Relevance of circulating Semaphorin 4A for rheumatoid arthritis response to treatment.

The lack of validated tools to predict rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease course warrants the development of new reliable biomarkers. Our aim was to evaluate the merit of circulating SEMA4A for the prediction of outcomes in patients with RA. In a first cohort of 101 consecutive RA patients followed up for 41 ± 15 months, increased baseline SEMA4A levels were identified as an independent predictor of treatment failure (hazard ratio, HR 2.

Intervertebral disc therapies for non-specific chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: We aim to evaluate the benefits and harms of intervertebral disc therapies (IDTs) in people with non-specific chronic low back pain (NScLBP).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials of IDTs placebo interventions, active comparators or usual care. EMBASE, MEDLINE, CENTRAL and CINHAL databases and conference abstracts were searched from inception to June 2020.

Risk of liver fibrosis induced by methotrexate and other rheumatoid arthritis medications according to the Fibrosis-4 Index.

Objectives: We aimed to estimate the amount of scarring in the liver with the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with special interest in methotrexate (MTX) influence.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional monocentric study including successive RA patients recruited for a 12-month period. Data on liver function, disease activity, hepatotoxic and cardiovascular risk factors were systematically collected.

Effect of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment vs Sham Treatment on Activity Limitations in Patients With Nonspecific Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is frequently offered to people with nonspecific low back pain (LBP) but never compared with sham OMT for reducing LBP-specific activity limitations.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of standard OMT vs sham OMT for reducing LBP-specific activity limitations at 3 months in persons with nonspecific subacute or chronic LBP.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective, parallel-group, single-blind, single-center, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial recruited participants with nonspecific subacute or chronic LBP from a tertiary care center in France starting February 17, 2014, with follow-up completed on October 23, 2017.

Lumbosacral immobilization following glucocorticoid intradiscal injection in patients with chronic low back pain and active discopathy: A feasibility study.

Background: In people with chronic low back pain (cLBP) and active discopathy, glucocorticoid intradiscal injection (GC IDI) reduces LBP in the short-term. Lumbosacral immobilization may be useful to obtain long-term results.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of a lumbosacral immobilization using a pantaloon cast following GC IDI in people with cLBP sand active discopathy.

Serum biomarkers in people with chronic low back pain and Modic 1 changes: a case-control study.

We aimed to compare serum biomarkers of inflammation, redox status and cartilage degradation between chronic low back pain (cLBP) patients with and without Modic 1 changes. We used a convenience sample of patients recruited from a single center, case-control study, conducted in a tertiary care center. From December, 2014 to May, 2016, 2,292 patients were consecutively screened, 34 met inclusion criteria and were prospectively enrolled in the present study.

Active discopathy: a clinical reality.

In the late 1980s, the description by Modic and colleagues of elementary discovertebral changes detected on MRI (Modic classification) suggested for the first time a possible correlation between anatomical and clinical features in a subgroup of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain. Degenerative disc disease is frequent and usually asymptomatic, but Modic 1 changes in the vertebral endplates adjacent to a degenerated disc are associated with inflammatory-like chronic low back pain and low-grade local and systemic inflammation, which led to the concept of 'active discopathy'. Active discopathy shares some similarities with acute flares of peripheral osteoarthritis.