Publications by authors named "Maria Martha Katsicas"

CARD11-associated diseases are monogenic inborn errors of immunity involving immunodeficiency, predisposition to malignancy and immune dysregulation such as lymphoproliferation, inflammation, atopic and autoimmune manifestations. Defects in  can present as mutations that confer a complete or a partial loss of function (LOF) or contrarily, a gain of function (GOF) of the affected gene product. We report clinical characteristics, immunophenotypes and genotypes of 15 patients from our center presenting with CARD11-associated diseases.

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Neutrophils play major roles against bacteria and fungi infections not only due to their microbicide properties but also because they release mediators like Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) that contribute to orchestrate the inflammatory response. This cytokine is a leaderless protein synthesized in the cytoplasm as a precursor (pro-IL-1β) that is proteolytically processed to its active isoform and released from human neutrophils by secretory autophagy. In most myeloid cells, pro-IL-1β is processed by caspase-1 upon inflammasome activation.

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Objective: To evaluate the differential characteristics of SARS-COV-2 associated inflammatory multisystem syndrome (MIS-C) in children.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted.  The definition of MIS- C was based on WHO criteria.

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Objective: To develop a composite disease activity score for systemic JIA (sJIA) and to provide preliminary evidence of its validity.

Methods: The systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (sJADAS) was constructed by adding to the four items of the original JADAS a fifth item that aimed to quantify the activity of systemic features. Validation analyses were conducted on patients with definite or probable/possible sJIA enrolled at first visit or at the time of a flare, who had active systemic manifestations, which should include fever.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to create and validate a composite Disease Assessment Scale (DAS) specifically for Juvenile DermatoMyositis (JDM) through a new measurement tool called the Juvenile DermatoMyositis Activity Index (JDMAI).
  • - JDMAI consists of four evaluation components, including assessments from both physicians and parents, muscle strength, and skin disease activity, validating its effectiveness across 627 patients from multinational samples.
  • - Results showed that JDMAI has solid validity and reliability, making it a suitable tool for measuring disease activity in clinical and research settings; the final version will be confirmed after further prospective validation.
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Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most prevalent chronic rheumatic disease in children and young people (CYP) and a major cause of pain and disability. The vast majority of the world's children and their families live in less resourced countries (LRCs) and face significant socioeconomic and healthcare challenges. Current recommendations for standards of care and treatment for children with JIA do not consider children living in less resourced countries.

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The Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR) is a new parent/patient reported outcome measure that enables a thorough assessment of the disease status in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We report the results of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the parent and patient versions of the JAMAR in the Argentinian Spanish language. The reading comprehension of the questionnaire was tested in 10 JIA parents and patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • A new hybrid muscle strength measure for juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) combines Manual Muscle Testing (MMT-8) and key elements from the Childhood Myositis Assessment Scale (CMAS) to improve comprehensiveness and feasibility.
  • The hybrid measure (hMC) was validated with 810 JDM patients, demonstrating strong validity, reliability, and responsiveness to treatment changes.
  • The hMC is useful for routine clinical care, but further testing is needed in other patient populations to confirm its effectiveness.
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The juvenile spondyloarthropathies (JSpA) are a group of related rheumatic diseases characterized by involvement of peripheral large joints, axial joints, and entheses (enthesitis) that begin in the early years of life (prior to 16(th) birthday).The nomenclature and concept of spondyloarthropathies has changed during the last few decades. Although there is not any specific classification of JSpA, diseases under the spondyloarthropathy nomenclature umbrella in the younger patients include: the seronegative enthesitis and arthropathy (SEA) syndrome, juvenile ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease-associated arthritis.

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Takayasu's arteritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the large vessels, such as the aorta and its branches. It represents the third most frequent vasculitis during pediatric age. Our objective was to describe clinical and complementary exams features as well as treatment modalities of a case series of pediatric patients.

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Objectives: To compare the demographic features, presenting manifestations, diagnostic investigations, disease course, and drug therapies of children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) followed in Europe and Latin America.

Methods: Patients were inception cohorts seen between 1980 and 2004 in 27 paediatric rheumatology centres. The following information was collected through the review of patient charts: sex; age at disease onset; date of disease onset and diagnosis; onset type; presenting clinical features; diagnostic investigations; course type; and medications received during disease course.

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Objective: To investigate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors of juvenile dermatomyositis (DM) through a multinational, multicenter study.

Methods: Patients consisted of inception cohorts seen between 1980 and 2004 in 27 centers in Europe and Latin America. Predictor variables were sex, continent, ethnicity, onset year, onset age, onset type, onset manifestations, course type, disease duration, and active disease duration.

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