Minor Salivary Gland Biopsy in Diagnosis of Sjögren's Syndrome.

Objective: Previous studies have questioned the safety and efficacy of minor salivary gland biopsy in the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome, citing complications and difficulty of pathologic evaluation. This study aims to determine the rate of biopsy specimen adequacy and the risk of complications after minor salivary gland biopsy.

Study Design: Case series.

Low incidence and transient elevation of autoantibodies post mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in inflammatory arthritis.

Objectives: Autoantibody seroconversion has been extensively studied in the context of COVID-19 infection but data regarding post-vaccination autoantibody production is lacking. Here we aimed to determine the incidence of common autoantibody formation following mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) and in healthy controls.

Methods: Autoantibody seroconversion was measured by serum ELISA in a longitudinal cohort of IA participants and healthy controls before and after COVID-19 mRNA-based immunization.

Evaluation of Immune Response and Disease Status in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients Following SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination.

Objective: To evaluate seroreactivity and disease flares after COVID-19 vaccination in a multiethnic/multiracial cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Ninety SLE patients and 20 healthy controls receiving a complete COVID-19 vaccine regimen were included. IgG seroreactivity to the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) and SARS-CoV-2 microneutralization were used to evaluate B cell responses; interferon-γ (IFNγ) production was measured by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay in order to assess T cell responses.

Methotrexate hampers immunogenicity to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in immune-mediated inflammatory disease.

Objective: To investigate the humoral and cellular immune response to messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) on immunomodulatory treatment.

Methods: Established patients at New York University Langone Health with IMID (n=51) receiving the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination were assessed at baseline and after second immunisation. Healthy subjects served as controls (n=26).

Methotrexate Hampers Immunogenicity to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease.

Objective: To investigate the humoral and cellular immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) on immunomodulatory treatment.

Methods: Established patients at NYU Langone Health with IMID (n=51) receiving the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination were assessed at baseline and after second immunization. Healthy subjects served as controls (n=26).

Efficacy and safety of risedronate 150 mg once a month in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Fragility fractures that occur as a result of osteoporosis are frequently associated with chronic pain and decreased quality of life as well as significant morbidity and mortality. Fracture reduction, however, is often less than optimal due to poor compliance with medications. Studies have demonstrated that risedronate, a heterocyclic nitrogen containing bisphosphonate can reduce vertebral, nonvertebral, and hip fracture incidence in postmenopausal women, in men, and in subsets of older patients at great risk of falls and fragility.

Sensitivity of fibroblast growth factor 23 measurements in tumor-induced osteomalacia.

Context: Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a paraneoplastic syndrome of hypophosphatemia, decreased renal phosphate reabsorption, normal or low serum 1,25-dihydryxyvitamin-D concentration, myopathy, and osteomalacia. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a phosphaturic protein overexpressed in tumors that cause TIO and is, at least partly, responsible for the manifestations of TIO.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity of FGF23 measurements in TIO.

Optimizing administration of bisphosphonates in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Bisphosphonates have been approved in the US as oral medication for the treatment of osteoporosis for about 10 years. Efficacy data exists for fracture reduction for the commonly used oral bisphosphonates but not for intravenous formulations. Based on the mechanism of action that appears to allow for longer intervals between doses, it has been possible to extend the treatment choices from the original more demanding daily oral dose to an array of options including oral weekly and more recently monthly treatment (so-called cyclical therapy) and intravenous treatment with various administration regimens.

Peripheral bone mass measurements: current and future perspectives on quantitative ultrasound and peripheral DXA.

Although peripheral bone mass measurements have been available for more than a quarter of a century to predict osteoporotic fractures, these studies fell out of favor in the late 1980s and early 1990s as axial measurements replaced appendicular determinations for risk assessment and therapeutic responsiveness. Within the last half decade there has been a resurgence in utilization of peripheral measurements, primarily because of improved technology, enhanced precision, and greater accessibility. There are now nearly 11,000 peripheral densitometers in use around the world with quantitative ultrasound (QUS) of the calcaneus and peripheral densitometry (pDXA) of the wrist or calcaneus the most popular.

Emerging anabolic treatments for osteoporosis.

Therapy for osteoporosis is principally centered on the use of agents that block bone resorption and supplementation with vitamin D and calcium. Although these drugs are effective in reducing the risk of subsequent fractures, and modestly increasing bone density, most patients being treated for osteoporosis still have low bone mass and a greater risk of fracture. Anabolic agents stimulate bone formation, strength, and mass.

Association between serum insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I) and a simple sequence repeat in IGF-I gene: implications for genetic studies of bone mineral density.

We recently demonstrated that insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I) cosegregates with bone mineral density (BMD) in progenitor crosses of two inbred strains of mice. Additionally, we reported that men with idiopathic osteoporosis (IOM) have low serum IGF-I levels, which can be related to BMD and bone turnover. In this study, we considered the possibility that serum IGF-I levels are influenced by molecular genetic variation in the IGF-I structural gene, and that a polymorphic microsatellite (CA repeat) in this locus can be used as a genetic marker for such comparisons.

Pathogenesis and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Aging is associated with a marked decline in bone mineral density (BMD), an increased likelihood of falling and a much greater propensity for fracture. Several factors contribute to aging-related bone loss, including reduced bone formation, increased bone resorption, recent bodyweight loss, poor nutritional status and the coexistence of other, often rheumatological, conditions. Any of these factors can lead to an uncoupling of the bone remodelling unit.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) inhibits both intrinsic factor secretion and acid secretion in histamine-stimulated isolated gastric glands.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a polypeptide present in mammalian salivary glands which has been shown to have mitogenic and gastric acid inhibitory properties in vivo. The mechanisms of action of EGF at the level of the parietal cell are not clear. In the present study, we have examined the effects of EGF on both acid and macromolecular (intrinsic factor, IF) secretion stimulated by the cyclic AMP-mediated agonist histamine using the rabbit isolated gastric gland model.

Microalbuminuria and hypertension in long-term renal donors.

In order to determine whether the proteinuria observed in some renal donors was glomerular or tubular in origin, and to determine whether creatinine clearance was an accurate index of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in subjects with reduced nephron mass, 29 donors were evaluated 9-18 years after uninephrectomy. Results were compared with those in 31 age-, sex-, and race-matched controls evaluated at the same time. Mean creatinine clearance (Ccreat) in donor was 78% that of controls, which was similar to the 85% ratio of inulin clearance (Cin) in donors compared with that of controls.