Effectiveness and Predictors of Long-Term Treatment Response to Tofacitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort: General Analysis and Focus on High-Cardiovascular-Risk Subgroup-A Multicenter Study.

The treatment landscape for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has evolved significantly with the introduction of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi), such as Tofacitinib (TOFA), which offer a new therapeutic option for patients who have failed or are intolerant to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs). Safety concerns, particularly related to cardiovascular and cancer risks, prompted a need for additional investigation in real-world clinical settings. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and predictors of response to TOFA in two subpopulations of RA patients, categorized by differing cardiovascular risk profiles.

Multicenter observational study on the efficacy of selective Janus Kinase-1 inhibitor upatacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Upadacitinib (UPA) is a selective, reversible Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) approved for the treatment of RA. However, there is still no solid evidence on the long-term efficacy of UPA in treated patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of UPA to obtain remission or low disease activity (LDA) in a series of UPA patients in patients with RA after 6 and 12 months of treatment in a real-world setting.

Osteoimmunology of Spondyloarthritis.

The mechanisms underlying the development of bone damage in the context of spondyloarthritis (SpA) are not completely understood. To date, a considerable amount of evidence indicates that several developmental pathways are crucially involved in osteoimmunology. The present review explores the biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between inflammatory dysregulation, structural progression, and osteoporosis in this diverse family of conditions.

Efficacy of a gluten-free diet in reducing the widespread pain index and symptom severity scale in patients affected by fibromyalgia.

Objective: Dietary interventions to improve fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms reported conflicting results. This study aimed to treat FM patients with a gluten-free diet (GFD), alternated with a non-restricted gluten-containing diet, followed by a rechallenge of the GFD.

Methods: Twenty postmenopausal women with FM and no history of celiac disease participated.

Long-Term Retention Rate of Tofacitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Italian Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

: Tofacitinib (TOFA) was the first Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) to be approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, data on the retention rate of TOFA therapy are still far from definitive. : The goal of this study is to add new real-world data on the TOFA retention rate in a cohort of RA patients followed for a long period of time.

Therapeutic Effects of Apremilast on Enthesitis and Dactylitis in Real Clinical Setting: An Italian Multicenter Study.

Introduction: Enthesitis and dactylitis are difficult-to-treat features of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), leading to disability and affecting quality of life.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate enthesitis (using the Leed enthesitis index (LEI)) and dactylitis at 6 and 12 months in patients treated with apremilast.

Methods: Patients affected by PsA from fifteen Italian rheumatological referral centers were screened.

The Third Dose of BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine Does Not "Boost" Disease Flares and Adverse Events in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Data on the risk of adverse events (AEs) and disease flares in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) after the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine are scarce. The aim of this multicenter, prospective study is to analyze the clinical and immunological safety of BNT162b2 vaccine in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients followed-up from the first vaccine cycle to the third dose. The vaccine showed an overall good safety profile with no patient reporting serious AEs, and a low percentage of total AEs at both doses (40/78 (51.

Booster dose of SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccines strengthens the specific immune response of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A prospective multicenter longitudinal study.

Objectives: To characterize the kinetics of humoral and T-cell responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-patients followed up to 4-6 weeks (T3) after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster dose.

Methods: Health care workers (HCWs, n = 38) and patients with RA (n = 52) completing the messenger RNA vaccination schedule were enrolled at T3. In each cohort, 25 subjects were sampled after 5 weeks (T1) and 6 months (T2) from the first vaccine dose.

Accuracy of QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 research use only assay and characterization of the CD4 and CD8 T cell-SARS-CoV-2 response: comparison with a homemade interferon-γ release assay.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to characterize the SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response detected by the QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 research use only assay in terms of accuracy and T cell subsets involved compared with a homemade interferon (IFN)-γ release assay (IGRA).

Methods: We evaluated T cell response by the standardized QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 tubes (antigen [Ag]1 and Ag2) and a homemade IGRA quantifying IFN-γ response to SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides (homemade-IGRA-SPIKE test). We evaluated the T cell subsets mediating the specific response using flow cytometry.

Apremilast retention rate in clinical practice: observations from an Italian multi-center study.

Objective: There are few real-world setting studies focused on apremilast effectiveness (i.e., retention rate) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Biclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome.

The case of a patient suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus with associated antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is described. In this patient, on protein electrophoresis, two monoclonal immunoglobulin G λ and k peaks were seen, defining a condition of biclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (BGUS). This condition is extremely rare, especially in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Hepatitis B (HBV) reactivation in patients receiving biologic therapy for chronic inflammatory diseases in clinical practice.

Introduction And Aim: Biologic treatment - particularly with the anti-TNF molecules - is frequently used in clinical practice to treat the severe form for both chronic rheumatic diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. The immunosuppression induced by biologic therapies increases the risk of infections, including tuberculosis, as well as hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation may occur in inactive carriers or occult HBV infection (OBI) subjects during biologic therapy. This study aimed to update data on HBV prevalence and reactivation in patients receiving biologic therapy for either chronic rheumatic diseases or IBD, and to describe their management in clinical practice.

Efficacy of gluten-free diet in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Recent research has increasingly shown that depending on the foods we eat, gut flora may be affected by an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response, thus playing an important role in inflammatory autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gastroenterological disorders. Gluten seems to be a glycoprotein with a clinically relevant inflammatory effect. Several observational studies and anecdotal cases reported a correlation between gluten and various diseases, including autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Vitamin D Signaling in Gastro-Rheumatology: From Immuno-Modulation to Potential Clinical Applications.

In the last decades, the comprehension of the pathophysiology of bone metabolism and its interconnections with multiple homeostatic processes has been consistently expanded. The branch of osteoimmunology specifically investigating the link between bone and immune system has been developed. Among molecular mediators potentially relevant in this field, vitamin D has been recently pointed out, and abnormalities of the vitamin D axis have been described in both in vitro and in vivo models of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and arthritis.

Helicobacter pylori and Upper Endoscopy in Systemic Sclerosis: A Cross-sectional Study in the Real World.

Background/aims: A role for Helicobacter pylori in triggering systemic sclerosis (SSc) has been proposed, but data are conflicting. In previous studies, infection has been generally searched for by using serology. We designed this study to assess H.

Psoriatic spondyloarthritis and Sjögren syndrome: a casual association?

The association between Sjögren syndrome (SS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is rare. Herein, we report a case of SS in a PsA patient with the mutilans variant. A 67-year old woman developed PsA with progressive articular destruction up to the typical deformation of 'telescoping fingers' in the distal phalanges.

Multicenter Validation of the DETAIL Questionnaire for the Screening of Spondyloarthritis in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Objective: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is among the most frequent extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In this study, we aimed to validate the DETection of Arthritis in Inflammatory boweL diseases (DETAIL) questionnaire in a multicenter cohort of patients with IBD enrolled at 11 gastroenterology units.

Methods: From October 2018 to March 2019, consecutive adult patients with IBD, either Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis, independently filled out the DETAIL questionnaire in the outpatient waiting room.

One-year effectiveness, retention rate, and safety of secukinumab in ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis: a real-life multicenter study.

Background: Secukinumab (SEC) is effective for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in randomized trials, but real-life data are lacking.

Research Design And Methods: Real-life, prospective observational study on 169 consecutive outpatients at baseline (T0) and at 6 (T6) and 12 months (T12) after starting SEC (39 AS, 23%; 130 PsA, 77%).

Results: Significant improvement was seen at T6 and T12 for all clinical variables, including TJC, SJC, ESR, CRP, DAPSA, ASDAS-CRP, and BASDAI, as well as in patient-reported outcomes like VAS-pain.

Integrated gastroenterology and rheumatology ambulatory: an innovative approach for enteropathic spondyloarthritis early diagnosis.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may develop rheumatic diseases, particularly enterophatic spondyloarthritis (ESpA). Similarly, an IBD may develop in patients with SpA. Management of these patients in a dedicated ambulatory could be advantageous.

Demographic and clinical differences between ankylosing spondylitis and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis: results from a multicentre retrospective study in the Lazio region of Italy.

Objectives: Axial spondyloarthritides (axSpA) are a group of disorders that share similar pathogenetic mechanisms and clinical picture. The aim of this retrospective multicentric study was to evaluate demographic and clinical differences between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA) patients.

Methods: Patients from 7 rheumatological centres in the Lazio region of Italy were included from January 1st, 2010 to April 1st, 2018, if they had undergone pelvic and/or spine radiographs or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Sex Differences in Response to TNF-Inhibiting Drugs in Patients With Spondyloarthropathies or Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic inflammatory diseases characterized by an aberrant immune response and inflammation with a key role for TNF in their pathogenesis. Accordingly, TNF-inhibiting therapy (TNFi) has dramatically improved the management of these diseases. However, about 30% of patients discontinue TNFi for lack of response, loss of response, and side effects and/or adverse events.

New onset or worsening of psoriasis following biologic therapy: A case series.

Biologic therapies may cause so-called "paradoxical side-effects," that is, the onset or exacerbation of new symptoms/diseases for which biological treatment should be effective. Among these, psoriatic skin lesions have been described. We report a case series of ten patients with either new onset (seven cases) or worsening (three cases) of psoriasis occurring during a biologic therapy.