Predictors of quality of life, functional status, depression and fatigue in early arthritis: comparison between clinically suspect arthralgia, unclassified arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is often preceded by symptomatic phases during which classification criteria are not fulfilled. The health burden of these "at-risk" stages is not well described. This study assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL), function, fatigue and depression in newly presenting patients with clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA), unclassified arthritis (UA) or RA.

Outcomes of periodontal therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: The OPERA feasibility randomized trial.

Aim: Periodontitis is independently associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, there is limited data on whether periodontal treatment improves overall RA disease activity. We conducted a pilot feasibility randomized controlled clinical trial to test whether intensive periodontal therapy reduces RA disease activity in patients with active RA and periodontitis.

Materials And Methods: The following inclusion criteria were applied: patients with RA and periodontitis, aged 18+, stable on treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs for ≥3 months, disease activity score (DAS28) ≥3.

The value of ultrasound-defined tenosynovitis and synovitis in the prediction of persistent arthritis.

Objectives: The value of US-defined tenosynovitis in predicting the persistence of inflammatory arthritis is not well described. In particular, the predictive utility of US-defined tenosynovitis of larger tendons is yet to be reported. We assessed the value of US-defined tenosynovitis alongside US-defined synovitis and clinical and serological variables in predicting persistent arthritis in an inception cohort of DMARD-naïve patients with early arthritis.

Burden of chronic diseases associated with periodontal diseases: a retrospective cohort study using UK primary care data.

Objectives: To identify the association between periodontal diseases (gingivitis and periodontitis) and chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cardiometabolic disease, autoimmune disease and mental ill health.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: IQVIA Medical Research Data-UK between 1 January 1995 and 1 January 2019.

Systematic review of imaging tests to predict the development of rheumatoid arthritis in people with unclassified arthritis.

Objective: To estimate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound, for the prediction of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in unclassified arthritis (UA).

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase and BIOSIS were searched from 1987 to May 2019. Studies evaluating any imaging test in participants with UA were eligible.

Association Between Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity and Periodontitis Defined by Tooth Loss: Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Data From Two Observational Studies.

Objective: To analyze the effect of tooth loss/periodontitis on disease activity in early and established rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Participants of the Course And Prognosis of Early Arthritis (CAPEA) early arthritis cohort reported their number of teeth at baseline. The number of teeth had been validated as a predictor of periodontitis.

Mediterranean diet and risk of Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: Non-genetic risk factors for Sjögren's syndrome (SS) are poorly understood. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet has been associated with reduction in other autoimmune diseases. We examined the association of Mediterranean diet with SS.

Gums and joints: is there a connection? Part two: the biological link.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis (PD) are inflammatory diseases characterised by an exacerbated immune-inflammatory reaction that leads to the destruction of bone and other connective tissues that share numerous similarities. Although a significant and independent association between these two conditions has been described, the pathophysiological processes that may explain this relationship remain unknown and multiple theories have been proposed. This review presents the most important theories currently proposed to explain the biological link between RA and PD.

Gums and joints: is there a connection? Part one: epidemiological and clinical links.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic periodontitis are common chronic inflammatory diseases that share numerous clinical and pathobiological characteristics. Due to their similarities, despite manifesting at anatomically distinct sites, the relationship between these two diseases has been investigated for many years. This review attempts to summarise the state of the field based on evidence published in the last ten years.

The role of ultrasound-defined tenosynovitis and synovitis in the prediction of rheumatoid arthritis development.

Objectives: Tenosynovitis (TS) is common in early arthritis. However, the value of US-defined TS in predicting RA development is unclear. We assessed the predictive utility of US-defined TS alongside US-defined synovitis and clinical and serological variables in a prospective cohort of early arthritis patients.

Dysbiotic Subgingival Microbial Communities in Periodontally Healthy Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: Studies that demonstrate an association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and dysbiotic oral microbiomes are often confounded by the presence of extensive periodontitis in these individuals. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of RA in modulating the periodontal microbiome by comparing periodontally healthy individuals with RA to those without RA.

Methods: Subgingival plaque was collected from periodontally healthy individuals (22 with RA and 19 without RA), and the 16S gene was sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq platform.

High erythrocyte levels of the n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid are associated with lower risk of subsequent rheumatoid arthritis in a southern European nested case-control study.

Objectives: Findings relating to dietary intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are mixed. Erythrocyte membrane PUFA is an accurate objective biomarker of PUFA status; however, there are little data on erythrocyte membrane PUFA and risk of RA. The objective was therefore to compare erythrocyte membrane PUFA between pre-RA individuals and matched controls from a population-based sample, and specifically to test the hypothesis that higher levels of longer chain n-3 PUFA are associated with lower risk of RA.

Periodontitis prevalence and serum antibody reactivity to periodontal bacteria in primary Sjögren's syndrome: a pilot study.

Aims: The aims of this study were as follows: (i) To assess the prevalence of periodontitis among patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and comparator groups of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). (ii) To perform a pilot study to compare serum antibody responses to 10 oral/periodontal bacteria in these patient groups and a historical comparator group of patients with periodontitis.

Materials And Methods: Standard clinical periodontal assessments were performed on 39 pSS, 36 RA and 23 OA patients and "In-house" antibody ELISAs for serum antibodies against 10 oral/periodontal bacteria were performed in these groups.

Smoking, Porphyromonas gingivalis and the immune response to citrullinated autoantigens before the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis in a Southern European nested case-control study.

Background: Antibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA) occur years before RA diagnosis. Porphyromonas gingivalis expresses its own peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD), and is a proposed aetiological factor for the ACPA response. Smoking is a risk factor for both ACPA-positive RA and periodontitis.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with geographical latitude and solar radiation in the older population.

Background: Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency are common in the older and are associated with several conditions including anaemia, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment and cancer. Evidence from in vitro studies suggests that solar radiation can degrade both vitamins in the skin. Chile is the longest country in the world running perfectly North-South making it an ideal place to study potential associations of latitude and solar radiation on vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency.

Diagnostic outcomes associated with ankle synovitis in early inflammatory arthritis: a cohort study.

Objectives: To examine the diagnostic outcomes associated with clinical ankle synovitis in an early inflammatory arthritis cohort.

Methods: Data from the Birmingham early inflammatory arthritis cohort (BEACON) were used to obtain information about baseline disease and demographic variables and diagnostic outcomes at 18 month follow-up. The prevalence of clinical ankle synovitis (defined as joint swelling on examination) was calculated.

The autoantibody repertoire in periodontitis: a role in the induction of autoimmunity to citrullinated proteins in rheumatoid arthritis?

Background: Studies suggest that periodontitis may be a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this study was to determine whether periodontitis is associated with autoantibodies characteristic of RA.

Methods: Serum samples were tested for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP), anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (MCV), anti-citrullinated α-enolase peptide-1 (CEP-1), anti-citrullinated vimentin (cit-vim), anti-citrullinated fibrinogen (cit-fib) and their uncitrullinated forms anti-CParg (negative control for anti-CCP), anti-arginine-containing α-enolase peptide-1 (REP-1), anti-vimentin and anti-fibrinogen antibodies in patients with and without periodontitis, none of whom had RA.

Association between bone mineral density and C-reactive protein in a large population-based sample.

Objective: Several studies suggest that bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced in chronic inflammatory diseases. Higher serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been associated with lower BMD in women and older adults. However, it is not clear whether this association holds in a representative sample of the general population.

Performance of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis: comparison with 1987 ACR criteria in a very early synovitis cohort.

Objective: Early identification of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is essential to allow the prompt institution of therapy. The 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria, which replace the 1987 classification criteria, have been developed to facilitate such identification in patients with newly presenting inflammatory arthritis. This study therefore assesses the performance of these new criteria in patients with early synovitis.

Utility of ultrasound joint counts in the prediction of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with very early synovitis.

Objectives: Early therapy improves outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is therefore important to improve predictive algorithms for RA in early disease. This study evaluated musculoskeletal ultrasound, a sensitive tool for the detection of synovitis and erosions, as a predictor of outcome in very early synovitis.

Patient repositioning reproducibility of joint space width measurements on hand radiographs.

Objective: Computer-based methods to measure radiographic joint space width (JSW) have the potential to improve the longitudinal assessment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this report was to measure the long-term patient repositioning reproducibility of software-measured radiographic JSW.

Methods: Patients underwent baseline and followup hand radiography examinations with a followup time of ≤3 years.

Periodontitis in systemic rheumatic diseases.

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is characterized by loss of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone, and is a major cause of tooth loss. Results from clinical and epidemiologic studies have suggested that periodontitis and tooth loss are more prevalent in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the strength and temporality of the association are uncertain.