Tocilizumab in cranial and extracranial giant cell arteritis: a national multicenter study of 471 cases.

Objective: The spectrum of giant cell arteritis (GCA) includes different vascular phenotypes. Tocilizumab (TCZ) is the only biologic currently approved regardless these phenotypes. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of TCZ in different phenotypes.

Effectiveness of janus kinase inhibitors in relapsing giant cell arteritis in real-world clinical practice and review of the literature.

Background: A substantial proportion of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) relapse despite standard therapy with glucocorticoids, methotrexate and tocilizumab. The Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signalling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of GCA and JAK inhibitors (JAKi) could be a therapeutic alternative. We evaluated the effectiveness of JAKi in relapsing GCA patients in a real-world setting and reviewed available literature.

Scurvy. A forgotten pseudovasculitis.

Scurvy is a nutritional disease caused by ascorbic acid (vitamin C) deficiency. Althought currently it is a rare disease, we should considerer it in the differential diagnosis of purpura and arthritis in patients with restrictive diets. We present the case of a 49-year-old man with a history of a nutritional disorder presented to our hospital with generalized purpura and hemarthros.

Cranial and extracranial giant cell arteritis do not exhibit differences in the IL6 -174 G/C gene polymorphism.

Objectives: Since interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pivotal proinflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis (GCA), we aimed to determine the potential association of the functional IL6 -174 G/C polymorphism with GCA as well as if the single base change variation at the promoter region in the human IL-6 gene may account for differences in the clinical spectrum of GCA between cranial and extracranial large vessel vasculitis (LVV)-GCA.

Methods: The IL6 -174 G/C polymorphism (rs1800795) was genotyped in 191 patients with biopsy-proven GCA who had typical cranial manifestations of the disease, 109 patients with extracranial LVV-GCA, without cranial ischaemic manifestations of GCA, and 877 ethnically matched unaffected controls. A comparative study was carried out between patients with cranial and extracranial LVV-GCA and controls.

Long-term follow-up of certolizumab pegol in uveitis due to immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: multicentre study of 80 patients.

Objectives: To evaluate effectiveness and safety of certolizumab pegol (CZP) in uveitis due to immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID).

Methods: Multicentre study of CZP-treated patients with IMID uveitis refractory to conventional immunosuppressant. Effectiveness was assessed through the following ocular parameters: best-corrected visual acuity, anterior chamber cells, vitritis, macular thickness and retinal vasculitis.

Treat-to-target in rheumatoid arthritis: a real-world study of the application and impact of treat-to-target within the wider context of patient management, patient centricity and advanced therapy use in Europe.

Background: While treat-to-target (T2T) is endorsed for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), data on the degree of implementation in clinical practice are limited. This study investigated the use of T2T for RA in a real-world setting across Europe.

Methods: The Adelphi RA Disease-Specific Programme was a point-in-time survey of rheumatologists and their consulting patients with RA conducted between January and October 2020 in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

Cranial and extracranial large-vessel giant cell arteritis share a genetic pattern of interferon-gamma pathway.

Objectives: Two main different clinical phenotypes of giant cell arteritis (GCA) have been described, the classic cranial pattern and the extracranial large-vessel (LV) pattern. Since interferon gamma (IFNG) has shown to be a pivotal cytokine in the pathophysiology of GCA, our aim was to evaluate for the first time the influence of IFNG and IFNG receptor 1 (IFNGR1) polymorphisms in the different clinical phenotypes of GCA.

Methods: Two IFNG polymorphisms (rs2069718 G/A and rs1861493 A/G) and one polymorphism in IFNGR1 (rs1327474 G/A) were genotyped in 191 patients with biopsy-proven cranial GCA, 109 with extracranial LV-GCA and 490 healthy controls.

Optimisation of tocilizumab therapy in giant cell arteritis. A multicentre real-life study of 471 patients.

Objectives: Tocilizumab (TCZ) is the only biologic therapy approved for giant cell arteritis (GCA). There is general agreement on the initial/maintenance dose, duration of TCZ therapy is not well established. In GiACTA trial, after one year on TCZ, most patients had GCA relapse after withdrawal.

Tocilizumab in visual involvement of giant cell arteritis: a multicenter study of 471 patients.

Background: Visual involvement is the most feared complication of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Information on the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ) for this complication is scarce and controversial.

Objective: We assessed a wide series of GCA treated with TCZ, to evaluate its role in the prevention of new visual complications and its efficacy when this manifestation was already present before the initiation of TCZ.

Vascular endothelial growth factor haplotypes are associated with severe ischaemic complications in giant cell arteritis regardless of the disease phenotype.

Objectives: To determine whether functional vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) polymorphisms influence the expression of the clinical phenotype of giant cell arteritis (GCA). We also evaluated whether VEGF polymorphism is associated with the development of severe ischaemic manifestations in patients with GCA regardless of the clinical phenotype, classic cranial GCA or predominantly extracranial GCA large vessel vasculitis (LVV).

Methods: VEGF rs833061 T/C, rs2010963 G/C and rs3025039 C/T polymorphisms were genotyped in 185 patients with biopsy-proven cranial GCA, 105 with extracranial LVV-GCA and 490 healthy controls.

Tocilizumab in refractory Caucasian Takayasu's arteritis: a multicenter study of 54 patients and literature review.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in Caucasian patients with refractory Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) in clinical practice.

Methods: A multicenter study of Caucasian patients with refractory TAK who received TCZ. The outcome variables were remission, glucocorticoid-sparing effect, improvement in imaging techniques, and adverse events.

A family-based study to identify genetic biomarkers of fibromyalgia: consideration of patients' subgroups.

Objectives: Evidence from genome-wide and candidate gene association studies, familial aggregation and linkage analyses demonstrate the genetic contribution to fibromyalgia (FM) disease. This study aimed to identify genetic biomarkers of FM and its related comorbid disorders, by exploring 41 polymorphisms potentially involved in FM pathogenesis in families with at least one patient with FM.

Methods: Core symptoms were assessed, and blood samples collected from 556 patients with FM and 395 healthy relatives.

The presence of both HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-B*15:01 increases the susceptibility to cranial and extracranial giant cell arteritis.

Objectives: To determine if patients with the predominant extracranial large-vessel-vasculitis (LVV) pattern of giant cell arteritis (GCA) have a distinctive HLA-B association, different from that reported in biopsy-proven cranial GCA patients. In a further step we assessed if the combination of HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 alleles confers an increased risk for GCA susceptibility, either for the cranial and extracranial LVV phenotypes.

Methods: A total of 184 patients with biopsy-proven cranial GCA, 105 with LVV-GCA and 486 healthy controls were included in our study.

Tocilizumab in refractory giant cell arteritis. Monotherapy versus combined therapy with conventional immunosuppressive drugs. Observational multicenter study of 134 patients.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of TCZ in monotherapy (TCZ) vs. combined with conventional immunosuppressive drugs (TCZ) in Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) in a clinical practice scenario.

Methods: Multicenter study of 134 patients with refractory GCA.

Sarcopenia, immune-mediated rheumatic diseases, and nutritional interventions.

Introduction: Sarcopenia is defined by a loss of muscle mass and function associated with mortality, decreased physical performance, falls, and disability. Since chronic inflammation and decreased physical activity are risk factors for developing sarcopenia, it is critical to assess the role of sarcopenia in immune-mediated rheumatic diseases (IMRDs). Moreover, nutritional interventions are emerging as key modifiable and affordable options to improve physical performance in sarcopenia.

Apremilast in refractory orogenital ulcers and other manifestations of Behçet's disease. A national multicentre study of 51 cases in clinical practice.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to assess the efficacy of apremilast (APR) in the management of refractory oral and/or genital ulcers in patients with Behçet's disease (BD).

Methods: National multicentre open-label observational study on BD patients with recurrent oral and/or genital ulcers. In all cases orogenital ulcers were refractory to conventional therapy.

[Ethics Committee experience during COVID-19 emergency. A brief report.].

Objective: The health crisis caused by COVID-19 required the prompt launch of research in order to generate scientific evidence pertaining to the new disease oriented to control its devastating effects and continuous spread. Therefore, it was essential to adapt the work flow of Research Ethics Committees, to prioritize and to accelerate the evaluation of projects related to this disease.

Methods: This work analyses the evaluation conducted by our Regional Ethics Committees during the initial period of the health emergency (between 13th March and 28th May 2020).

Abatacept in interstitial lung disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis: national multicenter study of 263 patients.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of abatacept (ABA) in RA patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) (RA-ILD).

Methods: This was an observational, multicentre study of RA-ILD patients treated with at least one dose of ABA. ILD was diagnosed by high-resolution CT (HRCT).

Cranial and extracranial giant cell arteritis share similar HLA-DRB1 association.

Objective: To determine whether giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients with the typical pattern of cranial ischemic manifestations and those with the extracranial large-vessel-vasculitis (LVV)-GCA phenotype exhibit different HLA-DRB1 association.

Methods: 178 biopsy-proven GCA patients who had cranial ischemic features but no LVV manifestations, 100 patients with LVV-GCA without cranial ischemic manifestations and 486 ethnically matched healthy controls were recruited. All patients and controls were Spanish of European ancestry.

Biologic Therapy in Refractory Non-Multiple Sclerosis Optic Neuritis Isolated or Associated to Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases. A Multicenter Study.

We aimed to assess the efficacy of biologic therapy in refractory non-Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Optic Neuritis (ON), a condition more infrequent, chronic and severe than MS ON. This was an open-label multicenter study of patients with non-MS ON refractory to systemic corticosteroids and at least one conventional immunosuppressive drug. The main outcomes were Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) and both Macular Thickness (MT) and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).

Tocilizumab in giant cell arteritis: differences between the GiACTA trial and a multicentre series of patients from the clinical practice.

Objectives: A potential point of concern among clinicians is whether results derived from the clinical trials can be reasonably applied or generalised to a definable group of patients seen in real world. It can be the case of the GiACTA study that is a phase III randomised controlled trial of tocilizumab (TCZ) in giant cell arteritis (GCA). To address this question, we compared the clinical features and the responses to TCZ from the GiACTA trial patients with those from a series of GCA seen in the daily clinical practice.