Novel electrical therapy to improve sleep disturbance in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Objectives: Sleep disturbance is common in autoimmune rheumatism diseases (ARD) and it plays an important role in activating disease and affects the quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of the novel electrical therapy on sleep disturbance in ARD patients and its effect on immunologic factors.

Methods: A total of 51 ARD patients (26 treatment group and 25 control group) with sleep disturbance were enrolled in this study.

Alterations in peripheral T- and B-cell subsets in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: To determine the alteration of peripheral T and B cell subsets in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to evaluate their correlation with the progression of SSc.

Methods: We recruited 47 SSc patients and 45 healthy controls (HCs) in this study. Demographic and clinical data were then collected.

Diagnostic delay and its associated factors in Chinese axial spondyloarthritis: A single-center study of 1295 patients.

Aim: To delineate the landscape of diagnostic delay in Chinese axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), investigate its associated factors, and explore its potential impact on medication modalities.

Methods: A total of 1295 patients fulfilling the ASAS classification criteria were obtained. Demographic and clinical data were collected through face-to-face interviews, based on predesigned questionnaires and available medical records.

Peripheral CD4 /CD8 T cell composition distinct from healthy individuals is shared by ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are chronic inflammatory joint diseases, linking to the alterations of immune cells. We attempted to assess whether the alterations in the composition of CD4 /CD8 T cells are different between AS and RA and identify the characteristic cells between male and female patients.

Methods: The proportions of CD3 or double positive T cells, 6 CD4 T subsets and 9 CD8 T cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry and compared in 30 healthy individuals, 42 AS patients and 45 RA patients.

PKM2 promotes proinflammatory macrophage activation in ankylosing spondylitis.

Macrophages play a critical role in ankylosing spondylitis by promoting autoimmune tissue inflammation through various effector functions. The inflammatory potential of macrophages is highly influenced by their metabolic environment. Here, we demonstrate that glycolysis is linked to the proinflammatory activation of human blood monocyte-derived macrophages in ankylosing spondylitis.

Etanercept/celecoxib on improving MRI inflammation of active ankylosing spondylitis: A multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes in active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients with etanercept and celecoxib alone/combined treatment.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in three medical centers in China. Adult AS patients with BASDAI ≥4 or ASDAS ≥2.

Quantification of Fat Metaplasia in the Sacroiliac Joints of Patients With Axial Spondyloarthritis by Chemical Shift-Encoded MRI: A Diagnostic Trial.

Objective: To study the diagnostic performance of chemical shift-encoded MRI (CSE-MRI) in the diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Methods: CSE-MRI images were acquired for consecutive patients complaining of back pain as well as healthy volunteers. Proton density fat fraction (PDFF) values were measured independently by two readers.

Integrative blood-derived epigenetic and transcriptomic analysis reveals the potential regulatory role of DNA methylation in ankylosing spondylitis.

Background: The currently known risk loci could explain a small proportion of the heritability of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Epigenetics might account for the missing heritability. We aimed to seek more novel AS-associated DNA methylation alterations and delineate the regulatory effect of DNA methylation and gene expression with integrated analysis of methylome and transcriptome.

Dynamics of Adaptive Immune Cell and NK Cell Subsets in Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis After IL-17A Inhibition by Secukinumab.

Anti-IL-17A therapy is generally effectively applied in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) to achieve and maintain remission. However, the influence of anti-IL-17A on the composition of the immune system is not apparent. Our prospective study was to explore the changes in immune imbalance regarding T cell, B cell and natural killer (NK) cell subsets after secukinumab treatment in AS patients.

Efficacy and safety of Fengshi Gutong Capsule in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis: A 4-week randomized controlled, double-blinded, double-dummy trial.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Fengshi Gutong Capsule (FSGTC) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that is composed of seven herbs. It has been widely used for the treatment of joint pain in China. However, the clinical evidence supporting its use in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is lacking.

Active Inflammatory and Chronic Structural Damages of Sacroiliac Joint in Patients With Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis and Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis.

Objective: Evaluate the MRI evidence of active inflammatory and chronic structural damages in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).

Methods: A retrospective review of 253 patients who underwent sacroiliac joint (SIJ) MRI between June 2014 and December 2019 was performed. MRI images including short tau inversion recovery scan and T1-weighted spin echo scans were assessed using the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) score and SPARCC MRI SIJ structural score by two independent readers.

Serum Metabolomics Signatures Associated With Ankylosing Spondylitis and TNF Inhibitor Therapy.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of spondyloarthropathies, the diagnosis of which is often delayed. The lack of early diagnosis tools often delays the institution of appropriate therapy. This study aimed to investigate the systemic metabolic shifts associated with AS and TNF inhibitors treatment.

Age-Specific Imbalance of Circulating Tfh Cell Subsets and Its Association With Gout-Targeted Kidney Impairment.

Objective: Gout is a chronic disease characterized by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in tissue. Study with a focus on adaptive immune response remains to be understood although innate immune response has been reported extensively in gout etiology. Our study attempted to investigate the association of gout-related immune cell imbalance with clinical features and comorbidity with renal impairment and the implicated pathogenesis the assessment of T and B cell subsets in different activity phases or with immune effects combined with the analyses of clinical parameters.

The Clinical Characteristics of Other HLA-B Types in Chinese Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients.

HLA-B27 has an established relationship with the development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). After reviewing the HLA-B genotype from 407 Chinese subjects (318 patients and 89 sex-matched controls), we found that 252 patients and 32 controls were HLA-B27(+) and that HLA-B27:04 was the dominant HLA-B27 subtype ( = 224). In all participants, HLA27:04 homozygous were only detected in two patients.

Analysis of antinuclear antibody titers and patterns by using HEp-2 and primate liver tissue substrate indirect immunofluorescence assay in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Background: Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) is viewed as a preliminary standard to assess antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). Our aim was to explore ANA positivity rate, titers, and patterns in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD), including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), systemic sclerosis (SSc), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), compared with healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Assess antinuclear antibody titers and patterns were retrospectively identified and compared by IIFA using human epithelial cells (HEp-2) and primate liver tissue substrate according to international consensus in SARD.

TNF-α inhibitor therapy can improve the immune imbalance of CD4+ T cells and negative regulatory cells but not CD8+ T cells in ankylosing spondylitis.

Background: Studies into ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and its relationship with immune imbalance are controversial, and the correlation between the efficacy of TNF-α inhibitor and changes in immune imbalance is unclear.

Methods: A total of 40 immune cells were tested with flow cytometry, and the results of 105 healthy control (HC) subjects, 177 active-stage AS patients, and 23 AS cases before and after 12 weeks of TNF-α inhibitor therapy (Anbainuo) were analyzed.

Results: Compared with the HC group, the proportion of immune cells, such as naïve and central memory CD4+T cells, in AS increased (P < 0.

Circulating Retinol-Binding Protein 4 as a Possible Biomarker of Treatment Response for Ankylosing Spondylitis: An Array-Based Comparative Study.

Objective: To explore proteins associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to investigate potential proteins that may predict treatment response of adalimumab (ADA) in AS patients.

Methods: In the discovery cohort, 39 AS patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were included, and 16 AS patients received ADA treatment for 24 weeks after included. In the validation cohort, 43 AS patients and 39 HCs were enrolled, and all 43 patients received ADA treatment after enrollment.

Identification of the urine and serum metabolomics signature of gout.

Objective: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis and the worldwide incidence is increasing. By revealing the metabolic alterations in serum and urine of gout patients, the first aim of our study was to discover novel molecular biomarkers allowing for early diagnosis. We also aimed to investigate the underlying pathogenic pathways.

The comparison of dyslipidemia and serum uric acid in patients with gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Dyslipidemia often concurs with hyperuricemia. Our study was to discover different lipid levels of gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia and the predictors of sUA (serum uric acid) levels.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to collect demographic, clinical variables, comorbidities and laboratory testing in patients with gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia.

Investigation and analysis of HEp 2 indirect immunofluorescence titers and patterns in various liver diseases.

Introduction: Antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) is a common and economical method which contributes to detect systemic autoimmune diseases (SARD) and autoimmune liver diseases (AILD). The primary aim of our study was to investigate ANA positivity and their patterns in multiple liver diseases, including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), hepatitis B virus infection (HBV), hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), and hepatic carcinoma (HCC). Besides, we also compared the ANA titers and patterns in patients with liver disease, SARD, and healthy controls (HC).

Comparison of chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay, indirect immunofluorescence assay, linear immunoassay and multiple microbead immunoassay detecting autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The aim of study was to detect antinuclear antibodies (ANA) using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA), linear immunoassay (LIA), chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay (CMIA), multiple microbead immunoassay (MBI) and to compare these four methods in the performance of diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Serum ANA were detected in 147 SLE cases and 42 healthy controls (HCs). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and agreement, the area under the curve of four methods in diagnosing were calculated.