Rationale: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is considered a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of ILD.
Objectives: To characterize GER (acid and nonacid) in patients with SSc with and without ILD.
Methods: Patients with SSc underwent pulmonary high-resolution computer tomography (HRCT) scan and 24-hour impedance-pH monitoring off-proton pump inhibitor therapy. The presence of pulmonary fibrosis was assessed using validated HRCT-scores. Reflux monitoring parameters included number of acid and nonacid reflux episodes, proximal migration of the refluxate, and distal esophageal acid exposure. Unless otherwise specified, data are presented as median (25th-75th percentile).
Measurements And Main Results: Forty consecutive patients with SSc (35 female; mean age, 53 yr; range, 24-71; 15 patients with diffuse and 25 with limited SSc) were investigated; 18 (45%) patients with SSc had pulmonary fibrosis (HRCT score >or= 7). Patients with SSc with ILD had higher (P < 0.01) esophageal acid exposure (10.3 [7.5-15] vs. 5.2 [1.5-11]), higher (P < 0.01) number of acid (41 [31-58] vs. 19 [10-23]) and nonacid (25 [20-35] vs. 17 [11-19]) reflux episodes, and higher (P < 0.01) number of reflux episodes reaching the proximal esophagus (42.5 [31-54] vs. 15 [8-22]) compared with patients with SSc with normal HRCT scores. Pulmonary fibrosis scores (HRCT score) correlated well with the number of reflux episodes in the distal (r(2) = 0.637) and proximal (r(2) = 0.644) esophagus.
Conclusions: Patients with SSc with ILD have more severe reflux (i.e., more reflux episodes and more reflux reaching the proximal esophagus). Whether or not the development of ILD in patients with SSc can be prevented by reflux-reducing treatments needs to be investigated.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1164/rccm.200808-1359OC | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Internal Medicine/Rheumatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, 77030, USA.
This study aimed to examine whether a reported SSc-associated SNP rs2841277 in the PLD4 gene identified in an Asian population was also associated with SSc in European American (EA). The EA cohort consisting of 1005 SSc patients and 961 healthy controls was examined in this study. TaqMan genotyping assays were performed to examine the SNP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Netw Open
December 2024
Department of Cell Biology, The Province and Ministry Cosponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Importance: Patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) may develop adult rheumatic diseases later in life, and prolonged or recurrent disease activity is often associated with substantial disability; therefore, it is important to identify patients with JIA at high risk of developing adult rheumatic diseases and provide specialized attention and preventive care to them.
Objective: To elucidate the full extent of the genetic association of JIA with adult rheumatic diseases, to improve treatment strategies and patient outcomes for patients at high risk of developing long-term rheumatic diseases.
Design, Setting, And Participants: In this genetic association study of 4 disease genome-wide association study (GWAS) cohorts from 2013 to 2024 (JIA, rheumatoid arthritis [RA], systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], and systemic sclerosis [SSc]), patients in the JIA cohort were recruited from the US, Australia, and Norway (with a UK cohort included in the meta-analyzed cohort), while patients in the other 3 cohorts were recruited from US and Western European countries.
Sports (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA.
Shoulder and elbow injuries are prevalent among baseball players, particularly pitchers, who experience repetitive eccentric loading of the shoulder, leading to muscle damage and increased injury risk. Nearly 40% of shoulder injuries in baseball occur in pitchers, with many facing low rates of return to sport. The rotator cuff (RC) muscles-supraspinatus (SSP), infraspinatus (ISP), subscapularis (SSC), and teres minor (TMin)-are crucial for shoulder stability, movement, and force generation, particularly in overhead sports.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutoimmunity
December 2025
Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.
Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) are both autoimmune diseases, albeit with distinct anatomical targets. AS primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints, triggering inflammation and eventual fusion of the vertebrae. SSc predominantly impacts the skin and connective tissues, leading to skin fibrosis, thickening, and potential damage to vital organs such as the lungs, heart, and kidneys.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunopharmacol Immunotoxicol
December 2024
Nursing Department, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Background: One of the common findings in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients has been long-term exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides. However, the data available shows an equivocal association between pesticide exposure and autoimmunity in SSc.
Methods: We investigated the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in blood of 20 SSc patients and 17 healthy controls, and also studied their effect on T lymphocytes and their functional responses.
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