Efficacy of BAFF inhibition and B-cell depletion in non-obese diabetic mice as a spontaneous model for Sjögren's disease.

Introduction: The therapeutic interest of targeting B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in Sjögren's disease (SjD) can be suspected from the results of two phase II clinical trials but has not been evaluated in an animal model of the disease. We aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of this strategy on dryness and salivary gland (SG) infiltrates in the NOD mouse model of SjD.

Material And Methods: Female NOD mice between ages 10 and 18 weeks were treated with a BAFF-blocking monoclonal antibody, Sandy-2 or an isotype control.

French protocol for the diagnosis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Because Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a rare disease, and due to the significant prognostic impact of early management, a diagnosis confirmed by a physician with experience in SLE is recommended, for example from an expert center. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, existing manifestations should be identified in particular, renal involvement by an assessment of proteinuria, disease activity and severity should be determined, potential complications anticipated, associated diseases searched for, and the patient's socioprofessional and family context noted. Therapeutic management of SLE includes patient education on recognizing symptoms, understanding disease progression as well as when they should seek medical advice.

Systematic review: Methotrexate-A poorly understood and underused medication in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Methotrexate, an immunosuppressant used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) for over 30 years, remains underused compared to thiopurines.

Aims: To review the efficacy, safety, optimal dosing and delivery regimens of methotrexate in adults with IBD.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies involving patients with IBD treated with methotrexate from inception to August 2023.

Clinical spectrum and outcome of Takayasu's arteritis in children.

Objectives: We aimed to compare clinical spectrum and outcome between adults and children with Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) in a European population.

Methods: We made a nationwide retrospective observational study between 1988 and 2019. All adult patients met the ACR diagnostic criteria for TAK and all children met the EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria for paediatric TAK.

Repurposing the Fibrosis-4 Score in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Data from the ESPOIR Cohort.

We aimed to evaluate the value of the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score as a prognostic factor in RA in the prospective ESPOIR cohort. We included patients from the ESPOIR cohort with a diagnosis of RA according to ACR/EULAR criteria. The formula for the FIB-4 score is as follows: [age (years) × aspartate transaminase level (U/L)]/[platelet count (10/L) × alanine aminotransferase level (U/L)].

Mind-body practices in chronic inflammatory arthritis.

Mind-body practices are complementary approaches recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). While these practices are very diverse, they all focus on the interaction between mind and body. These include mindful meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, sophrology, hypnosis and various relaxation techniques.

Can efficacy and safety data from clinical trials of rituximab in RA be extrapolated? Insights from 1984 patients from the AIR-PR Registry.

Objectives: To investigate whether the efficacy and safety data from drug-registration trials can be extrapolated to real-life RA patients receiving RTX.

Methods: The 'AutoImmunity and Rituximab' (AIR-PR) registry is a French multicentre, prospective cohort of RA patients treated with RTX in a real-life setting. We compared treatment responses at 12 months and serious adverse events (AEs) between eligible and non-eligible patients, by retrieving the eligibility criteria of the three rituximab-registration trials.

Validity Evidence of a Screening Tool for Early Detection of Clinical Crisis-Related Anxiety Amongst Medical Students.

Psychological distress among students is a growing concern in medical education, even more so with the advent of COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety is among students' mental health issues. High and persistent anxiety has many negative impacts on students' academic and personal life.

A prospective survey on therapeutic inertia in psoriatic arthritis (OPTI'PsA).

Objectives: Clinical inertia, or therapeutic inertia (TI), is the medical behaviour of not initiating or intensifying treatment when recommended by clinical recommendations. To our knowledge, our survey is the first to assess TI around psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: Eight hundred and twenty-five French rheumatologists were contacted via email between January and March 2021 and invited to complete an online questionnaire consisting of seven clinical vignettes: five cases ('oligoarthritis', 'enthesitis', 'polyarthritis', 'neoplastic history', 'cardiovascular risk') requiring treatment OPTImization, and two 'control' cases (distal interphalangeal arthritis, atypical axial involvement) not requiring any change of treatment-according to the most recent PsA recommendations.

Association Between Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Gene Overexpression and Risk of Lymphoma in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Objective: We undertook this study to analyze whole blood gene expression and to investigate the role of B cell genes in primary Sjögren's syndrome-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma (primary SS-NHL).

Methods: Peripheral whole blood samples were collected from 345 well-phenotyped patients with primary SS enrolled in the prospective Assessment of Systemic Signs and Evolution in Sjögren's Syndrome (ASSESS) cohort. Transcriptomic analysis was performed using human Clariom S Arrays (Affymetrix).

Identification of new candidate drugs for primary Sjögren's syndrome using a drug repurposing transcriptomic approach.

Objectives: To date, no immunomodulatory drug has demonstrated its efficacy in primary SS (pSS). We sought to analyse potential commonalities between pSS transcriptomic signatures and signatures of various drugs or specific knock-in or knock-down genes.

Methods: Gene expression from peripheral blood samples of patients with pSS was compared with that of healthy controls in two cohorts and three public databases.

Chronic stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein does not trigger autoimmunity.

Autoimmune manifestations were reported in people infected with SARS-CoV-2. Repetitive exposure of mice to foreign antigen may lead to the onset of autoimmunity. We therefore investigated whether repetitive exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein could result in autoimmunity.

Sex influence on outcomes of patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: a EUSTAR database analysis.

Objective: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. We aimed to investigate the impact of sex on SSc-ILD.

Methods: EUSTAR SSc patients with radiologically confirmed ILD and available percentage predicted forced vital capacity (%pFVC) were included.

Excess of Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 After the First Wave of the Pandemic.

Introduction: To compare the time distribution of initial COVID-19 among patients with self-reported post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).

Methods: We compared the distribution of the date of the reported initial COVID-19 among patients with self-reported PASC and the COVID-19 cases in France between the first wave (January 1-May 11, 2020) and the later period (May 12, 2020-June 30, 2021) using the chi-squared test. COVID-19 cases in France were assessed using previous modeling of COVID-19 burden in France for the first time period, and positive RT-PCR testing for the second time period.

Fatigue is independently associated with disease activity assessed using the Physician Global Assessment but not the SLEDAI in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To analyse whether reported fatigue, one of the most challenging manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), may bias the assessment of disease activity in SLE according to the Physician Global Assessment (PGA).

Methods: Patients from the Lupus BioBank of the upper Rhein database, a cross-sectional multicentre collection of detailed clinical and biological data from patients with SLE, were included. Patients had to fulfil the 1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE and the PGA (0-3 scale) at the time of inclusion had to be available.