Interstitial Lung Disease in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome: Risk factors for occurrence and radiographic progression.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS)- interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients and compare them to those of pSS patients without ILD in the tertiary pSS-ILD cohort to evaluate potential risk factors for ILD occurrence and disease progression.

Methods: Patients followed up who met the 2016 American College of Rheumatology-European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for pSS were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were grouped as those with ILD and those without ILD according to medical records.

Obesity might not alter tofacitinib drug survival in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Introduction: Obese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients often show reduced responses to traditional treatments, including TNF inhibitors (TNFi). Considering the different mechanisms of action it is important to evaluate the efficacy of tofacitinib in obese patients. This study aims to explore the impact of obesity on the drug survival of tofacitinib in RA patients.

Clinical characteristics and disease course before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large cohort of systemic sclerosis patients.

Background/aim: The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical presentations and adverse outcomes of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and assess the impact of SSc features on the clinical course of COVID-19.

Materials And Methods: In this multicenter, retrospective study, SSc patients with COVID-19 were included. Clinical features of SSc, along with detailed COVID-19 data, were extracted from medical records and patient interviews.

Assessment of venous disease with different venous disease specific scales in Behçet's disease patients with deep vein thrombosis.

Post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) is a frequent and important consequence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) for Behcet`s disease (BD) patients. Although various clinical scales are used to diagnose PTS, Villalta scale was accepted as the standard tool to diagnose and grade the severity of PTS. Poor quality of life (Qol) in the general population was defined for patients with PTS, however, studies in BD patients with PTS is limited.

Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of Scleroderma Skin Patient-Reported Outcome in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: This study aimed to translate the Scleroderma Skin Patient-Reported Outcome (SSPRO) questionnaire to the Turkish (SSPRO-T) language and to assess its validity and reliability.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-four systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients (51 females, 3 males; mean age: 49.8±10.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outcomes in Amyloid A Protein Amyloidosis Secondary to Rheumatic Conditions and Signs of Post- Coronavirus Disease 2019 Proteinuria Progression.

Background: We aimed to investigate coronavirus diease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes in patients with amyloid A protein (AA) amyloidosis secondary to rheumatic diseases and discuss factors associated with disease course.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was formed from adult patients with a diagnosis of AA amyloidosis. In patients with a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission and mortality due to COVID-19 were collected from medical records.

Role of serum calprotectin in identifying familial Mediterranean fever attacks.

Background/aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate serum calprotectin (CLP) levels in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients and to investigate the utility of CLP in distinguishing patients with attack from patients without attack.

Material And Method: FMF patients, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and healthy controls were included. Serum calprotectin levels were quantified utilizing the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

Effects of intrauterine device use on attack frequency and severity ın woman of reproductive age with familial Mediterranean fever.

Aim: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common inherited autoinflammatory disease in the world. There are known triggers to initiate an FMF attack, yet potential effects of intrauterine devices (IUD) in women of reproductive age have not been evaluated before.

Method: Consecutive female patients with FMF who ever used IUD over the age of 18 were enrolled.

Comparative Metabolomic Profiles of Vascular Involvement in Behçet's Disease.

Background: Behçet's disease is a systemic, inflammatory disease affecting multiple organs. Vascular involvement is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in Behçet's disease patients. Though clinically well-defined, there is limited information related to disease pathogenesis and vascular incidence in this patient group.

Non-criteria autoantibodies in antiphospholipid syndrome may be associated with underlying disease activity.

Background: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) with arterial and venous thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity. In recent years, several studies have highlighted the potential role of non-criteria aPL in diagnosing APS patients.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the association of the presence of non-criteria aPL antibodies to the clinical and laboratory features of patients with a diagnosis of APS.

A single-center rheumatology experience of sarcoidosis: observations from 70 patients.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients who followed up with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, to investigate the distribution frequency of rheumatological findings and to examine the disease management from the perspective of rheumatology.

Methods: Patients who were followed up with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis in the rheumatology clinic of Ankara City Hospital between November 2019 and November 2022 were evaluated. Demographic, clinical, radiological, serological, laboratory, and histopathological findings, and rheumatological, systemic, and locomotor system examination findings of the patients were obtained from the medical data registered in the hospital.

The Possible Relation of and Facial Erythema in Connective Tissue Diseases.

Background: We aimed to investigate the frequency of infestation and clinical implications in connective tissue disease patients with facial erythema.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with a connective tissue disease and had facial erythema were consecutively enrolled in the study from 2019-2020. An age and gender matched control group was formed from healthy volunteers.

Long-Term Results of Immunogenicity of Booster Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (Hybrid COV-RAPEL TR Study) in Turkiye: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled, Multicenter Phase 2 Clinical Study.

The immunogenicity of vaccines decreases over time, causing a need for booster doses. This study aimed to present the long-term (Day 84) immunogenicity results of the double-blind, randomized, controlled, phase II Hybrid COV-RAPEL TR Study (NCT04979949), in which the TURKOVAC or CoronaVac vaccines were used as a booster after the second dose of primary vaccination with CoronaVac. A total of 190 participants from the Hybrid COV-RAPEL TR Study, who had both Day 28 and Day 84 immunogenicity results, were included.

Semaphorin 3A levels in vascular and nonvascular phenotypes in systemic sclerosis.

Objective: Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) plays a regulatory role in immune responses. The aim of this study was to evaluate Sema3A levels in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), especially in major vascular involvements such as digital ulcer (DU), scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and to compare Sema3A level with SSc disease activity.

Methods: In SSc patients, patients with DU, SRC, or PAH were grouped as major vascular involvements and those without as nonvascular, and Sema3A levels were compared between the groups and with a healthy control group.

Tofacitinib experience in patients with enteropathic arthritis.

The JAK-STAT pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of both the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and spondyloarthropathy group of diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor, in the treatment of enteropathic arthritis (EA). The study included seven patients, four from the authors' follow-up and three from the literature.

Effects of breast milk on Behçet's disease clinical features.

Background: The etiology of Behçet's disease (BD) is not clearly known, however, abnormal activity in T helper (Th) 1, Th 17, and regulatory T cells (Treg) has critical importance in pathogenesis. It has been shown that the intestinal microbiome can be effective in the modulation of these immune abnormalities in BD patients. Breastfeeding increases the maturation of the infant's intestinal permeability by affecting the newborn's immature intestinal microbiome and metagenome.

COVID-19 disease frequency, risk factors, and re-infection rates in patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease receiving rituximab.

Introduction: Rituximab, which is used in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD), can cause both an increased risk of development of COVID-19 disease and re-infection due to its potent and long-acting immunosuppression. So, we aimed to evaluate the frequency, risk factors and re-infection rates of COVID-19 in ARD patients receiving rituximab.

Methods: A single-center retrospective study was performed with patients receiving rituximab for ARD in 12 months before the onset of COVID-19 in Turkey.