Association between musculoskeletal sonographic features and response to treatment in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the association between musculoskeletal sonographic features and clinical features, as well as treatment outcomes, in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted involving patients with active PsA. Disease activity was assessed clinically at baseline and 3-6 months after initiating therapy, with a Disease Activity Index for PsA (DAPSA) score calculated.

Sex-Related Differences in Dispensation of Rheumatic Medications in Older Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis: A Population-Based Study.

Objective: The aim of our study was to compare dispensation of rheumatic medications between older male and female patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed using health administrative data from Ontario, Canada (years 2010-2017), on patients with incident RA and PsA, who were aged ≥ 66 years at the time of diagnosis. Yearly dispensation of rheumatic drugs was compared between older male and female patients for 3 years after diagnosis using multivariable regression models, after adjusting for confounders.

From Psoriasis to Psoriatic Arthritis: Ultrasound Insights Connecting Psoriasis with Subclinical Musculoskeletal Inflammation and the Path to Psoriatic Arthritis.

Purpose Of Review: This review summarizes the literature about the transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis (PsA), focusing on musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) for detecting subclinical inflammation and its role in diagnosis and triage of high-risk patients.

Recent Findings: MSUS effectively detects subclinical musculoskeletal inflammation in patients with psoriasis; however, some of these lesions are non-specific and can be found in healthy individuals. Preliminary evidence suggest that subclinical sonographic findings may predict progression to PsA in psoriasis patients.

Understanding sex-related differences in healthcare utilisation among patients with inflammatory arthritis: a population-based study.

Objectives: Our aim was to compare patterns of musculoskeletal-related healthcare utilisation between male and female patients before and after the diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis (IA).

Methods: We used Ontario administrative health data to create three inception cohorts of adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) diagnosed between April 2010 and March 2017. Healthcare utilisation indicators including visits to physicians, and use of musculoskeletal imaging and laboratory tests were assessed in each year for 3 years before and after diagnosis and compared between male and female patients using regression models adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities.

Sex- and gender-related differences in psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory musculoskeletal disease with a chronic, progressive course. Various aspects of PsA, including its clinical features, disease course and response to treatment, are influenced by sociodemographic characteristics of the patient. This includes patient sex, the biological attributes associated with being male or female, and gender, a sociocultural construct that comprises attitudes, traits and behaviours associated with being a man or a woman.

Responses to Ixekizumab in Male and Female Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: Results from Two Randomized, Phase 3 Clinical Trials.

Introduction: Differences in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treatment response between sexes for ixekizumab, an interleukin-17A antagonist, are largely unexplored. This analysis used data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating ixekizumab to study differences in treatment response between male and female patients with PsA.

Methods: We used pooled data from patients enrolled in SPIRIT-P1 and SPIRIT-P2 (NCT01695239 and NCT02349295, respectively), phase 3 RCTs evaluating ixekizumab every 4 and 2 weeks in patients with active PsA.

Characterising axial psoriatic arthritis: correlation between whole spine MRI abnormalities and clinical, laboratory and radiographic findings.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of inflammatory and structural lesions using whole spine MRI in patients with psoriatic disease, and to assess their correlation with clinical features and with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) classification criteria.

Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients with whole spine and sacroiliac joints (SIJ) MRI, selected from 2 populations: (1) active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), irrespective of axial symptoms; (2) psoriasis with confirmed or suspected PsA and axSpA symptoms. MRI spondylitis and/or sacroiliitis (MRI-SpA) was defined according to Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) consensus and by radiologist impression.

Targeted metabolomic profiling and prediction of cardiovascular events: a prospective study of patients with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis.

Objective: In patients with psoriatic disease (PsD), we sought serum metabolites associated with cardiovascular (CV) events and investigated whether they could improve CV risk prediction beyond traditional risk factors and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS).

Methods: Nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics identified biomarkers for incident CV events in patients with PsD. The association of each metabolite with incident CV events was analysed using Cox proportional hazards regression models first adjusted for age and sex, and subsequently for traditional CV risk factors.

Development and Validation of a Sonographic Enthesitis Instrument in Psoriatic Arthritis: The GRAPPA Diagnostic Ultrasound Enthesitis Tool (DUET) Project.

Enthesitis is a key feature in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and may be the initial site of musculoskeletal inflammation in patients with PsA. Ultrasound (US) optimizes the detection of enthesitis, but the lack of a validated sonographic enthesitis scoring system for PsA limits the ability to conduct US-based studies of approaches to improve the early diagnosis of PsA. Creating a sonographic enthesitis scoring system that reliably identifies PsA at early stages is an important step in optimizing early diagnosis and encouraging timely interventions that will ultimately improve longterm outcomes for patients with PsA.

Predictive Utility of Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Algorithms in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: A Systematic Review.

Objective: We performed a systematic review of the literature to describe current knowledge of cardiovascular (CV) risk prediction algorithms in rheumatic diseases.

Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central databases was performed. The search was restricted to original publications in English, had to include clinical CV events as study outcomes, assess the predictive properties of at least 1 CV risk prediction algorithm, and include patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), or psoriasis.

Correction to: The association between sonographic enthesitis and radiographic damage in psoriatic arthritis.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the affiliation of Ari Polachek.

Using Acute-phase Reactants to Inform the Development of Instruments for the Updated Psoriatic Arthritis Core Outcome Measurement Set.

Objective: Systemic inflammationˆ is assessed through measurement of acute-phase reactants such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). With few exceptions, most randomized controlled trials (RCT) have assessed acute-phase reactants (CRP and ESR) as part of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response criteria. As part of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA)-Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) working group, we performed a systematic review of the literature to assess the performance of inflammatory biomarkers in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Imaging in Psoriatic Arthritis-Insights About Pathogenesis of the Disease.

Purpose Of Review: Heterogeneity is a hallmark of PsA as musculoskeletal inflammation can affect different tissues including the synovial joint, tendons, entheses, bursa, and bone.

Recent Findings: Relying on clinical examination for investigating underlying mechanisms in PsA is limited by the inherent inaccuracies of examination of the joints, enthesis, and spine. In addition, unlike synovial-centered diseases, histology is hard to obtain for the entheses and spine, limiting the knowledge for different manifestations of PsA.

The epidemiology of psoriatic arthritis in Israel - a population-based study.

Background: There is limited information on the epidemiology of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in general and in Middle Eastern populations in particular. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence and incidence rates of PsA and their temporal trends in the general population in Israel.

Methods: In this study, a cohort of adult patients with PsA was derived from the database of Clalit Health Services (CHS), Israel's largest health fund, with over 4.

Cardiometabolic Disorders in Psoriatic Disease.

Purpose Of Review: Patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, collectively termed psoriatic disease (PsD), are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The purpose if this manuscript is to review recent evidence about the epidemiology and underlying mechanisms of CVD in psoriatic patients and approaches to improve the management of these comorbidities.

Recent Findings: Studies have shown that CVD risk is independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and is related to the systemic inflammatory nature of PsD.

The association between sonographic enthesitis and radiographic damage in psoriatic arthritis.

Background: To examine the association between sonographic enthesitis and the severity of radiographic features of damage in the peripheral and axial joints in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in patients with PsA. The MAdrid Sonography Enthesitis Index (MASEI) scoring system was used to quantify the extent of sonographic entheseal abnormalities.

The Association Between Obesity and Clinical Features of Psoriatic Arthritis: A Case-control Study.

Objective: To assess whether obesity is associated with distinct psoriatic arthritis (PsA) features and whether it interacts with PsA HLA susceptibility alleles.

Methods: Patients with early PsA were compared with patients with psoriasis without arthritis (PsC). The primary predictor was the body mass index (BMI) at the first visit to the clinic.

The Risk of Developing Diabetes Mellitus in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: A Cohort Study.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in comparison with the general population and to assess whether the level of disease activity over time predicts the development of DM in these patients.

Methods: A cohort analysis was conducted in patients followed in a large PsA clinic from 1978 to 2014. The prevalence of DM in the patients was compared with the general population of Ontario, Canada, and the age-standardized prevalence ratio (SPR) was calculated.