The impact of antinuclear antibodies seroconversion induced by anti-tumor necrosis factor α agents on the clinical outcomes in rheumatic patients.

Introduction: Anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα) agents can potentially induce the anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) development over time. Evidence of the real impact of these autoantibodies on clinical response to treatment in rheumatic patients is still scarce.

Objectives: To explore the impact of ANA seroconversion induced by anti-TNFα therapy on clinical outcomes in biologic-naïve patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), axial spondylarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

FRAX 10-year fracture risk in rheumatoid arthritis assessed with and without bone mineral density - are we treating our patients under bDMARDs?

Objective: This study aimed to identify the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under biological therapy who have FRAX® scores classified as high fracture risk and to evaluate if they are receiving treatment for osteoporosis (OP). The authors also investigated the intra-individual agreement between FRAX® fracture risk calculated with and without bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study was performed in a total of 303 patients with RA under biologics.

Takotsubo Syndrome in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Under Tofacitinib: A Case Report.

We describe a case of a 57-year-old white woman treated for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with tofacitinib 10mg daily (started one year ago) and prednisolone 5mg daily. She presented to the emergency department with a tight squeezing chest pain and shortness of breath for 7h and the clinical evaluation revealed regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, mimicking a myocardial infarction, in the absence of angiographic evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease or acute plaque rupture. All changes were transient and resolved completely within 4 days.

Bone mineral density and fracture risk in a cohort of Portuguese systemic sclerosis patients.

Patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) seem to have higher prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) and spine fracture risk. We performed a transversal study including patients with the diagnosis of SSc to determine, by conventional densitometry and using the fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX), the prevalence of low BMD and the fracture risk, respectively, in a SSc Portuguese cohort and its potential determinants. Ninety-seven patients were included; 88.

Renal involvement in Behçet´s Disease: a rare clinical challenge.

Although Behçet´s disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disease, renal involvement is uncommon and ranges from mild asymptomatic urinary abnormalities to severe disease with progressive renal failure. We describe the case of a 30 years-old woman with multiorgan BD, under ustekinumab, who presented with proteinuria, hematuria and impaired renal function. Kidney biopsy revealed histological findings of active renal vasculitis in the context of IgA nephropathy and tubulointerstitial nephritis and the patient was treated with corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide with excellent response.

Risk Factors for Infection, Predictors of Severe Disease, and Antibody Response to COVID-19 in Patients With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases in Portugal-A Multicenter, Nationwide Study.

Objective: To identify risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and for severe/critical COVID-19, and to assess the humoral response after COVID-19 in these patients.

Methods: Nationwide study of adult patients with inflammatory RMDs prospectively followed in the Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register-Reuma.pt-during the first 6 months of the pandemic.

Clinical features and outcome of 1054 patients with Systemic Sclerosis: analysis of Reuma.pt/SSc registry.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare connective tissue disorder with heterogeneous manifestations and outcomes. Besides differences in disease characteristics among distinct ethnic groups and geographical regions, several questions regarding the impact of the disease and the effectiveness of treatments remain unanswered. To address these questions, the Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register (Reuma.

Gender differences in clinical features and outcomes of a Portuguese systemic sclerosis cohort.

Evidence for the role of sex in the clinical manifestations of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients is emerging. Some multicenter cohorts have shown that male SSc patients have more severe disease and worse survival. To assess the differences in clinical manifestations and survival in Portuguese SSc patients according to gender.

Bone involvement in young adults with cystic fibrosis - a Portuguese cohort.

Introduction: Long-term survivors of cystic fibrosis (CF) have a dramatic increase in the risk of osteoporosis and incident fracture. The objective of this work is to characterize a CF related bone disease in a Portuguese cohort of CF patients.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional, observational study on a cohort of CF adult patients.

Multiple Sclerosis in rheumatic patients treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors: a single-center retrospective case series and literature review.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (TNFi) are basilar treatments in a number of inflammatory rheumatic conditions and autoimmune phenomena such as de novo neuroinflammatory events were already described in these populations under TNFi. We conducted a single-center retrospective study in a cohort of rheumatic patients treated with TNFi to characterize neurological demyelinating/inflammatory disease in these patients. We report 3 cases (n= 744): all of them had spondyloarthritis, the onset of neurological manifestations occurred between 37 and 58 years old and all of them initially presented with an optic neuritis.

Takotsubo Syndrome in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Under Tofacitinib: A Case Report.

We describe a case of a 57-year-old white woman treated for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with tofacitinib 10mg daily (started one year ago) and prednisolone 5mg daily. She presented to the emergency department with a tight squeezing chest pain and shortness of breath for 7h and the clinical evaluation revealed regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, mimicking a myocardial infarction, in the absence of angiographic evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease or acute plaque rupture. All changes were transient and resolved completely within 4 days.

Aseptic hypertrophic pachymeningitis in a patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis - a case of involvement of the central nervous system by the disease?

Hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP) is a rare clinical entity which uncommonly occurs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. We describe the case of a rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive RA male that was diagnosed with HP and multiple mononeuropathy. Although histological evaluation was not performed, after excluding infectious and neoplastic causes, it was possible to determine a probable inflammatory etiology.

Early retirement attributed to rheumatoid arthritis and its predictors.

Objective: To evaluate the rate of early retirement due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Portugal.

Methods: Prospective cohort study involving 11 Portuguese centers, including patients with a clinical diagnosis of RA, based on Reuma.pt registry, enrolled between 2008 and 2019.

Cortical Visual Evoked Potentials and Growth in Infants Fed with Bioactive Compounds-Enriched Infant Formula: Results from COGNIS Randomized Clinical Trial.

Postnatal nutrition is essential for growth and neurodevelopment. We analyzed the influence of a new enriched-infant formula with bioactive compounds on growth, neurodevelopment, and visual function (VF) in healthy infants during their first 18 months of life. A total of 170 infants were randomized in the COGNIS randomized clinical trial (RCT) to receive a standard infant formula (SF = 85) or a new experimental infant formula supplemented with functional nutrients (EF = 85).

Visual evoked potentials in offspring born to mothers with overweight, obesity and gestational diabetes.

Background: Overweight, obesity, and gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy may negatively affect neurodevelopment in the offspring. However, the mechanisms are unclear and objective measures of neurodevelopment in infancy are scarce. We hypothesized that these maternal metabolic pathologies impair cortical visual evoked potentials (cVEPs), a proxy for visual and neuronal maturity.