Aims: To evaluate the presence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients and its possible association with the severity of skin involvement.
Methods: The presence of TMD was evaluated in 35 SSc women and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls by means of the anamnestic (A(i)) and clinical (D(i)) Helkimo indices; the jaw mobility was further analyzed (M(I)). Skin involvement was scored by the Modified Rodnan Skin Score (MRSS).
Results: Signs and symptoms of TMD were more frequent in SSc patients than in controls, the frequency distribution of the different clinical dysfunction indices differing significantly (P < .001) between patients (D(i)0 8.6%, D(i)I 48.6%, D(i)II 22.8%, and D(i)III 20%) and controls (D(i)0 50%, D(i)I 33.3%, and D(i)II 16.7%). Cyclophosphamide for severe and rapidly progressive cutaneous fibrosis was prescribed in six out of seven patients with severe signs (D(i)III), in contrast this treatment was indicated for only two out of 25 patients with mild to moderate signs (D(i)I and D(i)II, P < .001). Impaired jaw mobility was more frequent in SSc patients than controls (P < .001). It was severe in 77.1% (M(I)II) and mild in 22.9% (M(I)I) of the cases, in contrast to controls (M(I)0 33.4%, M(I)I 53.3%, and M(I)II 13.3%; P < .001). Approximately half of SSc patients with severe (M(I)II) but none of those with mild impairment were on cyclophosphamide treatment for severe cutaneous fibrosis (P = .02).
Conclusion: Severe signs of TMD according to the anamnestic and clinical Helkimo indices were very frequent in SSc patients.
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J Rheumatol
January 2025
Jessica K. Gordon, Division of Rheumatology, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, NY; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, NY.
Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire (SSQ), a novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) to assess systemic sclerosis (SSc) related skin symptoms.
Methods: The SSQ was administered to 799 adults (mean age 52.7; 82% female) enrolled in the SSc Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER).
J Rheumatol
January 2025
Florenzo Iannone, Rheumatology Unit - Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine of Jonian Area University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Objective: Bosentan (BOS) is approved for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and preventing digital ulcers (DU) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Our study aimed to evaluate whether BOS prescribed for DU could reduce the incidence of PAH in a large SSc cohort from the SPRING registry.
Methods: Patients with SSc from the SPRING registry, meeting ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria with data on PAH onset, DU status, BOS exposure, and at least a one-year follow-up between 2015 and 2020, and no known PAH at baseline were included.
Int J Gynaecol Obstet
January 2025
Delaware Center for Maternal-Fetal Medicine of ChristianaCare, Newark, Delaware, USA.
Objective: To examine rates of postpartum hemorrhagic (PPH) morbidity among patients who did and did not have immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC).
Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort of all non-anomalous, term singleton vaginal births at a Level IV center over 2 years. Exclusion criteria included COVID-19.
Clin Exp Rheumatol
January 2025
Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Objectives: This structured, targeted literature review aimed to assess the mortality, humanistic and economic burden of eight organ manifestations which are commonly experienced by systemic sclerosis patients.
Methods: Identification of relevant literature was carried out by searching in Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE, PubMed, and NHS Economic Evaluation Database in August 2023. Studies reporting original data on patients with systemic sclerosis with at least one of eight organ manifestations (interstitial lung disease and/or pulmonary hypertension, skin, peripheral vascular, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiac or renal involvement) published within the last 15 years were included.
Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare connective tissue disease, frequently affecting the skin, lungs, and pulmonary vasculature. Approximately 30-50% of SSc patients develop interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), with 30-35% of related deaths attributed to it. Even though men are less likely to develop systemic sclerosis, they have a higher incidence of SSc-ILD than women, and they tend to develop it at a younger age with a higher mortality rate.
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