Publications by authors named "Tiago Meirinhos"
Background: Case reports suggest that calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies (CGRP mAbs) may trigger inflammatory flares in patients with autoimmune diseases.
Case Description: A 56-year-old woman with a history of severe migraines, experienced improvement in migraine frequency and intensity after starting fremanezumab 225 mg monthly. However, three months into treatment, she developed symmetric inflammatory polyarthralgias.
CheckAP: Prevalence of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and performance evaluation of the EARP questionnaire in the population of Portuguese patients with psoriasis followed in a dermatology setting.
ARP Rheumatol
January 2025
Background: The percentage of Portuguese psoriasis patients with psoriatic arthritis is unknown but musculoskeletal complaints related to PsA affect up to a third of patients. Dermatologists can identify early PsA as skin symptoms often precede joint symptoms in 80% of patients. Efficient and easy to perform screening tools are needed to help dermatologists effectively discriminate between Pso and PsA patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is prevalent in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and linked to higher mortality; this study assesses antifibrotics nintedanib and pirfenidone's real-world effectiveness and safety in RA-ILD patients.
- A multicenter observational study included 40 RA-ILD patients, primarily treated with nintedanib; data on demographics, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), and adverse events (AEs) were collected and analyzed.
- Results showed that antifibrotics halted the decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) and total lung capacity (TLC) after initiation, but diffusion capacity continued to decline, with 40% of patients experiencing adverse events.
Pain is a common feature of most rheumatic diseases and it is often the main reason for the patient to seek for a clinical appointment. Chronic pain has a major impact on patient's quality of life, being frequently associated with functional incapacity, sleep and mood disorders. This leads to absenteeism and heavy consumption of health resources, both representing huge burdens on national economy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess longterm effectiveness of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) registered in the Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register, exposed to at least 1 TNFi, prospectively followed between 2001 and 2017.
Methods: Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed for first-, second-, and third-line TNFi. Responses included European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria, Disease Activity Index for Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), minimal disease activity (MDA), and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) at 3 and 6 months.
The prevalence of auto-antibodies associated to pulmonary arterial hypertension in scleroderma patients was reviewed, based on reports cited in two major scientific databases. Data were collected on the following types of antibodies: antinuclear, anti-double-stranded DNA, anticentromere, anti-CENP-A, anti-CENP-B, anti-bicaudal D2, anti-nucleolar, anti-Scl-70 (anti-topoisomerase I), anti-topoisomerase II α, anti-RNP, anti-U1RNP, anti-U3RNP, anti-RNA polymerase III, anti-Th/To, anti-histone, antiphospholipid, anti-PmScl, anti-Sm, anti SSA (anti-Ro),anti SSB (La), anti-Ro52 (TRIM 21), anti-Ku, anti-B23, anti-RuvBL1, anti-RuvBL2, anti-fibrin bound tissue plasminogen activator, anti-endothelial cell, anti-phosphatidylserine-prothrombin complex, anti-endothelin-1 type A receptor, anti-angiotensin II type 1 receptor, anti‑carbonic anhydrase II, anti-fibroblast, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, anti-4-sulfated N-Acetyl-lactosamine, class I and II anti-human leukocyte antigen. Auto-antibodies were shown by different authors to be associated to this condition, with different prevalence values for each type of auto-antibody.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In the last years, the global context of medical education and Medical Residency programs in Portugal suffered substantial changes. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate and characterize medical residents ́ satisfaction with medical residency programs in Portugal and to identify features that could be improved.
Material And Methods: We utilized as model the survey Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure that has been developed in the United Kingdom and is speci cally targeted to medical residents.
Introduction: Children and adolescents with systemic rheumatic diseases have an increased risk of infections. Although some infections are vaccine-preventable, immunization among patients with juvenile rheumatic diseases is suboptimal, partly due to some doubts that still persist regarding its efficacy and safety in this patient population.
Objectives: To review the available evidence regarding the immunological response and the safety of vaccination in children and adolescents with systemic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (SIRD).
Article Synopsis
- Biotechnological drugs are vital for treating rheumatic patients, and with patent expirations, biosimilars—cheaper versions of original drugs—are being developed, albeit without being exact replicas due to their complex nature.
- The Portuguese Society of Rheumatology issued a position statement on biosimilars, emphasizing the need for careful regulation and oversight in their use.
- Key recommendations include opposing automatic substitution of original drugs with biosimilars, advocating for certain prescription practices, and calling for the monitoring of patients treated with biosimilars to ensure safety and efficacy.