The global burden of cancer as a major cause of death and invalidity has been constantly increasing in the past decades. Monoamine oxidases (MAO) with two isoforms, MAO-A and MAO-B, are mammalian mitochondrial enzymes responsible for the oxidative deamination of neurotransmitters and amines in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues with the constant generation of hydrogen peroxide as the main deleterious ancillary product. However, given the complexity of cancer biology, MAO involvement in tumorigenesis is multifaceted with different tumors displaying either an increased or decreased MAO profile.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine uptake among individuals with rheumatic conditions remains low despite heightened risk for related adverse outcomes. This is especially pronounced among historically marginalized populations who suffered disproportionately from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the myriad of reasons for low vaccine uptake, mistrust in the healthcare system, misinformation related to the vaccine development process, fear of rheumatic disease flares, and inconsistent physician recommendations, are highlighted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Autoimmune or inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) increase the risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes. Although rurality is associated with higher post-COVID-19 mortality in the general population, whether rurality elevates this risk among people with AIRD is unknown. We assessed associations between rurality and post-COVID-19 all-cause mortality, up to two years post infection, among people with AIRD using a large nationally sampled US cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Despite the recognized benefits of collecting rheumatoid arthritis (RA) outcomes measures, their use in routine care is inconsistent. Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we conducted semistructured interviews with US rheumatologists and practice personnel to assess workflows, opportunities, and challenges in collecting RA outcome measures. Using insights from interviews, we developed the RA Measures Toolkit to enhance their use in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), a novel class of glucose-lowering drugs, have revolutionized the management of heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction, regardless of the presence of diabetes, and are currently incorporated in the heart failure guidelines. While these drugs have consistently demonstrated their ability to decrease heart failure hospitalizations in several landmark clinical trials, their cardioprotective effects are far from having been completely elucidated. In the past decade, a growing body of experimental research has sought to address the molecular and cellular mechanisms of SGLT2i in order to provide a better understanding of the off-target acute and chronic cardiac benefits, beyond the on-target renal effect responsible for blood glucose reduction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Quality of care (QoC) delivery in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) continues to suffer from various challenges (eg, delay in diagnosis and referral) that can lead to poor patient outcomes. This study aimed to identify good practice interventions that address these challenges in RA care in North America.
Methods: The study was conducted in three steps: (1) literature review of existing publications and guidelines (April 2005 to April 2021) on QoC in RA; (2) in-person visits to >50 individual specialists and health care professionals across nine rheumatology centers in the United States and Canada to identify challenges in RA care and any corresponding good practice interventions; and (3) collation and organization of findings of the two previous methods by commonalities to identify key good practice interventions, followed by further review by RA experts to ensure key challenges and gaps in RA care were captured.
Objective: We sought to identify (1) what types of information US adults with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) perceive as most important to know about their disease, and (2) what functions they would use in an RMD-specific smartphone app.
Methods: Nominal groups with patients with RMD were conducted using online tools to generate a list of needed educational topics. Based on nominal group results, a survey with final educational items was administered online, along with questions about desired functions of a smartphone app for RMD and wearable use, to patients within a large community rheumatology practice-based research network and the PatientSpot registry.
Falls and osteoporosis are risk factors for fragility fractures. Bone mineral density (BMD) assessment is associated with better preventative osteoporosis care, but it is underutilized by those at high fracture risk. We created a novel electronic medical record (EMR) alert-driven protocol to screen patients in the Emergency Department (ED) for fracture risk and tested its feasibility and effectiveness in generating and completing referrals for outpatient BMD testing after discharge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteoporosis and fragility fractures are managed by clinicians across many medical specialties. The key competencies of clinicians delivering bone health care have not been systematically established. We aimed to develop a decision rule to define the threshold of adequate skills and attributes associated with clinical competency in bone health for a clinician serving as a referral source for bone health care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: This review summarizes the recent evidence available regarding the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in spondyloarthritis (SpA), including the effect of disease modifying drugs on cardiovascular risk.
Recent Findings: People with SpA suffer from an increased risk of cardiovascular disease compared to the general population. This elevated risk is explained by the high prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and inflammation from disease activity leading to endothelial dysfunction and accelerated atherosclerosis.
Objective: Black/African American women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experience greater organ damage and at younger ages than white women. The objective of this study was to advance research on SLE inequities by identifying sociodemographic risk profiles associated with organ damage accrual specifically among Black/African American women.
Methods: Latent profile analysis was conducted among 438 Black/African American women with SLE living in Atlanta, GA and enrolled in the Black Women's Experiences Living with Lupus (BeWELL) Study (May 2015 to April 2017).
Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken)
January 2024
Objective: The goal of this study was to ascertain COVID-19 vaccine uptake, reasons for hesitancy, and self-reported flare in a large rheumatology practice-based network.
Methods: A tablet-based survey was deployed by 108 rheumatology practices from December 2021 to December 2022. Patients were asked about COVID-19 vaccine status and why they might not receive a vaccine or booster.
Background: "Storytelling" interventions influence knowledge, attitudes and behavior to promote chronic disease management. We aimed to describe the development of a video "storytelling" intervention to increase gout knowledge and promote adherence to medications and follow-up care after an acute gout flare visit in the emergency department.
Methods: We developed a direct-to-patient storytelling intervention to mitigate modifiable barriers to gout care and promote outpatient follow-up and medication adherence.
Objective: Patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) are at greater risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization, increasing the stress and uncertainty already associated with unpredictable conditions. These may be heightened for patients with ARDs from underrepresented minority backgrounds. This study aimed to explore patient experiences and ARD-related challenges during the first year of the pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArthritis Care Res (Hoboken)
November 2023
Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with several specific risk factors for fracture due to the complications of the disease and related medications. The present study was undertaken to examine the relationship between SSc-associated clinical features and fracture rate in a large US cohort.
Methods: Participants with SSc in FORWARD, The National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases, were included (1998-2019).
Objective: Patients with acute gout are frequently treated in the emergency department (ED) and represent a typically underresourced and understudied population. A key limitation for gout research in the ED is the timely ability to identify acute gout patients. Our goal was to refine a multicriteria, electronic medical record alert for gout flares and to determine its diagnostic characteristics in the ED.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: Osteoporosis management has evolved significantly over the past decade, with telehealth emerging as an effective tool to manage bone health in a growing patient population. This review explores the advantages and disadvantages of telehealth use for osteoporosis management while highlighting recent studies of clinical importance.
Recent Findings: A wide variety of telehealth approaches are used today, from phone or video telemedicine appointments with physicians and advanced practice providers, to electronic systems for triage and consultation with osteoporosis specialists.
Background: Differences in the distribution of individual-level clinical risk factors across regions do not fully explain the observed global disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. We aimed to investigate the associations between environmental and societal factors and country-level variations in mortality attributed to COVID-19 among people with rheumatic disease globally.
Methods: In this observational study, we derived individual-level data on adults (aged 18-99 years) with rheumatic disease and a confirmed status of their highest COVID-19 severity level from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance (GRA) registry, collected between March 12, 2020, and Aug 27, 2021.
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sudden uptake of telemedicine in rheumatology. We analyzed the recent published literature on telemedicine for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory, non-inflammatory and/or autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
Methods: We performed a registered systematic search (CRD42020202063) for interventional or observational studies published between August 2015 and January 2022.