IgG4-related Breast Disease: Review of the Literature.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare illness with inflammatory and fibrotic changes in affected organs such as pancreas, thyroid, salivary or lacrimal glands, and retroperitoneal space; rarely other organs may be involved. IgG4-related breast disease (IgG4-BD) is very rare and generally presents as a lump or mastitis. IgG4-BD as a presenting feature of IgG4-RD is extremely rare.

An immunology model for accelerated coronary atherosclerosis and unexplained sudden death in the COVID-19 era.

The immunological basis for cardiac deaths remote from potential triggering viral infection, including SARS-CoV-2 infection, remains enigmatic. Cardiac surface inflammation, including the pericardium, epicardium and superficial myocardium with associated coronary artery vasculitis in infant Kawasaki Disease (KD) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is well recognised. In this perspective, we review the evidence pointing towards prominent post-viral infection related epicardial inflammation in older subjects, resulting in atherosclerotic plaque destabilisation with seemingly unrelated myocardial infarction that may be temporally distant from the actual infectious triggers.

Hypermobility spectrum disorders and active migraine in Israeli adolescents: A nationwide study.

Objective: To assess the association between hypermobility spectrum disorders/hypermobile type Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (HSD/hEDS) and migraine in a national sample of adolescents in Israel.

Background: The association between HSD/hEDS and migraine is unclear, even more so in pediatric populations.

Methods: This population-based, cross-sectional study included 1,627,345 Israeli adolescents (945,519/1,626,407 [58%] males; mean age 17 ± 0.

Switching from intravenous tocilizumab to subcutaneous administration during COVID-19 pandemic: impact on treatment efficacy and patient satisfaction.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the efficacy and patient satisfaction of subcutaneous tocilizumab (SC TCZ) in patients previously treated with intravenous tocilizumab (IV TCZ) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a single-centre retrospective study at the Rheumatology Day Care at the Rheumatology Institute, Rambam Health Care Campus, Israel. Clinical and laboratory data of IV TCZ treated patients who switched to SC TCZ were retracted and analysed.

Hypocomplementemia during tocilizumab treatment: Long-term follow-up results.

Hypocomplementemia has been reported in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tocilizumab (TCZ), but its long-term consequences are unknown. We assessed the long-term outcome of patients treated with TCZ who developed hypocomplementemia regarding serious bacterial infections or autoimmune diseases (AID).The charts of patients treated with TCZ at two rheumatology centers were reviewed retrospectively.

Phenotype of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis patients with positive anti-topoisomerase I antibodies: data from the EUSTAR cohort.

Objectives: To characterize patients with positive anti-topoisomerase I (ATA) in lcSSc.

Methods: SSc patients enrolled in the EUSTAR cohort with a disease duration of ≤3 years at database entry were considered. We assessed the risk of major organ involvement in the following groups: ATA-lcSSc vs ACA-lcSSc and vs ANA without specificity (ANA)-lcSSc, and ATA-lcSSc vs ATA-dcSSc.

Favourable outcome of planned pregnancies in systemic sclerosis patients during stable disease.

Objective: Studies evaluating pregnancy outcomes in systemic sclerosis (SSc) are limited. SSc is associated with maternal complications and adverse neonatal outcomes. This study investigated the impact of disease stage (stable vs active) on the maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies of patients followed at an Israeli medical centre.

Digital pitting scars are associated with a severe disease course and death in systemic sclerosis: a study from the EUSTAR cohort.

Objective: Digital pitting scars (DPS) are frequent, but little studied in SSc to date.

Methods: An analysis of SSc patients enrolled in the EUSTAR database. Primary objectives were to (i) examine DPS prevalence; (ii) examine whether DPS are associated with digital ulcers (DUs) and active digital ischaemia (DUs or gangrene); and (iii) describe other associations with DPS including internal organ complications.

Representativeness of systemic sclerosis patients in interventional randomized trials: an analysis of the EUSTAR database.

Objective: To estimate the extent of and the reasons for ineligibility in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of SSc patients included in the EUSTAR database, and to determine the association between patient's features and generalizability of study results.

Methods: We searched Clinicaltrials.gov for all records on interventional SSc-RCTs registered from January 2013 to January 2018.

Real-world effectiveness of tofacitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective observational study.

Objectives: Tofacitinib is an approved treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but data on its use in the "real-world" are limited. We sought to analyse tofacitinib drug survival in the Israeli registry and compare it to other biologic agents.

Methods: We included RA patients treated with tofacitinib, etanercept, golimumab, tocilizumab, or abatacept between 2010-2019.

Secukinumab real world drug retention compared to TNF-alpha inhibitors in psoriatic arthritis.

Objectives: To prospectively study real-world efficacy and safety of secukinumab in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients from the Israeli registry of inflammatory diseases.

Methods: PsA patients fulfilling the CASPAR criteria were included in the analysis from 2010 to 2019. The primary endpoint was secukinumab drug retention compared to other TNF-α inhibitors (TNFi).

Intravenous versus oral cyclophosphamide for lung and/or skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis: an indirect comparison from EUSTAR and randomised controlled trials.

Objectives: Both intravenous (IV) and oral (PO) cyclophosphamide (CYC) showed beneficial effects on skin and lung involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) in placebo-controlled randomised clinical trials and observational studies. Our goal was to compare the relative efficacy and safety of PO- versus IV-CYC for treating interstitial lung disease and/or skin involvement in SSc.

Methods: Patients were derived from the EUSTAR centres and the Scleroderma Lung Studies I and II.

Microangiopathy and forearm arterial blood flow in systemic sclerosis: a controlled study.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the interrelationship between the micro- and macrovasculature.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that examined SSc patients and fibromyalgia (FM) patients as controls. We assessed forearm peripheral vascular status and nailfold capillaroscopy.

Racial differences in systemic sclerosis disease presentation: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research group study.

Objectives: Racial factors play a significant role in SSc. We evaluated differences in SSc presentations between white patients (WP), Asian patients (AP) and black patients (BP) and analysed the effects of geographical locations.

Methods: SSc characteristics of patients from the EUSTAR cohort were cross-sectionally compared across racial groups using survival and multiple logistic regression analyses.

[THE EMERGENCE OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AT THE AGE OF OVER 60 - A COMPARISON OF CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND ACCESS TO TREATMENT PATTERN COMPARED TO YOUNGER PATIENTS].

Introduction: The aging process of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) requires re-assessment of diagnostic and treatment approaches in patients who developed RA at 60-69 years (EORA-Elderly-Onset RA), 70 years and older (LORA-Late Onset RA) compared with CORA patients - Common Onset RA (35 - 50 years).

Methods: Comparing data of CORA, EORA and LORA patients: gender, nationality; swollen and tender joints (out of 28 joints), Disease Activity Score (DAS28), inflammatory markers, rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA); treatment with corticosteroids and disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

Results: Patients' files were examined: CORA (39, 33.