Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are associated with aberrant inflammatory circuits in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Introduction: Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are markers for several systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD).

Objective: To assess whether anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are related to abnormalities in inflammatory circuits.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of consecutive outpatients with SARD.

Patients with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis have a different phenotype than seropositive patients: A clinical and ultrasound study.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease whose clinical phenotype largely depends on the presence of rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). Seronegative RA appears to be a less severe disease, but this remains controversial. This study aimed to assess whether seronegative patients show a less severe disease than seropositive patients.

Bioprosthesis in aortic valve replacement: long-term inflammatory response and functionality.

Background: The evaluation of long-term inflammatory response and function in postoperative patients with aortic valve replacement (AVR) deserves special analysis because it is important to try to prevent reoperation and improve durability and functionality of the prostheses. It is our objective METHODS: In this study, we included a cohort of patients with aortic valve damage treated by AVR with mechanical prosthesis, bio prosthesis and we included a control group.

Results: We found that IL-4 and osteopontin levels were higher in patients with mechanical vs biological prostheses (p=0.

Modification of Serum Natriuretic Peptide Profile and Echocardiographic Parameters After Surgical Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion/Resection During Mitral Valve Surgery.

Background: Being a well-recognised source of cardiac embolism, the left atrial (LA) appendage (LAA) is frequently excluded during mitral valve (MV) surgery. However, the LAA is also a source of cardiac hormones and a new drug (sacubitril), which beneficially interferes with hormonal imbalance during heart failure, leads to re-evaluation of the LAA for the maintenance of adequate hormone production in the heart. We compared the effects of LAA surgical resection/exclusion in patients with MV replacement (MVR) on natriuretic peptides (NPs) and related enzymes versus similar patients, in whom the LAA was preserved.

Plasma let-7i, miR-16, and miR-221 levels as candidate biomarkers for the assessment of ankylosing spondylitis in Mexican patients naïve to anti-TNF therapy.

Novel biomarkers are needed for the diagnosis and clinical assessment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Our objective was to investigate plasma microRNAs differentially expressed between AS patients and controls and to evaluate their potential as biomarkers in Mexican subjects. A cross-sectional study including 15 AS patients naïve to anti-TNF therapy and 13 controls was performed.

Immunologic Responses in Biological and Mechanical Valve Prostheses: Inflammation and Functionality Are Not Always Related.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the inflammatory response in patients with aortic and/or mitral prostheses, and to correlate the level of inflammatory markers with prosthesis functionality.

Methods: A total of 48 patients with biological or mechanical prostheses was included in the study, in which levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-1, -4, and -6, interferon-gamma (IFNγ), osteopontin (OPN), intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), endothelin-1 and C-reactive protein were analyzed. Functionality of the prosthesis was evaluated using transthoracic echocardiography at three years after surgery.

Serum levels of adipokines in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: a pilot study.

Adipokines are cytokines not only regulating metabolic and endocrine activities, but also modulating inflammatory and immune responses in several clinical settings, including autoimmunity. This study was aimed to evaluate whether serum adipokine levels may be useful as markers of disease activity in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). Adiponectin, leptin, chemokine C-C motif ligand-2 (CCL2), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were measured in the serum of all participants.