Depression in systemic lupus erythematosus: A manifestation of microcirculation dysfunction?

Objectives: Depression is highly prevalent among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Brain hypoperfusion in neuropsychiatric SLE patients might be associated with emotional difficulties. However, no previous study examined possible associations of depression with brain oxygenation during a mild physical stress in non-neuropsychiatric SLE patients.

Skin microcirculation dynamics are impaired in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and no cardiovascular comorbidities.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Microvascular endothelial dysfunction contributes to the development of vascular injury and subsequent CVD. We hypothesised that RA patients exhibit blunted microvascular reactivity regardless of CVD risk factors and investigated potential associations with coronary microvascular perfusion and surrogate markers of CVD.

Blunted cerebral oxygenation during exercise in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Objectives: Subclinical brain lesions have been reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Advanced neuroimaging techniques have revealed microstructural and microvascular alterations. Most studies examining structural or functional brain abnormalities were performed either at rest or during a mental task.

Skin microvascular function, as assessed with laser speckle contrast imaging, is impaired in untreated essential and masked hypertension.

Skin microcirculation has been proposed as a model of generalized microvascular function. Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a novel, noninvasive method to assess skin microvascular function (SMF). To date, SMF data in hypertension are conflicting, and no study with LSCI exists.

Skin microvascular dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with and without cardiovascular risk factors.

Objectives: Patients with SLE have increased cardiovascular mortality. Alterations in both macro- and micro-circulation have been associated with cardiovascular disease. We sought to assess skin microvascular function by using laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) in patients with SLE, with and without cardiovascular disease and risk factors.

Hypertension in rheumatic diseases: prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates according to current hypertension guidelines.

Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Autoimmune rheumatic diseases confer increased cardiovascular risk, which is at least partially mediated by traditional cardiovascular risk factors. We examined the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates of hypertension in a large cohort of patients with rheumatic diseases.

Vascular acrosyndromes in young adult population. Definition of clinical symptoms and connections to joint hypermobility.

Objectives: Clinical recognition of vascular acrosyndromes is often challenging. The term Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is commonly overused to describe any form of cold-related disorder. This study aims to formally evaluate peripheral vascular symptoms affecting the population, aged ≤ 40 years, and identify any correlations to joint hypermobility (JH).

Association of Urinary Sodium Excretion with Vascular Damage: A Local Kidney Effect, Rather Than a Marker of Generalized Vascular Impairment.

Evidence suggests that increased salt consumption induces blood pressure- (BP) mediated organ damage, yet it remains unclear whether it reflects a generalized micro- and macrovascular malfunction independent of BP. We studied 197 newly diagnosed and never-treated individuals with hypertension, intermediate hypertensive phenotypes, and normal BP, classified by use of 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring. Sodium excretion and microalbuminuria were estimated in 24-hour urine samples, dermal capillary density was estimated from capillaroscopy, and arterial stiffness was estimated with pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx).

Urinary albumin excretion in rheumatoid arthritis is not associated with markers of vasculopathy in distal microvascular beds.

Objective: Increased UAE is a marker of generalized vascular damage in high-cardiovascular risk patients. However, it remains unknown whether it corresponds to a state of diffuse vasculopathy in high-risk patients with RA.

Methods: UAE was estimated in 24-hour urine samples in RA and non-RA individuals.

Association of galectin-3 with markers of myocardial function, atherosclerosis, and vascular fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Galectin-3 has emerged as a promising novel biomarker of cardiovascular fibrosis in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Hypothesis: We investigated whether galectin-3 correlates with markers of vascular fibrosis, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiac function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a disease accompanied by high cardiovascular risk.

Methods: RA and non-RA individuals underwent applanation tonometry, carotid ultrasound, and impedance cardiography, to obtain markers of arterial stiffness, subclinical atherosclerosis, and myocardial function, respectively.

Dermal capillary rarefaction as a marker of microvascular damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Association with inflammation and disorders of the macrocirculation.

Objective: Capillary rarefaction is observed in various cardiovascular diseases, yet it remains understudied in RA, a chronic inflammatory disease accompanied by excess cardiovascular risk. We quantified capillary density in RA patients and explored potential associations with macrocirculatory disorders, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk.

Methods: Dermal capillary density was assessed with nailfold capillaroscopy in RA and non-RA individuals, using specifically designed semiautomated software.

Association of non-invasive hemodynamics with arterial stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Arterial stiffness has emerged as a surrogate marker of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the role of myocardial performance and hemodynamic parameters in arterial stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is accompanied by excess cardiovascular risk.

Design: Arterial stiffness was evaluated with pulse wave velocity (PWV) in RA patients and controls.

Association of nocturnal blood pressure patterns with inflammation and central and peripheral estimates of vascular health in rheumatoid arthritis.

Predictors of adverse cardiovascular outcomes include elevated nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a non-dipping pattern. We investigated whether these factors correlate with systemic inflammation, cardiovascular risk, and markers of central and peripheral vascular damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a disease characterized by excess cardiovascular risk. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was applied in patients and controls.

Retinal vessel morphology in rheumatoid arthritis: Association with systemic inflammation, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular risk.

Objective: Quantification of retinal vessel morphology has emerged as a marker of cardiovascular health. We examined retinal microvascular diameters in RA, particularly in regard to systemic inflammation, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular risk.

Methods: Retinal images from RA patients and controls were processed using computerized software, to obtain CRAE and CRVE and AVR.

Subendocardial viability ratio in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: comparison with healthy controls and identification of prognostic factors.

Cardiac involvement is common in rheumatoid arthritis. Subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR) is a non-invasive measure of microvascular coronary perfusion, yet it remains unclear whether it is affected in rheumatoid arthritis patients. We additionally sought predictors of SEVR in rheumatoid arthritis among a wide range of disease-related parameters, cardiac and hemodynamic factors, and markers of atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, and endothelial dysfunction.

Safety profile of repeated rituximab cycles in unselected rheumatoid arthritis patients: a long-term, prospective real-life study.

Objectives: To evaluate the long-term safety of rituximab (RTX) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in daily clinical practice.

Methods: This was a multicentre (17 Greek Rheumatology sites), prospective, long-term, pharmacovigilance study of patients with moderate to severe RA and an inadequate response or intolerance to ≥1 anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents. Adverse events (AEs) were recorded and collected prospectively every 2-6 months.

Impaired metabolic profile is a predictor of capillary rarefaction in a population of hypertensive and normotensive individuals.

Capillary rarefaction is typically encountered in essential hypertension, yet identification of factors interfering with this phenomenon remains substantially underinvestigated. We examined whether components of metabolic profile (dyslipidemia, insulin resistance), inflammatory (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), and angiogenic (vascular endothelial growth factor) factors are implicated in this phenomenon in a population of newly diagnosed, never-treated hypertensive patients and normotensive controls. Nailfold capillary density was estimated with nailfold capillaroscopy using specifically designed software.

Predictors of impaired quality of life in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Quality of life (QoL) is a complex outcome and rheumatologic patients typically exhibit several comorbidities with a negative impact. In this study, we analyzed with respect to QoL for the first time a wide range of physical and psychological factors, including individual, clinical and disease-related parameters, mental health disorders, sexual dysfunction, and cardiovascular comorbidities among consecutive rheumatologic patients. QoL was evaluated using the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D) utility index.

Capillary rarefaction as an index for the microvascular assessment of hypertensive patients.

Arterial hypertension represents a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity worldwide through its detrimental effects on target organs. Therefore, the early identification and appropriate management of high-risk patients emerges as extremely important. Given that the microvasculature is subject to a series of morphological and functional changes under the continuous effect of high blood pressure, research over the last years has gradually moved toward the identification of specific microcirculatory alterations that may serve as early prognostic markers of cardiovascular risk.

Association between mental health disorders and sexual dysfunction in patients suffering from rheumatic diseases.

Introduction: Sexual functioning may be notoriously affected in patients suffering from rheumatic diseases, yet the extent to which physical and/or psychological factors contribute to sexual dysfunction in this particular group of patients remains underinvestigated.

Aim: This cross-sectional study aimed at investigating whether an association exists between psychological status (anxiety, depression) and sexual dysfunction, independently of other physical factors, in patients with rheumatic disorders.

Methods: A total of 509 consecutive rheumatologic patients, aged 54.

Accumulation of microvascular target organ damage in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients.

Early identification of hypertensive target organ damage (TOD) emerges as important for global cardiovascular risk assessment. Retinal vascular alterations, capillary rarefaction, and microalbuminuria represent different forms of microvascular TOD. However, data regarding their concomitant presence in the early stages of hypertension, the association of the number of affected organs with cardiovascular risk, and aldosterone effect on multiple TOD are lacking.

Depression, anxiety, and quality of life in a large cohort of patients with rheumatic diseases: common, yet undertreated.

A growing amount of literature has explored mainly the role of depression (and/or anxiety) in patients with rheumatic disorders. We aimed at determining the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and their association with quality of life among patients attending a rheumatology clinic, focusing on data regarding concomitant psychiatric treatment. Depression, anxiety, and quality of life were assessed using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire, respectively.