Characterization of Patients With Dermatomyositis According to Anti-Melanoma Differentiation-Associated Gene-5 Autoantibodies in Centers from 3 Latin American Countries: A Cohort Study.

Background/objective: The anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) autoantibodies have been associated with a high frequency of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and rapidly progressive ILD (RP-ILD) in dermatomyositis (DM) patients, mainly in Asian subjects. However, there is scarce information about these parameters in Latin American patients.

Method: This was a medical records review cohort study that included classic DM (CDM) and clinically amyopathic DM (CADM) patients from 3 Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico).

[Rheumatoid arthritis and combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema].

The combination of pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema is a syndrome described in the last years, which has its own characteristics and it is not only the casual association between the two entities. The idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the most common type of pulmonary fibrosis. However other interstitial lung diseases could be part of this syndrome.

Differences in response of the proximal esophagus to wet swallows in patients of Chagas' disease and idiopathic achalasia.

Chagas' disease and idiopathic achalasia have similar esophageal manifestations such as absent or incomplete lower esophageal sphincter relaxation and aperistalsis in the esophageal body (alterations seen mainly in the distal esophageal body). Our aim in this paper was to study the response of the proximal esophageal body to wet swallows in patients with Chagas' disease and patients with idiopathic achalasia. We retrospectively analyzed the time interval between the onset of the pharyngeal contractions 1 cm proximal to the upper esophageal sphincter, as well as 5 cm distal to the pharyngeal measurement.