Rheumatoid Meningitis a Rare Extra-Articular Manifestation of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Report of 6 Cases and Literature Review.

Objectives: Central neurological manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) like rheumatoid meningitis (RM) are rare, little known and have a high rate of morbi-mortality.

Methods: We described six cases of RM that were directly related to RA activity after exhaustive assessment.

Results: They were mainly women, aged of 50 to 69.

[Rheumatoid arthritis : cardiovascular and pulmonary manifestations].

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often affects extra-articular structures. Treatments used for arthritis are often also effective on the extra-articular manifestations, but exceptions are numerous, particularly for cardiovascular and pulmonary problems. Cardiovascular disorders mainly include complications related to atherosclerosis : they are probably the main contributor to the increased mortality observed in RA, must be specifically taken into account and largely determine the choice of treatments used to treat RA.

[Risk factors and prophylaxis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in HIV-negative patients].

Pneumocystis jirovecii (formely carinii) pneumonia (PcP) affects immunosuppressed patients. Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis has proven to be effective and its indications in HIV patients are well established. In non-HIV patients, the prognosis is poorer and diagnostic tests are of lower sensitivity.

A 64-Year-Old Woman with Chest Pain, Limb Weakness, and Endometrial Cancer.

Necrotizing autoimmune myopathy (NAM) is a rare subgroup of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). This pathology usually affects proximal limb muscles and in some cases the myocardium. Patients usually display proximal limb weakness.

Low pre-treatment B-cell counts are not a risk factor of infection in patients treated with rituximab for autoimmune diseases: An observational study.

Objectives: Rituximab (RTX) is increasingly used in patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other severe autoimmune diseases (AID). In practice, many clinicians are reluctant to prescribe RTX in patients with low B-cell counts because of the presumed risk of infection. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate whether B-cell counts before treatment or retreatment with RTX predict the occurrence of infections.