Sustained DMARD-free remission in subgroups of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an analysis of two prospective cohorts with early arthritis.

Background: About 20% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis on disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can reach sustained DMARD-free remission. Nonetheless, the 2022 EULAR recommendations discourage complete cessation of DMARDs due to flare risk. The evidence behind this recommendation is obtained from trial populations using biological DMARDs, representing only a subgroup of the total population of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

[Prevalence of Bell's phenomenon and changes after surgery for aponeurotic ptosis].

Background: Ptosis surgery is common in oculoplastics, and its most threatening complication is corneal ulceration. Several factors have been associated with postoperative corneal disorders, such as the strength of the orbicularis muscle, the type of surgery performed, and the Bell's phenomenon reflex (BPR). The goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence of physiological BPR, absence of BPR, and presence of inverse BP in patients undergoing surgery for aponeurotic ptosis.

Continuous care during labor by maternity care assistants in the Netherlands vs care-as-usual: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Continuous support during labor has many benefits including lower use of obstetrical interventions. However, implementation remains limited. Insights into birth outcomes and peripartum costs are essential to assess whether continuous care by a maternity care assistant is a potentially (cost) effective program to provide for all women.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis presenting with mono- or oligo-arthritis and high VAS-ratings remain the most fatigued during 5 years of follow-up.

Objectives: The severity of fatigue in RA has improved very little in recent decades, leaving a large unmet need. Fortunately, not all RA patients suffer from persistent fatigue, but the subgroup of patients who suffer the most is insufficiently recognizable at diagnosis. As disease activity is partly coupled to fatigue, DAS components may associate with the course of fatigue.

Disentangling heterogeneity in contemporary undifferentiated arthritis - A large cohort study using latent class analysis.

Objectives: Undifferentiated arthritis(UA) is clinically heterogeneous and differs in outcomes ranging from spontaneous resolution to RA-development. Therefore, we hypothesized that subgroups exist within UA and we aimed to identify homogeneous groups based on clinical features, and thereafter to relate these groups to the outcomes spontaneous resolution and RA-development. These outcomes can only be studied in UA-patients in which DMARD-treatment does not influence the natural disease course; these cohorts are scarce.

Joint involvement in RA starts predominantly in the hands: functional, clinical and imaging studies in clinically suspect arthralgia and during progression to RA.

Objectives: It is unknown whether rheumatoid arthritis (RA) starts in hands or feet. To investigate this, we performed functional, clinical and imaging studies during progression from clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA) to RA. Additionally, we studied whether functional disabilities of hands/feet at CSA onset contribute to predicting RA development.

Towards a simplified fluid-sensitive MRI protocol in small joints of the hand in early arthritis patients: reliability between modified Dixon and regular Gadolinium enhanced TSE fat saturated MRI-sequences.

Objective: MRI of small joints plays an important role in the early detection and early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Despite its sensitivity to demonstrate inflammation, clinical use is hampered by accessibility, long scan time, intravenous contrast, and consequent high costs. To improve the feasibility of MRI implementation in clinical practice, we introduce a modified Dixon sequence, which does not require contrast and reduces total acquisition time to 6 min.

Machine learning identifies a profile of inadequate responder to methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Around 30% of patients with RA have an inadequate response to MTX. We aimed to use routine clinical and biological data to build machine learning models predicting EULAR inadequate response to MTX and to identify simple predictive biomarkers.

Methods: Models were trained on RA patients fulfilling the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria from the ESPOIR and Leiden EAC cohorts to predict the EULAR response at 9 months (± 6 months).

Intervention with methotrexate in patients with arthralgia at risk of rheumatoid arthritis to reduce the development of persistent arthritis and its disease burden (TREAT EARLIER): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept trial.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common autoimmune disease worldwide and requires long-term treatment to suppress inflammation. Currently, treatment is started when arthritis is clinically apparent. We aimed to evaluate whether earlier intervention, in the preceding phase of arthralgia and subclinical joint inflammation, could prevent the development of clinical arthritis or reduce the disease burden.

Sustained DMARD-free remission in rheumatoid arthritis - about concepts and moving towards practice.

Sustained DMARD-free remission (SDFR) is the best possible outcome in RA. It is characterized by sustained absence of clinical arthritis, which is accompanied by resolution of symptoms and restoration of normal physical functioning. Therefore it's the best proxy for cure in RA.

ACPA-negative and ACPA-positive RA patients achieving disease resolution demonstrate distinct patterns of MRI-detected joint-inflammation.

Objectives: Although sustained DMARD-free remission (SDFR; sustained absence of clinical-synovitis after DMARD-discontinuation) is increasingly achievable in RA, prevalence differs between ACPA-negative (40%) and ACPA-positive RA (5-10%). Additionally, early DAS remission (DAS4months<1.6) is associated with achieving SDFR in ACPA-negative, but not in ACPA-positive RA.

An ultrasound negative for subclinical synovitis in arthralgia patients: is it helpful in identifying those not developing arthritis?

Objective: To investigate the negative predictive value (NPV) of musculoskeletal US (MSUS) in arthralgia patients at risk for developing inflammatory arthritis.

Methods: An MSUS examination of hands and feet was performed in arthralgia patients at risk for inflammatory arthritis in four independent cohorts. Patients were followed for one-year on the development of inflammatory arthritis.

The effects of COVID-19 restrictions and other perinatal factors on women's sense of control during childbirth: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Restrictions around childbirth, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, could decrease maternal feelings of control during birth. The aim of this study was to compare the sense of control of women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic with women who gave birth before COVID-19. The secondary objective was to identify other factors independently associated with women's sense of control during birth.

Hand and foot MRI in contemporary undifferentiated arthritis: in which patients is MRI valuable to detect rheumatoid arthritis early? A large prospective study.

Objectives: Identifying patients that will develop RA among those presenting with undifferentiated arthritis (UA) remains a clinical dilemma. Although MRI is helpful according to EULAR recommendations, this has only been determined in UA patients not fulfilling 1987 RA criteria, while some of these patients are currently considered as RA because they fulfil the 2010 criteria. Therefore, we studied the predictive value of MRI for progression to RA in the current UA population, i.

Unraveling heterogeneity within ACPA-negative rheumatoid arthritis: the subgroup of patients with a strong clinical and serological response to initiation of DMARD treatment favor disease resolution.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a heterogeneous disease, as evidenced by the differences in long-term outcomes. This applies especially to anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA)-negative RA, where a proportion achieves sustained DMARD-free remission (SDFR; sustained absence of synovitis after DMARD cessation). Differentiation of RA patients who will achieve SDFR can guide personalized treatment/tapering strategies.

Undifferentiated arthritis: a changing population who did not benefit from enhanced disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug strategies-results from a 25 year longitudinal inception cohort.

Objectives: International guidelines stress timely DMARD initiation in early arthritis as well as when classification criteria are not yet fulfilled. Consequently, undifferentiated arthritis (UA) patients may be increasingly treated with DMARDs. Since UA is a diagnosis of exclusion, the introduction of the 2010 classification criteria presumably decreased the UA population, as former UA patients became regarded as RA.

Determining in which pre-arthritis stage HLA-shared epitope alleles and smoking exert their effect on the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: The human leukocyte antigen-shared epitope (HLA-SE) alleles and smoking are the most prominent genetic and environmental risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, at which pre-arthritis stage (asymptomatic/symptomatic) they exert their effect is unknown. We aimed to determine whether HLA-SE and smoking are involved in the onset of autoantibody positivity, symptoms (clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA)) and/or progression to clinical arthritis.

Comparison between 1.5T and 3.0T MRI: both field strengths sensitively detect subclinical inflammation of hand and forefoot in patients with arthralgia.

Objective: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of small joints sensitively detects inflammation. This inflammation, and tenosynovitis in particular, has been shown to predict rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development in arthralgia patients. These data have predominantly been acquired on 1.

CCT: continuous care trial - a randomized controlled trial of the provision of continuous care during labor by maternity care assistants in the Netherlands.

Background: In 2009, the Steering Committee for Pregnancy and Childbirth in the Netherlands recommended the implementation of continuous care during labor in order to improve perinatal outcomes. However, in current care, routine maternity caregivers are unable to provide this type of care, resulting in an implementation rate of less than 30%. Maternity care assistants (MCAs), who already play a nursing role in low risk births in the second stage of labor and in homecare during the postnatal period, might be able to fill this gap.

Early DAS response after DMARD-start increases probability of achieving sustained DMARD-free remission in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Sustained DMARD-free remission (SDFR) is increasingly achievable. The pathogenesis underlying SDFR development is unknown and patient characteristics at diagnosis poorly explain whether SDFR will be achieved. To increase the understanding, we studied the course of disease activity scores (DAS) over time in relation to SDFR development.

DMARD-free remission as novel treatment target in rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic literature review of achievability and sustainability.

Objectives: Although current treatment guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suggest tapering disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), it is unclear whether DMARD-free remission (DFR) is an achievable and sustainable outcome. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the literature to determine the prevalence and sustainability of DFR and evaluated potential predictors for DFR.

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in March 2019 in multiple databases.