Unlabelled: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by early generalized microangiopathy with disturbed angiogenesis. Endoglin gene (ENG) encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein which acts as an accessory receptor for the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, and is crucial for maintaining vascular integrity. A 6-base insertion in intron 7 (6bINS) of ENG has been reported to be associated with microvascular disturbance.
Objectives: Our objective was to investigate the relationship between 6bINS and the vascular complication pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in SSc in a French Caucasian population.
Methods: Two hundred eighty SSc cases containing 29/280 having PAH diagnosed by catheterism were compared with 140 patients with osteoarthritis. Genotyping was performed by polymerase-chain-reaction-based fluorescence and direct sequencing of genomic DNA.
Results: The polymorphism was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We observed a significant lower frequency of 6bINS allele in SSc patients with associated PAH compared with controls [10.3 vs 23.9%, P = 0.01; odds ratio (OR) 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15-0.89], and a trend in comparison with SSc patients without PAH (10.3 vs 20.3%, P = 0.05; OR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.19-1.08). Genotypes carrying allele 6bINS were also less frequent in SSc patients with PAH than in controls (20.7 vs 42.9%, P = 0.02).
Conclusions: Thus the frequency of 6bINS differs between SSc patients with or without PAH, suggesting the implication of ENG in this devastating vascular complication of SSc.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kel378 | DOI Listing |
ACR Open Rheumatol
January 2025
UTHealth Houston, Houston, Texas.
Objective: In systemic sclerosis (SSc), absent contractility (AC) rather than ineffective esophageal motility on manometry is associated with a severe esophageal and extraintestinal phenotype. We sought to determine whether slow esophageal transit on scintigraphy associates with a comparable clinical phenotype to that of AC on manometry, as scintigraphy may serve as a noninvasive approach to risk-stratify patients with SSc.
Methods: Clinical, demographic, and serologic features were compared between patients with and without delayed esophageal transit on scintigraphy.
Cells
January 2025
Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Tissue fibrosis results from a dysregulated and chronic wound healing response accompanied by chronic inflammation and angiogenesis. Regardless of the affected organ, fibrosis shares the following common hallmarks: the recruitment of immune cells, fibroblast activation/proliferation, and excessive extracellular matrix deposition. Chemokines play a pivotal role in initiating and advancing these fibrotic processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Chem Lab Med
January 2025
S.C. Analisi Chimico Cliniche e Microbiologiche, 159114 ASST Nord Milano , Ospedale Bassini, Cinisello Balsamo, Italy.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the predictive value of cell population data (CPD) parameters in comparison with procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) for an early diagnosis of sepsis in intensive care unit (ICU). The effect of renal function on CPD, PCT and CRP, in septic and non-septic patients was also investigated.
Methods: This is a retrospective, observational and single-center study, performed with data collected from patients consecutively admitted to the ICU of the Edoardo Bassini Hospital in Milan.
Orthop Surg
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedics, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Objective: As an effective treatment for spinal metastasis (SM), ERAS protocol can significantly reduce the length of hospital stay and complications in patients. Establishing an ERAS program for perioperative care after SM surgery is a clinical problem that needs to be addressed urgently. We aimed to develop an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program and Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) that conferred clinical benefit to patients with SM and made it relatively easy to manage the condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Scleroderma-associated autoantibodies (SSc-Abs) are specific in participants (pts) with systemic sclerosis and are associated with organ involvement. Our objective was to assess the influence of baseline SSc-Abs on the trajectories of the clinical outcome assessments (COAs) in a phase III randomized controlled trial.
Methods: We used data on both the groups who received placebo (Pbo) and tocilizumab from the focuSSced trial.
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