PsA-5Ts were compared to composite measures of disease activity (DAPSA, PASDAS, CPDAI) and PROs (PsAID-12 and SF-36).

Palmitoylethanolamide and acetyl-L-carnitine act synergistically with duloxetine and pregabalin in fibromyalgia: results of a randomised controlled study.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterised by a form of debilitating pain that is unresponsive to standard analgesics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of supplementing ongoing pregabalin (PGB) and duloxetine (DLX) treatment with palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) for 24 weeks in FM patients.

Methods: After undergoing three months of stable treatment with DLX+PGB, FM patients were randomised to continue the same treatment (Group 1) or to add PEA 600 mg b.

Predicting acupuncture efficacy in fibromyalgia: results of a pragmatic open-label study.

Objectives: To identify the predictive factors of treatment response to acupuncture in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: Patients with FM refractory to standard drug therapy underwent eight weekly acupuncture sessions. Significant improvement, defined as a reduction of at least 30% of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), was assessed at the end of the eight weeks (T1) of treatment and three months after the end of treatment (T2).

Kihon Checklist validation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Italian translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and evaluation of the validity in comparison to two frailty screening tools based on the Fried phenotype and deficit accumulation model.

Objectives: To compare the diagnostic test accuracy in terms of discriminant validity of the Kihon Checklist (KCL), Italian version, with respect to the Comprehensive Rheumatologic Assessment of Frailty (CRAF), and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe Frailty Instrument (SHARE-FI) in identifying the presence of frailty in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: An Italian version of the KCL was obtained by a consensus of experts. Then, adult RA patients underwent a cross-sectional evaluation inclusive of KCL, CRAF, and SHARE-FI.

Determining the PASS cut-off points for the FIQR, FASmod and PSD in patients with fibromyalgia: a registry-based study.

Objectives: To determine the cut-off values of Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) for the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), the modified Fibromyalgia Assessment Scale (FASmod), and the Polysymptomatic Distress scale (PSD) and to determine the predictors of PASS in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: FM patients belonging to the Italian Fibromyalgia Registry (IFR) completed the FIQR, the FASmod and the PSD. The PASS was assessed using a dichotomous answer.

Quantification of sarcopenia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by measuring the cross-sectional area of the thigh muscles with magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: To determine the utility of cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), at the level of the thigh muscles, to estimate muscle mass in discriminating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with sarcopenia from those without.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive female RA patients were enrolled for this cross-sectional study. Patients were assessed for disease activity, radiological damage, handgrip strength, physical performance and for the presence of sarcopenia, identified in accordance with the EWGSOP2 criteria.

Imaging of the peripheral nervous system in nociplastic pain: An ultrasound study in patients with fibromyalgia.

Background And Purpose: Although fibromyalgia (FM) is considered a central sensitization syndrome, studies investigating peripheral nerves in this condition are not available. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the sonographic changes (ie, increased cross-sectional area [CSA]), of peripheral nerves in patients with FM compared to healthy controls. The secondary objective is to identify potential clinical correlations associated with increased CSA in patients with FM.

Effect of biological DMARDs and JAK inhibitors in pain of chronic inflammatory arthritis.

Introduction: The advent of biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and, more recently, of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) has had a major impact on the long-term outcomes of chronic inflammatory arthritis (IA). However, the persistence of pain, even in patients with a complete pharmacological control of peripheral inflammation, represents an important clinical challenge in the treatment of IA.

Areas Covered: In this review, we provide an overview of possible mechanisms underlying pain in IA and its assessment, as well as the effects of bDMARDs and JAKi on pain management.

Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging as diagnostic tools for sarcopenia in immune-mediated rheumatic diseases (IMRDs).

Sarcopenia is characterized by loss of muscle mass, altered muscle composition, fat and fibrous tissue infiltration, and abnormal innervation, especially in older individuals with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases (IMRDs). Several techniques for measuring muscle mass, strength, and performance have emerged in recent decades. The portable dynamometer and gait speed represent the most frequently used tools for the evaluation of muscle strength and physical efficiency, respectively.