Inflammatory bowel disease in axial spondyloarthritis patients. Is there any specific clinical picture? Data from the RESPONDIA and REGISPONSER registries.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects 5%-10% of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Prior data suggest AS patients with IBD may have more severe disease and lower HLA-B27 prevalence. Yet, little is known about potential distinctions in AS with IBD compared to those without IBD.

Sex differential impact of comorbidities in spondyloarthritis: data from COMOSPA study.

Objectives: To describe and compare the prevalence of comorbidities in female and male patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and to assess whether comorbidities had a different impact on disease outcomes in male and female patients.

Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of the COMOrbidities in SPondyloArthritis study. Differences in comorbidities regarding sex were assessed using logistic regression models.

Contribution of major economies to global GDP and product reallocation around the world.

Economic globalization has led to production increasingly becoming concentrated in certain regions and countries of the world. This article develops an accounting framework to provide the trends for the contribution of countries to global gross domestic production (GDP). In particular, the method transforms the multiregional input-output model to quantify the relative importance of individual economies to world GDP.

Specific-cytokine associations with outcomes in knee osteoarthritis subgroups: breaking down disease heterogeneity with phenotyping.

Background: Despite existing extensive literature, a comprehensive and clinically relevant classification system for osteoarthritis (OA) has yet to be established. In this study, we aimed to further characterize four knee OA (KOA) inflammatory phenotypes (KOIP) recently proposed by our group, by identifying the inflammatory factors associated with KOA severity and progression in a phenotype-specific manner.

Methods: We performed an analysis within each of the previously defined four KOIP groups, to assess the association between KOA severity and progression and a panel of 13 cytokines evaluated in the plasma and synovial fluid of our cohort's patients.

Biological and glucocorticoids treatment impair the medium-term immunogenicity to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Background: This study aims to assess the sustained immunological response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD) undergoing different treatment regimens.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study involving 157 AIRD patients without prior COVID-19 infection. Treatment regimens included non-treatment or glucocorticoid-only (not-treated/GCs), non-biological drugs, biological therapy, and JAK inhibitors.

Metabolic and inflammatory profiles define phenotypes with clinical relevance in female knee osteoarthritis patients with joint effusion.

Objectives: Osteoarthritis has been the subject of abundant research in the last years with limited translation to the clinical practice, probably due to the disease's high heterogeneity. In this study, we aimed to identify different phenotypes in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients with joint effusion based on their metabolic and inflammatory profiles.

Methods: A non-supervised strategy based on statistical and machine learning methods was applied to 45 parameters measured on 168 female KOA patients with persistent joint effusion, consecutively recruited at our hospital after a monographic OA outpatient visit.

Insulin edema, a little known entity.

Insulin edema is an entity that should be considered in any patient who starts or intensifies an insulin regimen to improve metabolic control. Heart, liver, and kidney problems should always be ruled out beforehand. The exact mechanism is not clear.

Social Media Use Among Members of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society: Results of a Web-Based Survey.

Background: The use of social media in health care may serve as a beneficial tool for education, information dissemination, telemedicine, research, networking, and communications. To better leverage the benefits of social media, it is imperative to understand the patterns of its use and potential barriers to its implementation in health care. A previous study in 2016 that investigated social media use among young clinical rheumatologists (≤45 years) and basic scientists showed that there was substantial social media use among them for social and professional reasons.

Association between HLA-B27 and peripheral spondyloarthritis phenotype: results from the ASAS perSpA study.

Objective: To analyse the influence of HLA-B27 in the phenotypical expression of peripheral spondyloarthritis (pSpA).

Method: This is an observational cross-sectional study using data from the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society perSpA registry, including all patients with an available HLA-B27 test result and with a diagnosis of pSpA or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) as per rheumatologist's judgement. Demographic and clinical data, presence of extra musculoskeletal manifestations (EMM) and fibromyalgia were the variables included in a simple and multiple logistic regression model to assess their association to HLA-B27 positivity.

Prediction of leptospirosis outbreaks by hydroclimatic covariates: a comparative study of statistical models.

Leptospirosis, the infectious disease caused by a spirochete bacteria, is a major public health problem worldwide. In Argentina, some regions have climatic and geographical characteristics that favor the habitat of bacteria of the Leptospira genus, whose survival strongly depends on climatic factors, enhanced by climate change, which increase the problems associated with people's health. In order to have a method to predict leptospirosis cases, in this paper, five time series forecasting methods are compared: two parametric (autoregressive integrated moving average and an alternative one that allows covariates, ARIMA and ARIMAX, respectively), two nonparametric (Nadaraya-Watson Kernel estimator, one and two kernels versions, NW-1 K and NW-2 K), and one semiparametric (semi-functional partial linear regression, SFPLR) method.

Uveitis in peripheral spondyloarthritis patients: an ancillary analysis of the ASAS-PerSpA study.

Background: Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) is the most frequent extra-musculoskeletal manifestation in spondyloarhtritis (SpA). Previous data on AAU focused on axial disease; therefore, it is not well known whether the clinical characteristics of patients with AAU and recurrent AAU differ between patients with axial and peripheral SpA.

Objective: Primary objective was to compare the clinical characteristics of patients with AAU from patients without AAU in axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients.

Glucocorticoids' treatment impairs the medium-term immunogenic response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients.

Limited data exists on SARS-CoV-2 sustained-response to vaccine in patients with rheumatic diseases. This study aims to evaluate neutralizing antibodies (nAB) induced by SARS-CoV-2 vaccine after 3 to 6 months from administration in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients, as a surrogate of sustained-immunological response. This cross-sectional study compared nAB titre of 39 SLE patients and 37 Healthy individuals with no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, who had all received a complete regimen of a mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine within the last 3 to 6 months.

Sustained low disease activity measured by ASDAS slow radiographic spinal progression in axial spondyloarthritis patients treated with TNF-inhibitors: data from REGISPONSERBIO.

Background: To evaluate the influence of the disease activity on radiographic progression in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients treated with TNF inhibitors (TNFi).

Methods: The study included 101 axSpA patients from the Spanish Register of Biological Therapy in Spondyloarthritides (REGISPONSERBIO), which had clinical data and radiographic assessment available. Patients were classified into 2 groups based on the duration of TNFi treatment at baseline: (i) long-term treatment (≥4 years) and (ii) no long-term treatment (< 4 years).

Biomarker candidates for progression and clinical management of COVID-19 associated pneumonia at time of admission.

COVID-19 pathophysiology is currently not fully understood, reliable prognostic factors remain elusive, and few specific therapeutic strategies have been proposed. In this scenario, availability of biomarkers is a priority. MS-based Proteomics techniques were used to profile the proteome of 81 plasma samples extracted in four consecutive days from 23 hospitalized COVID-19 associated pneumonia patients.

Enhanced removal of bisphenol A using pine-fruit shell-derived hydrochars: Adsorption mechanisms and reusability.

We synthesized NaOH-activated hydrochars via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of Brazilian pine fruit shells at HTC residence times of 24, 48, and 72 h. The hydrochars were used as adsorbents to remove bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solutions. The surface area of the samples can reach up to 2220 m g, and the maximum adsorption of BPA onto the surfaces was achieved at a pH of 7.

Synovial fluid but not plasma interleukin-8 is associated with clinical severity and inflammatory markers in knee osteoarthritis women with joint effusion.

Several cytokines and adipokines are related to clinical severity and progression in knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of IL-8 with clinical severity and with local and systemic adipokines and cytokines. This is a Cross-sectional study including 115 women with symptomatic primary knee osteoarthritis with ultrasound-confirmed joint effusion.

CD4 and CD8 Lymphocyte Counts as Surrogate Early Markers for Progression in SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia: A Prospective Study.

Background: COVID-19 pathophysiology and the predictive factors involved are not fully understood, but lymphocytes dysregulation appears to play a role. This paper aims to evaluate lymphocyte subsets in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and as predictive factors for severe disease.

Patient And Methods: A prospective cohort study of patients with SARS-CoV-2 bilateral pneumonia recruited at hospital admission.

Assessment of radiographic sacroiliitis in anteroposterior lumbar vs conventional pelvic radiographs in axial spondyloarthritis.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the reliability and validity of radiographic sacroiliitis assessment in anteroposterior (AP) lumbar radiographs compared with conventional pelvic radiographs in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Methods: Patients from the German Spondyloarthritis Inception Cohort were selected based on the availability of pelvic and AP lumbar radiographs with visible SI joints at baseline and year 2. Two readers scored the images independently in a random order according to the modified New York criteria.

Evaluation of the fracture risk assessment tool for determining bone disease and the impact of secondary causes of osteoporosis in people living with HIV.

Background: Among HIV-infected individuals, screening for bone disease is encouraged to assess reversible risk factors and plan therapeutic interventions.

Objective: We assessed the usefulness of Fracture Risk Assessment (FRAX) tool to identify candidates for dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan, or individuals with bone loss progression. We further explored how secondary causes of osteoporosis are reflected on FRAX.

Clinical and imaging characteristics of osteitis condensans ilii as compared with axial spondyloarthritis.

Objectives: Osteitis condensans ilii (OCI) has become an important differential diagnosis for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The objective of this matched case-control study was to investigate demographic, clinical, laboratory and MRI characteristics of OCI as compared with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Methods: A total of 60 patients diagnosed with OCI were included in the final analysis.

Synovial Adiponectin Was More Associated with Clinical Severity than Synovial Leptin in Women with Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: Different adipokines have been reported to play a role in the development, progression, and severity of knee osteoarthritis, but this association may be mediated by obesity. The aim of this study was to evaluate separately the associations of leptin and adiponectin with clinical severity and inflammatory markers in nonobese and obese women with knee osteoarthritis.

Design: Cross-sectional study with systematic inclusion of 115 women with symptomatic primary knee osteoarthritis.

Incorporation of the anteroposterior lumbar radiographs in the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score improves detection of radiographic spinal progression in axial spondyloarthritis.

Background: To evaluate the performance of the extended modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS) incorporating information from anteroposterior (AP) lumbar radiographs as compared to the conventional mSASSS in detection of radiographic spinal progression in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) METHODS: A total of 210 patients with axSpA, 115 with radiographic axSpA (r-axSpA), and 95 with non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA), from the GErman SPondyloarthritis Inception Cohort (GESPIC), were included in the analysis based on the availability of spinal radiographs (cervical spine lateral, lumbar spine lateral, and AP views), at baseline and year 2. Two trained readers independently scored lateral cervical and lumbar spine images according to the mSASSS system (0-3 per vertebral corner, 0-72 in total). In addition, all vertebral corners of vertebral bodies visible on lumbar AP radiographs (lower T12 to upper S1) were assessed according to the same scoring system that resulted in a total range for the extended mSASSS from 0 to 144.

Withdrawal of infliximab therapy in ankylosing spondylitis in persistent clinical remission, results from the REMINEA study.

Background: Recent data suggest that anti-TNF doses can be reduced in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Some authors even propose withdrawing treatment in patients in clinical remission; however, at present there is no evidence to support this.

Objective: To assess how long AS patients with persistent clinical remission remained free of flares after anti-TNF withdrawal and to evaluate the effects of treatment reintroduction.

Increased prevalence of asymptomatic vertebral fractures in HIV-infected patients over 50 years of age.

Unlabelled: The prevalence of asymptomatic vertebral fracture in HIV-infected patients over 50 was 20%, associated with older age, male sex, longer time since HIV diagnosis, and tubular renal alterations. Vertebral fractures were independent of osteoporosis at lumbar spine, and were not predicted by the use of the FRAX equation.

Purpose: Vertebral fractures (VF) are the hallmark of osteoporotic fractures.

Hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells: a promising new therapy for spondyloarthritis?

In the last years, a considerable progress has been made in the treatment of spondyloarthritides. Nonetheless, there remain a considerable number of patients who are unresponsive to all current therapies. Since the late 1990s, numerous trials have investigated the use of stem cell transplantation as a new approach for the treatment of autoimmune disease, particularly with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.